Buckworths advises start-ups and growing businesses in the hospitality, restaurant, and leisure sectors, including independent restaurants and bars, hotel operators, event companies, and leisure businesses.
Commercial property is central to most hospitality businesses. We advise on commercial leases, subleases, licences for alterations, surrenders, and property disputes for restaurant, bar, hotel, and leisure premises. We offer fixed fees for lease reviews and related property work.
We advise on franchise arrangements for hospitality businesses, both for franchisors and franchisees, and on the full range of commercial agreements including supplier contracts, consumer terms, and management and services agreements. We advise on licensing and regulatory compliance relevant to the sector.
On employment, we advise on contracts for hospitality staff and management, HR policies, redundancies, and TUPE on business transfers. For businesses raising capital, we advise on SEIS and EIS, shareholder agreements, and investment rounds. For those preparing for sale or acquisition, our M&A team has significant sector experience.
Book a free consultation to discuss your hospitality business.
Our Services
- Commercial
- Commercial Property
- Corporate
- Data Protection
- Dispute Resolution
- Employee Incentivisation
- Employment
- Franchising
- Funding
- General Counsel
- Intellectual Property
- Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)
- Regulatory Services
- Secretarial Services
- Strategy and Business Support
FAQs
The main legal issues are the commercial lease, the premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003, employment contracts for staff, supplier agreements, and data protection including CCTV policies. The commercial lease is often the most significant commitment and we review leases for hospitality businesses at a fixed fee and make sure you understand your obligations before you sign.
Common employment law issues in hospitality include compliance with national minimum wage requirements including tronc arrangements, zero-hours contracts and working time obligations, TUPE when a business changes hands, and settlement agreements when employment ends. We advise hospitality businesses on all employment matters.
A hospitality business needs terms and conditions for guests, employment contracts, supplier agreements, a data protection policy, and a privacy policy. If you take bookings online, your website terms must comply with consumer contracts regulations. We advise hospitality businesses on all of their commercial and regulatory documentation.