The hospitality and leisure industry spans numerous sub-sectors including hotels, pubs and restaurants, travel, health and fitness, all of which are sensitive to the regulatory landscape, technical innovation and consumer confidence.

With mounting pressure to evolve innovatively and deliver quality and value in a highly competitive sector, the industry is increasingly engaging more with its consumers on a multichannel basis through social media and mobile technologies.

Our Hospitality & Leisure Group understand the challenges facing all participants in this sector. We regularly advise developers, operators, owners, landlords and investors – from start-ups to prestigious hotel groups and Michelin starred restaurants – on a range of legal services including Corporate, Real Estate, Commercial and Intellectual Property.

We are passionate about helping our clients to grow their businesses, and have expertise across a wide range of areas from brand development and acquiring or leasing property to employing staff, and negotiating with suppliers, clients or customers.

Services

Brand protection and exploitation
Franchising and management agreements
Commercial contracts
Raising finance
Acquisitions and disposals
Company structuring
Regulatory advice
Reputation protection
Real estate
Employment
Tax

Experience

Hotels

Currently advising more than 300 hotels across Europe on claims against Visa and MasterCard for the recovery of overpaid multilateral interchange fees.
Advised International Hospitality Service AG, the owners of the Spenglers hotel in Davos, on its transformation into a Hard Rock Hotel. This involved working closely with the client throughout lengthy negotiations of the franchise and related agreements.
Representing a hotel owner on the negotiations with Mandarin Oriental of the LOI, management, technical services and licensing arrangements for a new luxury hotel and residences.
Acting for a hotel group on the negotiations and agreements for a MARCO PIERRE WHITE franchised restaurant within the hotel.
Acting for Canouan Resorts Development in relation to the buyout of a joint venture partner and new joint venture arrangements relating to the ownership and development of the Island of Canouan in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Advising Chelsfield Partners on the sale of two central London hotels managed by Club Quarters for £180 million. The freehold assets in St Paul’s and Gracechurch Street cover 204,000 sq ft and comprise 468 luxury bedrooms and seven retail/restaurant units.
Advising Manhattan Loft Corporation on the Chiltern Firehouse restaurant and hotel in Marylebone, which was redeveloped in a joint venture with New York hotelier Andre Balazs.

Restaurants and Bars

Health & Fitness

Acting for the owners of the Soho Gyms Group on the sale to PureGym, which plans to convert the Soho Gyms sites into the PureGym format through a rolling refurbishment programme.
Acting for Piper PE in respect of its investment in fashionable fitness studio, Frame.
Advising Triyoga, a multi-site chain of studios for yoga and pilates classes, on a growth capital investment led by Argyll Partners.
Acting for Encore Capital with respect their investment in Third Space Gyms.
Acting for Third Space Gyms on corporate and IP matters.
Advising Boom Cycle on its fundraisings and on the acquisition of boutique spin studio CycleBeat.
Representing Gymbox on its programme of new gym openings.
Advising luxury sportswear brand Lucas Hugh on a $2.5 million incoming investment by Hold it all Inc.

Travel & Leisure

Advising on the MBO of Hillgate Travel being acquired by Inflexion backed Reed and Mackay.
Advising the management of Direct Ferries, the world's largest online ferry ticket aggregator, on the buyout backed by LivingBridge.
Advising on the MBO of On the Go Tours, backed by Alcuin Capital.
Advising Cineworld on its acquisition of five cinemas from Empire and the sale to Empire of the Cineworld Haymarket cinema.
Acting for Golfbreaks on the purchase of Xclusive golf, a company owned by Sarah Stirk of Sky Sports fame. Xclusive golf supplies personalised and high end golf trips.
Acting for Delancy on the sale of 185 Park Street to J&T Real Estate. The site, adjacent to the Tate Modern, has planning consent for three buildings for exhibition and educational space for the Globe Theatre, along with retail, residential and offices.