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.
Key contacts:
Biography
Involved in all sectors of property development and investment, Oliver has broad experience in dealing with high-value investment purchases and sales, often by way
of complex tax and funding structures.
He has significant expertise in complex pre-letting transactions, site assembly (both commercial and residential) developments, and establishing limited partnerships
and unit trusts.
Oliver also advises major retailers on store acquisitions and disposal programmes
and administrators on the sale of property assets on insolvency.
Year qualified
Solicitor, 1999
Significant transactions include:
- Purchase of Victoria Place Shopping Centre in London for £92.5 million which included a £257 million portfolio refinance
- £145 million acquisition of a landmark London office building, by way of a Shariah-compliant corporate and funding structure
- Acquired a London shopping centre for £119 million, by way of a sub-sale into a Jersey Unit Trust
- Advised developer in relation to construction of a shopping centre above a London Underground station, dealing with substantial pre-lets and disposal for c.£100 million by way of partnership interest disposal
- Purchase of a London landmark listed building for a residential developer to convert to 100 luxury flats
- Engineered the smooth entry into the UK of a major French retailer
- Advised a major developer on a mixed-use retail and residential scheme in Cardiff
- Advised healthcare company in taking a substantial lease of a hospital
