Hospitality & Leisure

Our clients in this area include high-profile restaurant groups, retail chains, nightclubs, bingo halls, rugby and football clubs, racecourses, hotel groups and pub chains. They range from small family businesses and franchisees to large national and international chains. For all of them, we underpin our knowledge of their legal requirements with an understanding of the trade, so our advice is not based solely on legal issues but also on how they impact on your business. We want to be part of your team and work with you and your other advisors to provide streamlined and high quality expert advice.

In particular, we help businesses of all sizes with their licensing requirements, and are one of Scotland’s leading firms in this area. We have helped hundreds of clients comply with the new Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, and they vouch for our expert practical advice and value for money.

We can also advise you on all the other areas that relate to hospitality and leisure businesses. These include:

• helping you comply with employment law
• advising on incorporation and forming partnerships
• guiding you through construction law issues if there is or has been refurbishment or new development
• advising on technology/IT and data protection
• buying or leasing a property
• guidance on compliance with planning law and other legal requirements for your business
• help with resolving disputes.

In our experience, many businesses in the hospitality and leisure sector are family-owned businesses or franchises. We have good experience of advising on the specific issues affecting both those types of business. For example, in the Franchising sector we are one of the few law firms in Scotland to be affiliated to the British Franchise Association. With family businesses, as well as giving you practical guidance on areas like succession and tax planning, we are sensitive to the way that family dynamics and relationships can shape your business’s legal requirements.

Latest sector news & features

Lindsays shortlisted in the Scottish Legal Awards 2012

16 January 2012

Lindsays is delighted to announced that it has been shortlisted in five of this year’s Scottish Legal Awards categories.

Should we make it the minimum?

30 November 2011

Stephen McGowan, Director in the Licensing and Gambling team discusses the minimum pricing debate.

LIDL lose Glasgow test purchasing appeal

8 November 2011

Stephen McGowan, Director in the Licensing & Gambling team reports a decision by Glasgow Licensing Board to suspend the premises licence for LIDL at Victoria Road following a failed “test purchase”.

Bulletin - Licensing - September 2011

27 September 2011

The latest issue of our Licensing Bulletin covers several important legislative changes which come into force on 1 October 2011 including, new changes following the new Alcohol Act 2010, the new register for tobacco retailers and tax for supermarkets.