Fast-Food Chain Leon Blames UK Taxes for Job Cuts and Closures

Leon plans to cut staff and close some of its restaurants, as the British fast-food chain criticized the “unsustainable tax burden on the sector.”

The move to enter administration, a form of UK insolvency, comes weeks after co-founder John Vincent bought the company back from supermarket chain Asda. Vincent called out higher taxes facing the industry, as well as shifting working patterns since the pandemic.

It adds to a wider picture of retailers under strain in the UK, which were hit again with higher taxes in the government’s latest budget. Food chains were already complaining about the impact of higher ...