Leon, the healthy, fast-food chain led by John Vincent, reported a 7.6% increase in like-for-like sales in 2016, with revenue breaking the £50m mark for the first time, up from £36.9m to £58.4m, as it opened 10 sites during the year.
EBITDA for the year to the end of 2016 climbed from £2.7m to £3.4m, whilst on the back of the openings it reported a pre-tax loss of £321.6k against a profit of £358.8k.
The company, which plans to make its US debut in Washington DC next year, told MCA that it was making overall like-for-like growth this year, although not as strong as 2016, and that August was particularly challenging. It said it has experienced improved trading since the end of the summer holiday period.
The group said that staff retention in the light of the Brexit decision continued to be an issue, alongside “unhelpful taxes such as the recent huge business rates hikes and the apprenticeship levy”.
It said that although it was early days, the first two roadside sites opened under its recent agreement with RoadChef were trading well, and overall “slightly ahead of expectation”.
This year to date it has opened a further five company-owned sites, including two in Manchester. It now operates 39 company-owned sites, and a further 13 franchise sites.
Under an agreement with SSP, it opened its first site at Liverpool Street during 2016, and a second at Paddington earlier this year.
In 2015, it extended its deal with HMS Host, resulting in the first non UK Leon opening at Schiphol airport. A second Schiphol site has subsequently been opened up by HMS in 2017, with Utrecht to open shortly.
Staff numbers grew to 682 from 433 during the year, with 249 jobs created.
During the year, the company successfully refinanced its debts securing a new £19m facility through OakNorth, including a £6m facility for new restaurants expansion.
In May, the company secured a £25m investment from Spice Private Equity, a Swiss investment company, to aid its continued expansion in the UK and overseas.
Last month, the company announced plans to open around 20 sites over a period of five years in Scandinavia, with the first restaurant opening in Oslo as soon as the end of this year.
The push into Scandinavia follows an investment by Umoe, which runs more than 360 restaurants and cafes in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
It is thought that Leon is in talks on a number of other international territories, including France.
