Asda-owned Leon cuts hundreds of jobs as work from home trend bites
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.
The firm, which was co-founded by Henry Dimbleby, son of veteran BBC broadcaster David Dimbleby, posted a 3.9 per cent downturn in sales to £62.5m, alongside losses of £8.4m, a significant reduction on the £12.5m loss it reported the previous year.
“The UK economy was challenging throughout 2024, with its impacts felt across consumer spending,” Leon said.
“This again led to inflationary pressures, particularly seen with electricity costs and costs of sales.
“Within the year, we have continued to actively control our cost base and have seen a significant reduction year on year.”
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.”
Hospitality turns to automation to slash costs
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.
Hospitality firms have been under pressure to find cost savings after they were handed a major tax hike by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the form of increased employer National Insurance Contributions earlier this year.
Leon said it will “continue to review the existing estate performance, and explore new formats and opportunities.”
Since it was founded in London’s Carnaby Street in 2004, Leon has grown to be one of the biggest restaurant chains in the Square Mile, with sites in Cheapside, Liverpool Street, Cannon Street, Moorgate and Ludgate.