Restaurants & Cafes

The restaurants & cafes sector in the UK is fast-moving, competitive and highly regulated. With an in-depth expertise and knowledge across all areas of this diverse sector, Teacher Stern helps its clients achieve their commercial objectives in this challenging business environment.

We offer a full range of legal services operating within the small to mid-market hospitality industry. Our team has a particular specialisation in the restaurants, pubs and cafes sector and have been advising clients within this sector for many years.

Our dedicated team draws on the expertise of various practice areas including Corporate, Real Estate, Intellectual Property, Tax, Banking & Finance, Employment, Immigration, Dispute Resolution and Insolvency to provide a prompt, cost-effective service.

We know how important it is for clients in the hospitality and leisure sector to have lawyers who understand their business and the issues facing them. We have the experience, expertise, skill and resources to provide a one-stop shop for owners, operators, investors and developers, providing advice in all areas that the restaurant and hospitality sectors require.

Our clients range from individuals and start-up companies to large established international restaurant and coffee chains. We act for owners, operators, franchisees and investors alike. We regularly advise clients on matters relating to:

development, construction and letting of sites;
negotiation of leases
attaining local authority licences;
securing finance and investment for individuals and companies in the sector;
the financing, buying and selling of restaurants, cafes and pubs;
franchising arrangements;
negotiation of commercial contracts with suppliers and other service providers;
employment and Immigration;
intellectual property, trademarks, defamation and brand management;
joint ventures, shareholder agreements & partnerships; and
litigation including health & safety, licencing, property and employment issues.

Whether you wish to start a restaurant, lease a property, structure a franchise or expansion programme, secure finance, or deal with a commercial dispute with a supplier, we can provide an innovative and cost effective legal solution for you.

We have an impressive array of restaurateur clients including restaurant chains, sandwich bars and well known bars and cafes such as Boost Juice Bars, Burger & Lobster, Goodmans, Beast, Abokado, Babbo, Ed’s Easy Diner, Fish Works, Galvins, Tortilla, Tapas Revolution, Artisserie, Lola’s Cupcakes, Fleet St Pantry, Dolcezza and many more.

Representative work

Examples of our restaurants & cafes work include:

Advised the shareholders of a substantial restaurant chain in connection with the disposal of a 33% interest in their business to a private equity investment fund (business value in excess of £90m).
Advised the founders and owners of Bread Holdings Limited (a high end chain of London coffee shops t/a Gail’s Artisan Bakery) on the sale, earn-out and rollover of the owners’ differing interests in the business to Risk Capital Partners (Enterprise value, £23.4m).
Advised Abokado in connection with a significant equity investment by private equity firm Kings Park Capital.
Advised the Italian Restaurant, Babo, in connection with a significant private equity investment.
Advised Poncho No 8 in connection with a large private equity investment by a well-known name in the hospitability sector.
Advised a private equity investor in connection with a significant investment in a new Korean restaurant established by a celebrity chef.
Advised a consortium of private investors in connection with the acquisition of a significant shareholding interest in Babaji Pide, a Turkish food restaurant established by renowned restaurateur Alan Yau.
Advised numerous restaurant chains, coffee houses and juice bars in relation to the letting of commercial properties in the UK.
Advised on the negotiating of a Master Licence Agreement/Franchise Elements for a well-known chain of restaurants.