A note about the Leon Bond

This note describes the proposed Leon Bond at a high level and tells you what you will need to do if you want to invest. The Leon Bond will be available only to Leon Club Members. You can join the club here http://www.leonrestaurants.co.uk/join/.

"This is a brilliant idea! It sums up what I love about Leon :)" - Leon Club Member

What is the Leon Bond?
We are often sent messages asking us to open new restaurants - so often that we wondered whether the people who eat with us would like to get involved in helping us grow. This kind of collaboration between customers and businesses is increasingly common - King of Shaves have issued a bond, as did our friends at Hotel Chocolat. It is very simple. Club Members who want to get involved lend Leon the money, and in return we give them interest along with some other edible and non-edible perks. We'd rather pay interest to our Club Members than to the banks.

What would we use the money for?
Expanding the Leon chain by opening new restaurants in carefully selected locations, creating jobs, and making good food available to more people. We are also planning to set up a not-for-profit Leon Foundation. In future we may use the money to set up Leon outside the UK. A proportion of the money may be used to replace debt we currently hold.

The Leon Foundation
Our vision is to make it easy for everyone to eat good food. We are currently doing this in our fast food restaurants, but we believe that our expertise and contacts can be of use more broadly. So we are setting up the Leon Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation with the same vision. The first step of the Leon Foundation is to establish an annual summer cookery school with chef Mitch Tonks on the river Dart in Devon for children with renal illnesses, who require a very specific diet. The children we will be taking come from homes where very little or no primary cooking is done.

How does the bond work?
We are launching the £eon Pound: an alternative currency that will be available in Leon restaurants. You can use it to buy food, drink, cookbooks or anything else in any Leon. We are also talking to like-minded business who would accept them too.

- You buy a three year bond, after which time you can ask for your cash back or you can ask to extend

- You will be paid interest in £eon Pounds

- There will be three bond options. You can invest in any combination up to £10,000 in total:

1. Invest £1,500 for three years and receive 120 £eon Pounds each year
- equivalent to a 8% net return or 10% gross return for the basic rate taxpayer

2. Invest £3,000 for three years and receive 300 £eon Pounds each year
- equivalent to a 10% net return or 12.5% gross return for the basic rate taxpayer

3. Invest £5,000 for three years and receive 600 £eon Pounds each year
- equivalent to a 12% net return or 15% gross return for the basic rate taxpayer
- In addition to the interest, every bond will be entered into a seasonal prize draw only for Leon Bond holders. This will be drawn four times a year on the autumnal equinox, the winter solstice, the vernal equinox and the summer solstice. Prizes will include places at our cookery school on the Dart in Devon, residential cooking holidays, hampers of food from our suppliers and other goodies.

"Great idea - power to the people, not the banks!" - Leon Club Member

What happens next
We will be sending out a full invitation document to all Club Members in early June.

If you are not a member of the Leon Club, you will have to join to receive the document. You can join here http://www.leonrestaurants.co.uk/join/. It is simple to do and there is no fee.

There will be a simple online process where you can apply for the bond and make an electronic payment. The closing date will be in early July, so if you want to invest you will need to have the money available by then. If the bond is oversubscribed we will allocate it on a first come first served basis.

If you have any questions, please see our Q&A page, or you can send them to TheLeonBond@leonrestaurants.co.uk. If you do this, please leave a phone number.

Best wishes,

Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent
Leon Co-founders


This note, which is a financial promotion for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ("FSMA"), is issued by Leon Restaurants Limited (the "Company") which accepts responsibility for the information contained herein. This note has been approved as a financial promotion for UK publication by Reeves Financial Planning Limited, which is authorised by the Financial Services Authority to conduct investment business. Reeves Financial Planning Limited is registered on the Financial Services Authority's register with registered number 135202. Reeves Financial Planning Limited is acting as sole financial adviser to the Company, and no one else, in connection with the issue of the Leon Bonds and will not regard any other person as its customer or be responsible to any other person for providing the protections afforded to customers of Reeves Financial Planning Limited or for advising any such person in relation to the issue of the Leon Bonds. If you are in any doubt about the contents of this note or the action you should take, you are strongly recommended to consult a professional adviser authorised under FSMA who specialises in advising on investments in bonds, shares and other securities.

An investment in Leon Bonds will be speculative and will involve a degree of risk. You should consider the following specific factors carefully when you decide, in due course, whether or not to invest in Leon Bonds. These risks do not necessarily comprise all those associated with an investment in Leon Bonds and are not intended to be presented in any assumed order of priority. In particular, the performance of the Company and its subsidiaries (together the "Leon Group") may be affected by changes in legal, regulatory and tax requirements in the UK as well as overall global financial conditions.

Non-transferable (save on death): Leon Bonds will not be transferable (save on death) and no application will be made for the Leon Bonds to be admitted to listing or trading on any capital market. It may not be possible for a bondholder to obtain reliable information about the risks to which Leon Bonds will be exposed.

Use of proceeds by other companies: the proceeds from the Leon Bonds may be invested or loaned to other companies under the control of Leon shareholders. For example, a sister company may be established to launch Leon in America or expand the Leon franchising wing.

No certainty of repayment: the Leon Bonds will be an unsecured debt of the Leon Group. There is no certainty or guarantee that the Leon Group will be able to repay them. If any member of the Leon Group were to become insolvent, there is a risk that some or all of the Leon Bonds will not be repaid and also a risk that some or all of the return due on the Leon Bonds will not be paid.

Suitability: Leon Bonds may not be a suitable investment for everyone.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme: Leon Bonds will not be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Bondholders should seek their own tax advice: bondholders should seek their own tax advice as to the consequences of owning Leon Bonds as well as receiving returns from them. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be given to bondholders as to the tax consequences of their acquiring, owning or disposing of Leon Bonds and no member of the Leon Group shall be responsible for any such tax consequences.

Interest rate and inflationary risk: Leon Bonds will be three year unsecured fixed rate obligations and will involve the risk that holders will not benefit from any subsequent increases in market interest rates. Similarly, if retail selling prices increase the purchasing power of £eon Pounds may be reduced.

Death of a bondholder: in the case of death of a bondholder or of any other event giving rise to the transmission of Leon Bonds by operation of law, the only persons the Leon Group will recognise as having any title to such Leon Bonds of such registered holder are the executors or administrators of that deceased bondholder or such other person or persons as the Leon Group may reasonably determine. Any person becoming entitled to Leon Bonds as a result of such transmission may, upon producing such evidence as reasonably required by the Leon Group, be registered as the holder of such Leon Bonds and such person will also be entitled to require the early redemption of the Leon Bonds.

£eon Pounds: the return due on the Leon Bonds will be paid in £eon Pounds. £eon Pounds will be held by bondholders in accordance with the terms and conditions of the £eon Pounds (which will be available from the Company's website in due course) and may be applied against the total cost of any purchase at Leon Restaurants. The £eon Pounds will be credited and sent to bondholders by uninsured first class mail on the due date for payment. There can be no guarantee that bondholders will be able to spend £eon Pounds with other retailers.

Prize draws: bondholders will automatically be entered into seasonal prize draws. The prize draws will be held in accordance with the prize draw terms and conditions (which will also be available from the Company's website in due course). The Leon Group reserves the right to amend or vary the prize draw terms and conditions.

The market: The Leon Group face competition from other entities operating in its business sector and, as a result, the Leon Group could be affected by the competitive pressures that result. It is possible that recessionary pressures and other economic factors (such as rising interest rates, tax increases and falling house prices) may decrease the disposable income that customers have available to spend on eating out and/or adversely affect customers' confidence and willingness to spend. This could lead to a reduction in the revenues of the Leon Group.

The foregoing factors are not exhaustive, and do not purport to be a complete explanation of all the risks and significant considerations involved in investing in Leon Bonds. Accordingly, as noted above, additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Leon Group or currently deemed immaterial, may also have an adverse effect on the Leon Group's prospects.