Case Study: Steering a Complex Multi-Site, multi-party, Hospitality Acquisition to Success

mlplaw recently completed work on a Project being a landmark acquisition involving 21 hospitality and retail sites, and 14 separate parties (buyer, seller, banks, landlords, commercial 3d parties, insurers) – and each with separate legal advisors, completed under a strict and immovable deadline of 17 July. The transaction ran for around 9 months, from initial discussions in late summer 2024, agreed heads in late December and through to completion in July 2025, and marked a significant step in our client’s strategic growth journey.

As the lead legal advisors, our team played a central role in managing the legal, logistical and commercial intricacies of the deal. The acquisition resulted in a 20–25% increase in the size of the client’s business – an outcome that was both commercially significant and personally rewarding.

Deadline Pressures & Strategic Timing

The Target Date was non-negotiable, driven by a unique combination of factors:

• Religious considerations required completion on an auspicious date.
• One party operated on weekly financial periods, only transactions to complete on Thursdays.
• Missing the July window would have pushed completion to at least October if not into Spring 2026 due to scheduling constraints across all stakeholders.

This created a narrow and high-pressure window for execution, which helped focus minds – but also demanded precision and agility from all involved.

Our Role & Multi-Disciplinary Collaboration

We acted as lead legal advisors to the buyer, coordinating across multiple departments:

• Corporate Commercial: Led the transaction and negotiated new agreements with third parties.
• Employment: Managed due diligence and TUPE transfers for employees across all sites.
• Property: Oversaw property transfers, landlord consents to assignment and associated due diligence.
• Litigation: Supported with complex due diligence queries.
• Financial: managed the completion of the financing and drawdown of funds from the lender (as part of an 8 figure facility arrangement with the bank) to enable the acquisition to proceed.

This multi-disciplinary approach ensured that every legal angle was covered, while maintaining a clear and commercially focused strategy throughout.

Managing Complexity: 14 Parties, One Finish Line

One of the most challenging aspects of the transaction was coordinating 14 different parties – each with their own legal representation. It wasn’t just about managing documents and deadlines; it was about synchronising people, priorities and processes.

As Stephen Attree, our Managing Director and lead lawyer on the deal, put it:

“It’s not even a baton race – it’s having 14 runners in a race and trying to get them all to the finish line at the same time.”

That analogy couldn’t be more accurate. The sheer volume of information and the pace of decision-making meant we had to be incredibly precise in how we communicated. Some reports were lengthy enough to take forever to read, so we focused on delivering only what was absolutely necessary, nothing more, nothing less, while still fulfilling our governance and legal responsibilities. It was about doing a thorough job, but in the most commercial and concise way possible.

Significance & Impact

While not unique in terms of corporate transactions, the complexity and sheer number of parties involved made this deal particularly significant. It was challenging, interesting, and required a high level of coordination and legal expertise.

Reflecting on the impact of the transaction, Stephen Attree shared:

“The satisfaction I get from helping clients grow successfully adds real significance. This transaction grew the business by around 20–25% in terms of scale, helping our client achieve their growth goals and aspirations. I find that immensely rewarding and satisfying, perhaps even more so personally than professionally.”

The outcome was a substantial expansion of the client’s business, and for us, the true value lay in being part of that journey.

Post-Completion & Looking Ahead

Now, three months after completion, we continue to support the client with post-completion matters and final adjustments. This transaction has taught us a great deal – not only about managing complexity across multiple parties, but also about how to deliver clear, commercially focused advice under pressure. It has boosted our confidence in approaching similar, and even more complex, deals in the future. The experience has strengthened our ability to lead high-stakes transactions with precision, agility, and a deep understanding of what matters most to our clients.