Throughout the Middle East, the hotel, tourism, leisure and restaurant industries continue to develop. The last decade has witnessed exponential growth and these sectors continue to flourish with ever-increasing sophistication and quality, attracting more and more talent, innovation, brands and operators.

Our regional Hotels & Leisure team consists of more than 20 lawyers operating across our network of offices and legal practice areas, many of whom have invaluable first-hand experience of operating within the industry via previous in-house counsel positions. We have for many years, advised owners, developers, hotel & restaurant brands, operators, asset managers, businesses, investors and other stakeholders, and provide a turnkey service covering all aspects of the hotel, tourism, leisure and restaurant industries.

The expertise of our Hotels & Leisure lawyers covers specialist industry knowledge coupled with the specialism of each lawyer’s legal practice area, including Real Estate, Corporate, Commercial Advisory, Corporate Structuring and Licensing, Employment, Construction & Infrastructure, Intellectual Property, Technology Media & Telecoms, Insurance, Finance, Funds and REITs, and Dispute Resolution.

Our services include advising on acquisition and disposals, mergers and acquisitions, corporate structuring, leasing, licensing, business expansion and long-term strategy planning, joint venture & shareholder arrangements, franchise and branding arrangements, project finance, establishment of funds and REITs, hotel and resort development, build-to-suit, sale & leaseback arrangements, large-scale mixed-use developments, jointly owned real estate schemes, operator appointment and management, off-plan sales of real estate assets, rental pool management of serviced and branded residences, general commercial and operational matters, employment and HR, brand protection and enforcement, and dispute resolution (including litigation and arbitration).

We also have extremely good relationships with industry regulators, consultants and other professional advisers throughout the region, with whom we are able to collaborate or consult, to ensure that our clients are provided with specialist and commercially workable legal advice.