Leisure & hospitality lawyers ahead of the curve

LEISURE & HOSPITALITY lawyers ahead of the curve

WHY ROYDS WITHY KING

In today’s leisure and hospitality industry, success depends on your ability to read the market and predict what’s around the corner. It takes an astute operator to respond to the pressures created by shifting consumer tastes, fluctuating consumer confidence, disruptive technology and political uncertainty.

At Royds Withy King, we pride ourselves on being a genuinely commercial and pragmatic practice with a passion for the industry and a desire for it to prosper in challenging times. Our offering extends beyond merely delivering legal services; providing thought leadership, educative training and sector-specific events.

Our multi-disciplinary team offer a strength in expertise across the hotel, restaurant and licenced premises subsectors representing some of the industry’s biggest and best known operators.

OUR CLIENTS

EXPERTISE IN YOUR SECTOR With extensive experience in all subsectors of the leisure and hospitality industry, we can support you with whatever legal challenges your business may be facing. We act for a broad spectrum of clients that include hoteliers, restaurateurs and various leisure operators, providing legal help across three key areas – transactions, operations and crisis management.

REAL ESTATE The importance of having a flexible portfolio that works for you has never been as pertinent as it is in the current political and economic climate. Our Leisure & Hospitality sector is deeply rooted in our large Real Estate practice; advising clients on acquisitions, disposals, and broader landlord and tenant issues, as well as re-structuring, re-financing and any other property related advice.

COMMERCIAL LITIGATION Even in a best managed business, things can go wrong.

Whatever the nature of a dispute you’re facing – be it issues over data, your brand or director disagreements – our team is well equipped to find pragmatic, cost-effective solutions to minimise the effect on your hotel or restaurant business.

It doesn’t have to involve complex court proceedings; we are well versed in negotiation and mediation, often the best ways to settle disputes.

CORPORATE & COMMERCIAL Considering a brand alliance? Changing suppliers? Refinancing? Sound commercial advice is key in making the right decisions about your business and its growth. Our Commercial team have both domestic and international experience in advising on company structures, contracts and business finance to mention a few specialisms. Whether it’s mergers and acquisitions, asset acquisitions and disposals, joint ventures, investments or franchise agreements, our corporate lawyers are skilled at getting you the best deal.

CONSTRUCTION PROPERTY DISPUTES As a leisure and hospitality operator, we recognise that your property is often integral to the success of your business, with disputes providing an unhelpful distraction to your trade. As a key part of our holistic real estate offering, our specialist Property Disputes team can help with your commercial lease needs including all manner of occupational issues as well break notices and ‘inside the Act’ notices and renewals.

EMPLOYMENT The industry relies heavily on its people, so you need to make sure you get your employment law, management and compliance right. Our experienced Employment & HR team provide ongoing support and assistance to our clients throughout the lifecycle of their business. HELP, our retainer offering for the sector, is designed to help you navigate tricky legal issues, free up your management time, and minimise the risk of Employment Tribunal claims.

Building, maintaining and developing busy hotels and restaurants presents complex and diverse challenges.

Our specialist construction team has genuine industry expertise and are very familiar with these challenges. We understand the importance of aligning our approach with your strategy, branding and the way you like to operate. We offer commercial and pragmatic solutions to support your construction, refurbishment and maintenance projects from the outset. If things do not go according to plan, we are here to make sure you get the result you need with strategic advice provided in the most cost efficient way possible.

OUR APPROACH AND TRACK RECORD We understand the importance of accessibility and the need to move quickly in a fast changing and challenging environment.

HYATT

MILLENNIUM & COPTHORNE HOTELS

Launched in 2007, the Andaz brand focuses on creating a unique ambience and a one-of-akind hotel experience for its guests. With circa 20 hotels in Europe, the United States, Asia and Latin America, Andaz hotels are the upscale, boutique niche in the Hyatt group.

We advise Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, a FTSE listed company, which operates over 120 hotels in Europe, Asia, Australasia, the Middle East and North America.

We provide assistance to the group on a wide range of employment issues, including employment contracts and other documentation governing the employment relationship, through to acting for the hotel on contentious matters.

Our employment law experts support the hotel management on all employment and HR issues, including employment contracts, policies to optimise recruitment and retention of staff as well as on contentious matters.

THE FAT DUCK GROUP One of our experts sits on the board of this celebrated group of restaurants and takes an active role in shaping the group’s development strategy and providing ongoing advice on a wide range of issues such as property management, commercial agreements, people management and securing finance to allow further growth.

With six Michelin stars between five restaurants, the group, headed by Heston Blumenthal OBE, is highly regarded by aficionados and industry professionals alike and praised for its innovative approach to food and exceptional customer experience.

BAGLIONI HOTELS & RESORTS KENSINGTON, LONDON We have acted on behalf of international luxury hoteliers, Baglioni Hotels & Resorts, to support their property management strategy.

With hotels in the Maldives, the South of France and throughout Italy, our team advised on the renewal of the 5 star Kensington hotel’s lease in addition to advice on licences for improvement and refurbishment works to the hotel over the coming years.

BALA BAYA

MADAME JOJO’S

Demonstrating the sector team’s breadth of experience, we are instructed on the growth of the dynamic Israeli restaurant operator.

As the cornerstone of the new Soho Estates development, we provided advice on the corporate structure, intellectual property and real estate aspects of the re-opening of the famous entertainment venue.

In addition to providing strategic advice on portfolio growth management, our team also helped secure a high profile addition to the restaurant group’s sustainable expansion.

Showcasing our hands-on approach to transactional management, our multidisciplinary team worked closely with the new operator to deliver the completion of a complex, multi-faceted deal.

The leisure and hospitality sector is all about customer experience, human interaction, and, fundamentally, your staff. At a time when customer service is in the spotlight, effective recruitment and management of staff will help ensure you have engaged and high performing people working for the benefit of your guests.

Our HELP service for leisure and hospitality operators is a specialist employment advice service to help ensure legal compliance and the robust protection of your business interests. Our practical, commercial advice will help you navigate tricky legal issues, free up your management time, and minimise the risk of Employment Tribunal claims.

HR

Employment

Legal

Protection

HR & EMPLOYMENT:

LEGAL:

PROTECTION:

Expert advice from lawyers who are experienced in navigating complex employment law issues.

Assistance with other legal issues, from data protection

Peace of mind knowing that if you are being sued you can get the legal help you need without having to worry about the cost.

compliance to business immigration advice. Tailored to your business.

YOUR SECTOR EXPERTS

DAVID ISRAEL Partner, 020 7842 1526 david.israel@roydswithyking.com David advises on all aspects of employment law, acting for a number of high profile international hotelier clients. He is also well versed in large scale re-organisations and the employment aspects of corporate acquisitions, disposals and transfers of undertakings.

RICHARD LAKE Associate, 020 7842 1481 richard.lake@roydswithyking.com Richard boasts extensive knowledge of the restaurant industry and has experience in a broad spectrum of real estate work with particular expertise in landlord and tenant transactions.

PETER MOODY

GARETH WILLIAMS

CATHERINE WELCH

Consultant, 0207 842 1406 peter.moody@roydswithyking.com

Partner, 020 7842 1431 gareth.williams@roydswithyking.com

Partner, 01225 489 771 catherine.welch@roydswithyking.com

Peter is an experienced commercial and dispute resolution lawyer specialising in leisure and hospitality. He has been an advisor to major industry associations and acts for various celebrity and noted chefs as well as restaurants, hotels and their suppliers.

Gareth is experienced in all aspects of commercial property and has particular expertise in options, conditional contracts, site acquisitions, refinancing and property aspects of mergers and acquisitions, having acted for various domestic and international hotel groups.

Catherine is a specialist construction and engineering lawyer. She has extensive experience advising different project stakeholders on procurement strategies for all types of commercial and renewable energy development projects, and in drafting and negotiating related agreements.

TONY ROBERTS

IAN MCEWAN

JASMINE MAHBOOBANI

Partner, 020 7842 1473 tony.roberts@roydswithyking.com

Senior Associate, 020 7842 1452 ian.mcewan@roydswithyking.com

Associate, 020 7842 1436 jasmine.mahboobani@roydswithyking.com

Tony is a partner in our Corporate team with broad experience in advising clients ranging from entrepreneurs to sub-listed companies.

He has developed expertise across a range of sectors, including food and beverage, hotel and experience-based leisure operators.

Ian is an experienced property disputes lawyer with a proven track record in commercial landlord and tenant disputes, especially those involving issues under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, dilapidations claims, forfeiture, alienation disputes, and issues concerning the service and validity of break notices.

Jasmine is a solicitor in our Dispute Resolution team. She acts for a number of operators on a wide variety of contentious matters, including contractual disputes, debt recovery, insolvency, breach of directors’ duties, defamation and unfair prejudice.

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Royds Withy King LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC361361. Royds Withy King LLP is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The term partner is used to refer to a member of the Royds Withy King LLP or an employee or consultant with equivalent standing and qualification. A list of members is available at the registered office 5-6 Northumberland Buildings, Queen Square, Bath BA1 2JE. Information contained in this communication does not constitute legal advice. All statements are applicable to the laws of England and Wales only.