Helping to secure major harbourside venue for Loungers

In early 2024, Loungers had the opportunity to acquire two new locations off-market – one for a major harbourside venue in Bristol and another for a city centre venue in Sheffield. The team moved quickly to secure the deal, facing some unusual and additional complexities that needed resolving quickly to get the sites up and running for the summer.

The Ashfords team has supported Loungers with securing a large proportion of their 228 locations as they continue their ambitious expansion plans - but this one was different. It required:

• Negotiating and securing two sites simultaneously – one in Bristol’s harbourside and one in Sheffield, with complicated title structures for both locations involving various head leases and a council-owned freehold. 
• Managing an asset purchase that included the Pitcher & Piano equipment, fixtures and fittings. 
• The transfer of the experienced 50-strong Pitcher & Piano team from Marstons to Loungers, with the TUPE process completing by the end of April 2024.
• A tight commercial schedule to secure the deal on the best terms against a high volume of information that had to be reviewed and reported on for both locations.

The deal was agreed to secure the lease, transfer the assets and to TUPE the team across to Loungers, drawing on Ashfords real estate, corporate, tax and employment legal expertise working alongside the Loungers team.

Importantly, a successful deal was achieved within two weeks of the majority of the legal documents being disclosed – a record turnaround time - allowing for the next stage of developing the sites for launch to start. This stage created and secured job opportunities and brought investment to Bristol’s harbourside and Sheffield’s city centre.

Ritorno Lounge opened on Bristol’s harbourside on 17 July 2024 in time for the busy summer season including the city’s harbour festival. 

For more information, please contact our real estate team.