"Leon is now owned by Asda. Leon has axed hundreds of jobs as it bemoaned a "challenging" year in which it wrestled with high cost inflation and depressed customer spending. The Asda-owned fast-food chain cut its headcount by 17 per cent, or 224, to 1,120 over the course of 2024, its latest accounts show, as it sought to bear down on heavy losses."
"Since 2023 Leon has embarked on a rapid roll-out of self-service checkouts at its restaurants, in step with other fast-food chains such as McDonalds and KFC. The move has allowed the hospitality sector to pare back the number of front-of-house staff it employs, and increase the number of orders it can take, following in the footsteps of the major supermarkets who pioneered the technology several years earlier."
"Leon also complained trading had been "further affected" by rail and tube strikes, which resulted in lower footfall due to the proximity of its restaurants to train stations. Furthermore, the working-from-home trend has impacted many Leon restaurants, particularly ones based in office-centric locations, and these have seen a slower recovery."
Leon is owned by Asda and reduced its headcount by 17 percent, cutting 224 roles to 1,120 during 2024. Sales fell 3.9 percent to £62.5m and losses narrowed to £8.4m from a £12.5m loss the prior year. The company cited high cost inflation, including electricity and costs of sales, alongside weak consumer spending as pressures on performance. Rail and tube strikes lowered footfall at station-proximate sites, and remote working slowed recovery at office-centric restaurants. Since 2023 Leon has rolled out self-service checkouts to lower front-of-house staffing and increase order capacity. The hospitality sector faces further cost pressure from increased employer National Insurance.
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