Leon restaurants founder John Vincent says he hopes Issa brothers will continue his ethical stance

John Vincent, the London entrepreneur behind the Leon chain of healthy fast food restaurants, today told of his “sadness” at having to sell the business following the Covid crisis but said he hoped its new owners would continue his ethical approach.

Leon was sold to the billionaire Issa brothers, who made their fortune in petrol forecourts and are currently in the process of buying Asda.

Yesterday it emerged that they were buying Leon for £100 million in a move that sparked concerns among some customers that the company’s vaunted ethical standards of good working conditions and a commitment to healthy fast foods would be compromised.

But Vincent, who will collect around £13 million of cash for his stake, today said: “I dealt with Mohsin Issa and I have to say he has been making so many of the right noises about wanting to support our sustainability values that I would be upset if he did not honour those commitments.”

He said he had known Issa for several years and had discussed joint ventures with him before.

He added: “Time will tell, but it’s not like this is Tesco we’re selling to. If I thought the brand would f**k up I promise you there is no way I would have let the business be sold... Besides, if they screw Leon up I will just start Leon again.”

He said his hand had been partly forced by his private equity backers, who owned the majority of Leon.

“I need a business I own 100% of that I can give to my kids when I pop my clogs, rather than they have 10% of a business owned by private equity.”

Industry experts have been astounded at the price tag for a chain that owns a largely-London based selection of restaurants and sells ready meals to Sainsbury.

The Evening Standard understands the price is made up of £87 million equity and £13 million of Leon’s debt.

That means the Issas have paid about 9 times 2019’s £9.5 million equity value. Pret A Manger was valued at 15 times when it was sold, but that was in 2017, long before the Covid pandemic crisis.