Hotels, Leisure & Retail

We understand that the hotel, leisure and retail sectors are not simply about real estate – they are about investment, opportunity, customer experience, brand loyalty, marketing, growth and much more. This understanding, coupled with our experience of working with some of the most prominent names in the hotel, leisure and retail sectors, enables us to provide legal advice which takes account of the commercial concerns and interests of our clients.

The hotel, leisure and retail sectors are a key focus area of our business, a focus which has enabled us to develop an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the Corporate, Commercial and Real Estate issues affecting each of these sectors.

Hotels & Leisure

For clients operating within the hotel and leisure sectors, we have the experience, expertise, skill and resources necessary to provide advice in all areas that those sectors require. We regularly act for owners, operators, real estate funds, hotel chains, restaurants, pub groups, investors, financiers, tenants and developers.

We draw on our core Corporate, Real Estate, Banking & Finance and Tax expertise to advise clients on structuring, developing and financing new and existing sites; as well as on share and asset purchases/sales in the sector. We also advise on the sale and leaseback of hotels, joint venture structures, hotel management agreements, franchise arrangements and a variety of related service agreements.

Retail

Our retail practice group provides specialist legal advice throughout the lifecycle of consumer goods, from the design and creation stages through to manufacture and delivery of the products. We regularly act for manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of high street fashion to haute couture, chocolate to pasta, glossy magazines to computer systems, sugar to ice-cream and juices to beer.

Our Commercial team advises retail clients on all aspects of the manufacturing and supply chain. Our core strengths lie in advising on joint ventures, strategic partnerships, manufacturing agreements, distribution and agency agreements, logistics agreements, licence agreements, advertising, marketing and promotion agreements, terms and conditions, data protection issues, privacy policies, brand protection hardware development, software development, information technology, ecommerce and consumer protection.

Our retail clients also benefit from a full range of corporate finance services provided by our Corporate team including public and private mergers, acquisitions, disposals, debt/equity finance, domestic and cross-border transactions (via our network of independent law firms) and restructurings.

In addition, our Real Estate team has significant expertise in advising both landlords and tenants on store leases and advising on the development and management of shopping centres across the UK.

Representative Experience

Examples of our hotels, leisure & retail work include:

Advised a leisure chain on the sale of two health and sports clubs to one of the largest gym and healthcare operators in the UK.
Advised on the sale of a hotel in Kensington to Qatari buyers for £28.8m.
Advised several clients in connection with franchise disputes relating to one of the largest gym operators in the UK.
Advising various retailers on new high street and mall stores.