Blackburn’s billionaire Issa brothers have today acquired the healthy fast food chain LEON for reportedly close to £100 million.
Just months after making a record-breaking £6.8 billion deal to purchase supermarket chain ASDA from US shopping giant Walmart, 70 LEON restaurants across the UK and Europe have now been sold to Mohsin and Zuber Issa to form part of their giant petrol forecourt business EG Group.
EG Group said that the acquisition is “complementary” as it seeks to expand the food side of its business, and has plans to open around 20 additional LEON sites a year from 2022.
The deal includes 42 company-owned restaurants, as well as 29 franchise sites, which are mainly found in airports and train stations across the UK – including a Manchester branch based in Manchester Piccadilly station – and a handful of European countries, such as the Netherlands and Spain.
EG Group has also committed to keeping on LEON’s management team and staff.
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EG Group is pleased to announce that it has acquired LEON Restaurants Limited, a prominent British fresh fast food restaurant chain. #EGGrouppic.twitter.com/AatDmQmtAR
Speaking about the acquisition of LEON in a joint statement, the Issa brothers said: “Leon is a fantastic brand that we have long admired.
“As established entrepreneurs in the food service retail market ourselves, we have a huge admiration for the business that John and the Leon team have built over the years, and firmly believe that their culture and values closely align with our own.”
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Mohsin and Zuber Issa started out life as entrepreneurs in a garage, which their dad – who had worked in a woollen mill – bought, before branching out on their own by first renting a petrol station for two years, then buying their first forecourt – a derelict freehold site in Bury in 2001 – and forming Euro Garages.
The EG Group now has almost 6,000 sites across 10 countries, from the UK to the US and Australia.
It runs outlets for Greggs, Starbucks and KFC, and employs 44,000 people.
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EG Groupd / Issa Brothers
LEON was founded in London in 2004 by John Vincent, Henry Dimbleby and Allegra McEvedy, with an importance placed on creating a menu of “healthy fast-food”.
Mr Vincent said that “in some ways this is a sad day for me, to part company with the business I founded 17 years ago in Carnaby Street”, but admitted he was “confident under the new ownership”.
He added that he has “had the pleasure of getting to know Mohsin and Zuber [Issa]” over the last few years.
“They have been enthusiastic customers of LEON, going out of their way to eat here whenever they visit London. They are decent, hard-working business people who are committed to sustaining and further strengthening the values and culture that we have built”.
Mr Vincent also said he is keen to watch the the brand “flourish and have even greater appeal to a broader customer base, especially outside of London”.
Featured Image – LEON
Business
Manchester Airport releases statement after customer data stolen in ‘targeted’ cyber security attack
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has released a formal statement after data was stolen from 8.7 million customers in a ‘targeted’ cyber security attack yesterday.
Manchester Airport Group (MAG) – which operates Manchester Airport, Stansted, and East Midlands Airport – said the cyber security incident happened at around 1pm yesterday (Thursday 27 August), and that the data seized from 8.7 million customers included email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations, and postcodes.
The data that was stolen related to car park, lounge and Fast Track bookings, and in-airport WiFi sign-ups, MAG stated.
It was initially confirmed that the system the hackers accessed did not hold customers’ bank or payment details, however, and that all other regular airport operations and customer parking continued uninterrupted.
Manchester Airport has now released a formal statement to reassure customers that they are taking the matter ‘extremely seriously’.
The statement reads: “Manchester Airport Group has been subject to a cyber security incident by an unauthorised third party.
“A quantity of customer data has been obtained that relates to car park, lounge and Fast Track bookings and in-airport WIFI sign-ups at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports.
“We immediately contained the risk and have been working with specialist advisors and taking appropriate steps to protect our customers and systems. We have informed and are working with the relevant authorities, and at no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised.”
MAG insisted that the incident had not resulted in any ‘operational disruption’, adding: “Airport operations remain unaffected and customer parking services continue to operate normally.
“Neither MAG nor the system accessed hold customers’ bank or payment details. The data that has been accessed includes customers’ email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations and postcodes.
“We would like to reassure customers that Manchester Airport Group takes the security of customer information extremely seriously, and we apologise for any inconvenience or concern caused.”
Featured Image – MAG
Business
Workers at major Manchester city centre hotel to strike this bank holiday weekend
Emily Sergeant
Workers at one of the most prominent hotels in Manchester city centre are set to strike this bank holiday weekend.
Workers at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel and its bar venue The Refuge, who are members of the union Unite, will take 24 hours of strike action on Saturday (29 August) in what is said to be a ‘long-running dispute’ over union busting.
The strike day chosen by the workers is the second day of this year’s Manchester Village Pride, and is historically the most lucrative day of the year for their employer.
This is because Kimpton Clocktower is located very close to the Pride Parade route, and for several years has been a very popular location for people attending the festival, and even runs a number of Pride events itself.
Unite says that for months now, workers at the Kimpton Clocktower – which is owned by InterContinental Hotels Group UK (IHG) – have been asking for formal union recognition to improve conditions after raising several issues with management, but IHG UK has refused this and instead ‘targeted’ the union for its actions.
Workers at a major Manchester city centre hotel are set to strike this bank holiday weekend / Credit: Rebecca Hope Photography (Supplied)
Previous strikes have already taken place this summer, apparently causing ‘financial hits’ to the business in the process – with the bar being forced to close early at several events as there were not enough staff to cover them.
“A strike on Kimpton’s most profitable day is entirely of its own making,” commented Unite regional officer, Alison Treacher. “Throughout this dispute, Kimpton Clocktower management have treated its loyal workforce with contempt and our members have shown they will not stand for it.
“There is still time to avoid this highly disruptive strike action, but that relies on IHG changing tack by listening to its members and giving them the union recognition they have long been calling for.”
This dispute is said to be the first ever hospitality strike in the North West.
Unite is currently running a petition demanding that IHG UK stop targeting union activists, recognise the Kimpton workers rights to have their grievance heard collectively, and support their union recognition campaign.
The Manc -
19th April 2021 
