The team inspires us with confidence and encourages us to grow and think differently, providing beyond legal support and exceptional levels of service
With an ever-changing landscape, it’s never been more important to seek clear, professional advice; a legal partner with the expertise to get it right first time, giving you the confidence to move forwards with your business.
Our knowledgeable, multi-disciplinary team delivers everything you expect from a Top 100 law firm and our practical, commercially-focussed advice is designed to ease the running of your operations.
From property leases to securing licences, employment issues to contracts, if you’re reorganising or expanding, our expert team has considerable experience in the acquisition of stores, hotels, pubs and other businesses in the sector. And if you need external funding, our experienced finance team can advise on development and acquisition finance.
With leisure operators increasingly under the spotlight from licensing and regulatory authorities, you will have the reassurance of a national leader, providing pragmatic, commercial guidance, supporting you every step of the way and fighting your corner if things get tough.
If you operate in the leisure sector and looking for legal support, contact us today to learn more about how we can help.
Work we have done
Corporate
- Acting for a national operator of health clubs, spas and hotels for approximately 15 years. During this time, we supported the Group to develop both organically and through its portfolio acquisition of health clubs and hotels, as well as providing general legal advice across the vast spectrum of our services.
- Advising on the sale of a national museums catering division to the Government.
- Acting for the owner of a restaurant when acquiring their Newcastle site.
- Acting for shareholders on the sale of an aparthotel on Princes Street, Edinburgh.
- Acting for a pubs and hotel operator on a number of matters, including private equity funding and bank refinancing
Finance
- Acting for a major bank on the funding to various hotels in the UK.
- Acting for a major bank on its funding to a hotel group on a number of North East city centre acquisitions.
- Acting for a local authority on loans to two separate theatre companies for the redevelopment of buildings.
Commercial
- Unique experience of advising major leisure attractions, including many household names
- Drafting and negotiating agreements with companies, for the sponsorship of attractions, leisure venues and sports clubs.
- Acting for various venues in preparing and negotiating the full range of contracts for concerts, plays and public events (including the New Year’s Eve London fireworks display), and events with performers, sponsors, insurers and companies providing security, facilities, food and beverages, and media services.
- Preparing entertainment contracts, venue hire and location agreements with television and film companies.
- Advising on major collaborations between national museums, including exhibitions and the loans of priceless art and artefacts.
- Advising an award-winning major property developer and investment company in relation to trademarks.
- Preparing terms and conditions for consumer contracts, including hotel stays and package holidays, to ensure compliance with consumer law and regulatory requirements.
- Providing promotion advice (including in relation to prize draws, competitions and two for one offers) to ensure compliance with ASA regulations and the CAP Code.
- Dealing with celebrity and brand ambassador endorsements relating to products, events and appearances, including acting for a major international skin care company encompassing many household named brands.
- Negotiating major agreements for the acquisition of new leisure attractions and retail premises both in the UK and overseas (including the Middle East).
- Assisting a prestigious regional arts centre in respect of a multi-million pound redevelopment and refurbishment to create a state-of-the-art facility.
- Acting and supporting several Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisations in respect of all their commercial contracts.
Employment
- Providing a pubs and hotel operator with general employment support. This includes advice on furlough, implementing changes to all employee contracts, advising on accommodation provision to staff, ET claims, advising on temporary closure of sites for refurbishment and moving staff; and supporting on immigration issues.
- Acting for a national operator of health clubs, spas and hotels in regards to all employment support, including discrimination issues in the provision of their service to customers.
- Advising a development and investment company on their visitor attractions and all employment issues, including staff with zero hours, volunteers, redundancies, reorganisations, furlough, discrimination issues and tribunal claims.
- Acting for a charitable visitor attraction, providing general employment support and TUPE advice.
Licensing
- Advising and representing a national hotel operator across 2 hotel brands in all aspects of their licensing applications, including those for new premises across the UK.
- Advising and representing numerous other hotel operators.
- Advising and representing a restaurant operator across two brands in all aspects of their licensing applications across the UK.
- Advising and representing a bowling alley operator across the UK.
- Representing a national charity which includes historic monuments, buildings and places on over 300 licensing applications nationally.
- Representing a national restaurant in all aspects of their licensing applications nationally.
- Representing a rugby club in several areas.
Real Estate
- Advising a national operator of health clubs, spas and hotels on the lease of a health club in Broadstairs, regears of leases of two existing health clubs in Manchester and Birmingham, an electric vehicle charging point lease in Darlington and various other queries.
- Advising on the legal matters during the entire development process of the Beacon of Light facility.
- Acting on all management and growth aspects of a North West pubs and hotel operator’s estate, which includes approximately 150 pubs, inns and hotels.
- Acting for a visitor attraction in respect of leases across Northumberland.
Property Litigation
- Acting for a holiday company on a break notice and providing dilapidation advice.
- Advising a landowner on the termination of a holiday park lease.
- Acting for a national operator of health clubs, spas and hotels on service charges, dilapidations, forfeiture claims and providing general property litigation advice.
- Acting for a brewery on possession claims .
- Acting for a heritage venue and visitor attraction, during its dispute in connection with the redevelopment of the Newcastle Mining Institute building.
- Acting for an airport on a freehold covenant enforcement dispute.
- Acting for an airport on various renewals and providing general property litigation advice.
- Acting for a North West pubs and hotel operator, during a dispute regarding access issues.
- Acting for a Yorkshire brewery on possession claims and providing general property litigation advice.
Data Protection, IP and IT
- Providing a national operator of health clubs, spas and hotels with ad-hoc data protection and e-privacy advice, and drafting complex IT contracts.
- Providing a holiday company with advice on the full range of commercial legal services, including intellectual property, supplier contracts, information technology and data protection.
- Assisting a health and fitness company to protect their fitness studio brand in numerous countries and advise the company on its franchising arrangements and regional development agreements.
Health, safety and regulatory
- Representing a nightclub owner in York who was prosecuted for overcrowding.
- Representing a nightclub owner in Manchester for breach of fire regulations.
- Representing a national gym operator in a civil matter brought by a member with cerebral palsy under DDA.
- Representing a County Council following the death of a school boy at one of their activity centres.