Leisure and Hospitality

We act for a range of clients across the leisure and hospitality sector, including holiday parks, residential mobile home parks, pubs, restaurants, gyms and hotels, some of which are national operators working to scale. We advise on how these businesses are owned and run day-to-day.

It’s a sector under real pressure, arguably more than most over the past decade. We give practical, commercial advice on the issues operators actually face, across commercial real estate, business sales and purchases, planning and environment, employment, regulation, franchising, data protection and intellectual property.

Where we can help

We advise across the business, and in particular on:

• commercial real estate services and strategy
• trade and commerce contracts
• regulatory and compliance issues
• intellectual property, including brand protection and strategy
• technology
• data protection
• restructuring
• finance
• employment
• structure and governance
• dispute resolution
• transfers of businesses as going concerns
• business sales and acquisitions

We also advise on the employment issues that arise under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE), which often come into play when a site or business changes hands.

Holiday parks

Holiday park businesses cover far more than just caravans. Holiday homes, touring vans, camping and glamping all sit under the same heading and there are now more businesses than ever. The UK holiday market keeps growing, and the sector with it. We provide regular support to holiday park owners, including:

• buying and selling holiday parks, caravan parks and campsites, including due diligence, title reviews and reports, contracts and business apportionments
• drafting and advising on pitch agreements and licence agreements
• disputes
• regulatory issues and concerns
• intellectual property advice
• consumer, data protection, employment and other laws that apply to holiday park businesses
• drafting and advising on park rules and general terms and conditions

How a holiday park differs from a residential mobile home park

The two are governed differently. A holiday park offers short-term leisure accommodation, and its licences are built around that. A residential mobile home park sits under separate regulatory and planning rules. The distinction comes down to what the land is legally authorised to be used for, and we can help set that up correctly from the start.

When a site changes hands, what the land is licensed to be used for can matter as much as the price.