Over 500 jobs saved as UK restaurant chain dodges administration

Leon, founded in London in 2004, built its reputation on a menu of “naturally fast food”, offering salads, wraps, hot boxes and breakfast dishes marketed as a fresher, healthier alternative to traditional fast food.

The chain expanded rapidly in city centres, railway stations and transport hubs, but has struggled in recent years with rising costs, changing trading conditions and the shift towards working from home.

Leon formerly had an Oxford branch on Cornmarket Street which opened in 2018, but this closed two years ago as part of a wider shake‑up of the estate, leaving local customers without a dedicated site in the city.

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The company went into administration in December after coming under mounting financial pressure, with insolvency specialists from BTG Advisory and Quantuma brought in to examine options for the business.

Restructuring experts including Brian Burke and Michael Kiely at Quantuma, and Andrew Andronikou at BTG Advisory, were tasked with overseeing the process and finding a way to keep the business trading rather than breaking it up.

They inherited a brand that had already been downsized once during the pandemic, when a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) in 2020 was used to cut rents and preserve hundreds of jobs, but the post‑Covid landscape proved even more challenging.

By late 2025, founder John Vincent had bought Leon back from its previous owners, yet high inflation, weaker commuter footfall and what the company has described as “unsustainable” tax burdens left the chain losing millions of pounds a year and carrying significant net liabilities.

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After entering administration, advisers moved quickly to close underperforming stores and reduce costs, with 22 locations shutting and more than 200 roles cut as part of a turnaround drive.

The latest restructuring programme has now culminated in a fresh CVA, backed unanimously by voting creditors including HM Revenue & Customs, which will allow Leon to exit administration with 43 restaurants, 23 of them franchises.

Quantuma says more than 530 jobs have been secured across Leon’s head office, central support and trading site teams, with the CVA focused on removing loss‑making stores, renegotiating rents and giving the brand a platform for “ambitious development plans” rather than a fire‑sale of assets.

For Oxfordshire customers, Leon’s closest remaining outlets are now in London and other major cities, but the company has signalled that – once the turnaround is complete – it wants to grow again, opening the door to future openings in commuter hubs serving the county.