King & Wood Mallesons has advised the naturally fast-food chain LEON on its £19 million corporate financing, secured from challenger bank OakNorth Bank Limited (OakNorth). The transaction refinances a previous financing where KWM also acted for LEON.

Founded in 2004 by John Vincent, Henry Dimbleby and chef Allegra McEvedy with the aim to make it easy for everybody to eat and live well, LEON specialises in healthy and accessible fast-food. With 37 sites in the UK and one in Amsterdam, LEON has doubled its number of restaurants in the last two years and has seen some of its UK store sales increase by up to 50%.

OakNorth, created in 2015, is a specialist bank providing loans to entrepreneurs and fast-growth businesses secured against non-property assets. The bank was founded by entrepreneurs Rishi Khosla and Joel Perlman, who were inspired by the challenges they faced when securing finance from high street banks for their previous businesses.

The financing supports LEON’S growth strategy, which should see the restaurant group expand its UK and European presence with the opening of an additional 50 restaurant sites within the next four years, and the creation of up to 1,000 jobs.

Ian Borman, Head of Finance, said, “We are delighted to have supported our client on a further chapter in their development. As the company that created and leads the naturally fast food sector, the financing will provide LEON with the means to expand. It is also a further example of the expansion of new challenger banks in to SME lending.”

Antony Perring, LEON CFO said, "It's great to work again with Ian and his team. This financing paves the way for LEON to accelerate our quest to bring naturally fast food to as many people as possible."

The King & Wood Mallesons team was led by partner Ian Borman, with Finance managing associate Alex Szehidewicz.