Leisure spending accounts for a significant proportion of a
typical UK household's income. In the last few years, eating and
drinking away from the home, in pubs, bars restaurants, catering
venues and takeaways has consumed the majority of this spend and
has enabled many operators to report good increases in like for
like sales, year on year.
With significant investment in recent times from private equity
groups, the bigger pub companies have seen the greatest return on
investment come from their food offer. The smoke free legislation
has only accelerated the move away from the more traditional 'wet
led' operation.
Getting the right quality, diversity, and pricing of the food
offer continues to dominate the success stories reported across the
trade press.
The move of licensing control from courts to local authorities
has, as we at Blake Lapthorn anticipated, resulted in a sharp rise
in the proactive enforcement of regulation concerning food, health
and safety, under age drinking, smoking, noise and planning and
licensing conditions, as local authorities become ever more willing
to make full use of their powers to extinguish the flexible and
'light touch' approach voiced by the Government when introducing
the move.
So businesses which offer food, alcohol or entertainment need to
be innovative, adaptable and fast in the implementation of their
new ideas to succeed, but also one step ahead of the power-wielding
regulators.
Our team of lawyers has the diverse legal and commercial
expertise to see the bigger picture. Crucially, our mainstream work
such as real estate, employment and commercial is undertaken by
lawyers who are familiar with working with leisure operators. Their
work and the success of our clients' operations is supported by
lawyers practising in essential niche areas of law such as alcohol
licensing, health and safety, food, consumer protection and
intellectual property.
We are able to advise operators on the services in the left hand
menu.
