Leon was founded by John Vincent and Henry Dimbleby with chef Allegra McEvedy. The business was named after Vincent's father, Leon, and opened its first outlet in Carnaby Street in 2004. Six months after opening, Leon was named the "Best New Restaurant in Great Britain" at The Observer Food Monthly Awards. In March 2009, McEvedy gave up her role at Leon to focus on writing and television work, but remains a shareholder. In 2014, John Vincent took over from Henry Dimbleby as CEO, and Dimbleby then left the board in 2017. He also remains a shareholder. Leon is backed by Active Private Equity and, in May 2017, Spice Private Equity became a major investor to support further global expansion plans.
Restaurants
By 2015 Leon had 57 restaurants, and in June 2016 the first Leon outside England opened in Amsterdam. Other international openings followed including restaurants at Utrecht, Oslo, Gran Canaria, Dublin and Leon's first restaurant in the United States, in Washington D.C. In 2018, the company had 61 sites. In January 2015, HMSHost operated six Leon locations in airports and railway stations in southern England, and Leon announced an expansion of its relationship with HMSHost in 2018, including a franchise agreement in airports and railway stations across Europe and the Middle East. By establishing this presence, the company hoped to reach an international audience, and help create demand ahead of further overseas openings. In 2017, Leon became a founding member of the Sustainable Restaurant Association, and won Raymond Blanc's Sustainability Hero award at the Association's "Food Made Good" Awards. The chain was named in the 2017 The Sunday TimesFast Track 100.
Other activities
Leon has published several cookbooks, and developed a cookware and tableware line with retailer John Lewis.
Leon co-founder and CEO, John Vincent, has co-authored a book, 'Winning Not Fighting' with Sifu Julian Hitch, to be published in November 2019. The book takes the principles of the ancient martial art of Wing Tsun and applies them to achieving success in work, life and business. It encourages readers not to conceive of business as a battle – a core principle of Wing Tsun is that fighting should be avoided at all costs. Vincent has revealed that Wing Tsun shapes the way that Leon operates. All new employees at Leon are put through Wing Tsun training and Vincent claims that this has improved the speed and quality of Leon baristas' coffee-making.
Policies
In the United Kingdom, Leon implements equal pay, for both age and gender. The company pays the over 25s rate of the National Living Wage to all hourly paid employees, including those aged below 25. In the first quarter of 2019, 53% of the chain's food sales were plant-based or vegetarian.
