By Muslim Mirror Desk
New Delhi/ London: Indian-origin billionaire brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa have bought Leon, a popular British fast food chain as a part of their goal to grow their foodservice operations in Britain.
The brothers, whose parents had shifted to UK in 1970s, had acquired leading UK supermarket chain Asda from US owners Walmart last year. They also own the Euro Garages chain of petrol stations as part of their EG Group business.
“Leon is a fantastic brand that we have long admired. As established entrepreneurs in the foodservice 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,” said Mohsin and Zuber Issa, co-founders and co-CEOs of the EG Group.
With an extensive network of over 70 restaurants, Leon has 42 company-owned restaurants operated on leasehold locations, with a strong presence in London as well as other large cities across the UK.
In addition, it has 29 franchised sites at key strategic transport hubs (mainly airports and train stations) across Britain and five other European markets, principally the Netherlands. Leon has also made itself accessible to consumers at home and generates significant revenue from its branded cookbooks, own brand groceries and provision of home delivery ready meals.
Former Leon owner John Vincent praised Issa brothers for their commitment and dedication. “Mohsin and Zuber will not just be superb custodians of the Leon brand, through EG Group they have the vision, investment appetite, foodservice expertise and network scale to take Leon to many more people and places,” he said, adding that he is confident the brand will “flourish” and expand its appeal outside of London under the new ownership.
Prior to the addition of the Leon store network, EG Group said it already operates over 700 foodservice outlets in the UK and Ireland of which 310 operate from standalone premises. With PTI inputs.