Hotels and Leisure

The hotel and leisure sector in the Middle East and North Africa is buoyant, with many of the world’s biggest brands investing in the region.

Our 20-strong specialist hotel and leisure team is the largest in the region, advising on the biggest deals and most complex matters.

Commercially astute advice

Our detailed understanding of the sector means that we offer our hotel and leisure clients commercially astute advice to help them meet their business objectives.

We understand our clients’ businesses and take the time to understand their financial position and ambitions. This means that we can provide solutions and ideas to help them succeed – from advice about growing a business and preparing for franchising to helping find the right suppliers and putting together groups to develop new projects.

Expert advice for all legal issues

Our clients choose us because we have the expertise to help with all of their legal requirements across the MENA region. Our multi-lingual lawyers work on the ground in 10 jurisdictions and have excellent relationships with regulators. In fact, in many countries we helped to draft the laws.

Our hotel and leisure team draws on lawyers from across the Al Tamimi & Company network, including experts in corporate structuring, banking, employment and dispute resolution.

We work with hotel owners, developers, operators, funds, investors and other stakeholders operating in the hotel and leisure sector

Our hotel and leisure services

•   Operator appointment
•   Acquisitions and disposals, mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures
•   Corporate structuring and long-term strategy planning
•   Franchise agreements
•   Project and operation licensing
•   Finance, funds and REITs
•   Hotel and resort development
•   Title / Strata structuring for mixed-use developments
•   Rental pool arrangements, serviced and branded residences
•   Timeshare and holiday homes
•   Refurbishment / renovation
•   IP, media and telecoms
•   Day to day operations including third party licensing and leases
•   Employment & HR
•   Dispute resolution

Examples of our hotel and leisure work

• Advising Abu Dhabi National Hotels on the landmark acquisition of five luxury hotels located in prime locations in Dubai from Emaar PJSC and negotiation of hotel management agreements with Emaar for continued operation of the hotels under the Address, Vida and Manzil brands. Our advice included due diligence of target assets, business operations and owning vehicles, construction, employment, insurance and operational matters, negotiation of hotel management and all ancillary agreements, share sale and related agreements.
• Advising a Qatar based investor in respect of settling an appropriate corporate structure to undertake investment into a hotel and branded apartments development on Jumeirah Palm, Dubai through acquisition of shares and creation of a joint venture arrangement with the existing owner/developer. This project included advising on confidentiality agreements, MOU, shareholder agreements, incorporation of various owner corporate vehicles in Dubai and undertaking due diligence of development project, together with execution of share transfer and dealing with all necessary Government bodies throughout.
• We work with many of the biggest brands in the region on the full range of legal issues. Our clients include Amazonico, Arts Club, Ce La Vie, Cipriani, Coya, L’Atelier De Joel Robuchon, LPM, Nusret, Paris Society Group, SushiSamba Dubai and Zuma