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Category: News

Partnership with SXSW London as their Official Legal Services Supplier

Posted on by Anna Weeden

We have partnered with South by Southwest (SXSW) as the official legal services supplier for their debut London event, taking place from 2-7 June.

SXSW is a globally renowned annual industry event that began in Texas in 1987. Over the years, it has gained recognition for its dynamic conferences and festivals, which celebrate the convergence of technology, film, music, education and culture.

This partnership reflects the synergy between SXSW’s vision and our expertise in the media and entertainment industries, and we look forward to supporting and contributing to this celebration of creativity and innovation.

For more details about the event, please visit the official SXSW London website.

Winners of Best Law Firm for Quality of Work at Legal Cheek Awards 2025

Posted on by Nikhita Sagar

We are proud to announce that we have been awarded Best Law Firm for Quality of Work at the Legal Cheek Awards 2025.

The winners were determined by the results of Legal Cheek’s annual trainee and junior lawyer and barrister surveys.

Winning this award reinforces our commitment to providing our people with opportunities to work on some of the most high profile and cutting edge matters alongside creative and influential clients across a range of sectors.

The full list of winners can be found here.

Finalist for Best Legal Team for Early Stage Deals

Posted on by Dea Dragashi

In recognition of our work advising entrepreneurs, emerging companies and investors on the investment lifecycle, we have been selected as a finalist for the Best Legal Team for Early Stage Deals award at the UK Business Angels Association Angel Investment Awards 2025.

This award recognises the legal firms that have made a significant impact on the ecosystem during the past year, both through actively supporting angel and early-stage investment deals and bringing tangible value to the investment process.

The UKBAA Angel Investment Awards celebrate the high growth and success of the angel and early-stage investment market, recognising the fastest growing brands and acknowledging the founders, angels, crowd funders and early-stage venture capital investors behind them.

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony taking place at The Brewery in London on Thursday 10 July.

Find out more about the awards and the other finalists here: https://awards.ukbaa.org.uk/.

Harbottle & Lewis advises Poolhouse on its $34 million financing raise to revolutionise the game of pool

Posted on by Nikhita Sagar

Developed by long-standing Harbottle clients, Steven and Dave Jolliffe (the founders of Topgolf and Puttshack) and led by CEO Andrew O’Brien, Poolhouse is a new social entertainment venue concept reimagining pool.

The concept combines the game of pool with cutting edge technology to create a new immersive experience, offering guests of all skill levels an engaging experience through a diverse library of interactive pool games together with a world class food and beverage offering. Poolhouse’s first venue is set to open in Liverpool Street, London, early in 2026 and they are in discussions to expand to open further venues in the Middle East, North America, Southeast Asia and Europe.

Poolhouse raised $34 million in its seed funding round from a number of venture capital firms and strategic investors from across the globe. The round was led by Sharp Alpha, a U.S. leisure-focused venture capital investor, and DMG Ventures, DMGT’s consumer venture capital fund. Other investors in the round included Emerging Fund, (investors in F1 Arcade, Flight Club and Batbox), David Blitzer (owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils), Simon Sports (a co-owner of Ipswich Town F.C.) and Active Partners (an early investor in Soho House). Signature Hospitality Group, one of Australia’s largest hospitality brand operators, has also taken an equity stake and signed a franchise agreement with Poolhouse.

On working with Harbottle & Lewis, Poolhouse CEO Andrew O’Brien commented:

“The Harbottle team did an outstanding job guiding us through the many inevitable complexities associated with a funding round of this size. Three things stood out for Poolhouse in particular: i) their pragmatic approach to resolving several more complex elements of the process, ii) superb communication within the team working with us – they were always in sync, and iii) great work rate, with many (very) late nights spent driving time sensitive tasks to punctual conclusions.”

Corporate partner Tom Macleod and managing associate Rosie Marston led the transaction, with support from corporate associates Elizabeth Compton and Jake Jacobson, and other departments across the firm. Commercial/sports partner Bob Mitchell led the licensing aspects of the transaction with support from senior associate Mike Jones.

Commenting on the transaction, Tom Macleod said:

“We are delighted to have supported the Poolhouse team on their $34m investment round, which paths the way for the launch of their first venue for this transformative new pool concept. We advised Poolhouse from its inception, providing advice on its corporate structure, licensing arrangements, employment and incentivisation matters, as well as running the investment transaction itself. This further demonstrates the breadth of H&L’s offering to emerging companies and our ability to advise on complex, high value venture capital transactions.”

Cyber attacks on UK retailers: Michael Yates’ comments featured in the Financial Times

Posted on by Anna Weeden

“Hacking a well-known retail brand generates leverage…because the victim will want to avoid brand reputational damage at all costs to stop eroding customer trust.”

Michael Yates’ comments on the recent cyber attack on Marks and Spencer, which is still causing havoc for shoppers of the popular retail brand a fortnight on, have been featured in the Financial Times.

Now that two other major household names have also been targeted and a police investigation has been launched, the article discusses why hackers decide to target such trusted brands.

The full article is available here to those with a subscription.

FAMILY TEAM SHORTLISTED AT THE CHAMBERS HIGH NET WORTH AWARDS 2025

Posted on by Dea Dragashi

We have been shortlisted for the Family Law Team of the Year category at the Chambers High Net Worth Awards 2025.

These awards celebrate firms and teams who are at the top of their profession in key jurisdictions across Europe. They recognise achievements over the past 12 months including outstanding work and impressive strategic growth and are based on interviews and extensive research by over 250 analysts as part of the research for the recent edition of Chambers High Net Worth Guide.

To read the full list of nominees, click here.

Harbottle & Lewis and Shireen Peermohamed awarded recommended status by WIPR

Posted on by Dea Dragashi

We have been awarded ‘Recommended‘ status by World IP Review (WIPR) in their UK trade mark rankings for the second year running. Shireen Peermohamed, partner and head of our intellectual property practice, has also been recognised as a ‘Recommended’ individual for non-contentious IP work.

These rankings recognise the leading law firms and practitioners in the UK’s trade mark landscape. They cover non-contentious work, including trade mark filing, prosecution, strategy, and portfolio management, and contentious work, encompassing trade mark litigation, dispute resolution and enforcement. Those ranked consist of a mix of traditional law firms, specialist IP boutiques and attorney firms.

To read the full list of rankings, click here.

Harbottle & Lewis contributes to 2025 Venture Capital Term Sheet Guide

Posted on by Dea Dragashi

Members of our venture capital and emerging companies practice have contributed to the latest Venture Capital Term Sheet Guide published by HSBC Innovation Banking in April 2025.

The report collates information from a pool of 588 equity term sheets signed in 2024 and provides detailed analysis of the key terms for equity fundraising, from seed to series C+, to provide an independent view of ‘market standards’ in VC deals.

Click here to read the report.

Following our contribution to the report, managing associate Rosie Marston was interviewed by HSBC Innovation Banking to offer her insight into the report’s findings and the latest trends in investment activity. Watch the full interview below.

Harbottle & Lewis advises majority shareholders of MyTAG on the sale of their shares to Kinexio

Posted on by Dea Dragashi

We have advised the majority shareholders of MyTAG, a global software and property technology company, on the sale of their shares to Kinexio (formerly Mallcomm), backed by Synova.

MyTAG offers solutions for proof of presence, proof of compliance and enhanced security to safeguard people, property and assets. MyTAG’s products will be integrated into Kinexio’s property management platform, a leading enterprise software solution for property management.

The deal has established Kinexio as a market leader in property technology with an expanded suite of innovative software solutions.

We advised the majority shareholders on all aspects of the transaction, including negotiating the sale agreement and ancillary documentation.

Our team was led by partner Tom Macleod and associate Alex Gays, with support from associates Matthew Shannon and Kate Merry. Partner David Scott advised on corporate tax matters. We worked alongside IMAP (International Mergers and Acquisitions Partnership) and Bevan Buckland.

On working with Harbottle & Lewis, MyTAG founder Mike George said: “The Harbottle team were exceptional on this deal throughout. Tom, Alex and the rest of the team guided us through every aspect of the transaction with calm composure. Their industry experience and technical knowledge are second to none and made us feel at ease at every step.”

Commenting on the deal, Harbottle & Lewis partner Tom Macleod said: “It was a pleasure acting for Mike and co on this exit. It is great to see the years of hard work and commitment by Mike rewarded and it will be exciting to see the next step for MyTAG as part of Kinexio.” 

Harbottle & Lewis promotes Harry Bresslaw, Ed Lane and Alasdair Wilson to the partnership

Posted on by Alex Molyneux

Harbottle & Lewis has announced three partner promotions today in line with its commitment to continued growth in the media and creative industries and private wealth sector, and to the expansion of its corporate practice. Harry Bresslaw, Ed Lane and Alasdair Wilson will each join the partnership with effect from 1 April 2025.

Harry is an entertainment lawyer with a focus on the theatre, film and TV industries. He advises producers, creatives, investors and venues across the theatre industry on matters including commissioning, development, production, financing, national and international transfers, licensing, digital captures and other associated sector arrangements. He works with clients both in the UK and beyond, ranging from established West End and Broadway producers to new and emerging producers, on all aspects relating to the creation and exploitation of plays, musicals and other live stage projects. He also provides legal and strategic advice to major film and TV production companies and SVOD platforms, and acts for a number of high-profile individual rights-holders on the protection and exploitation of their IP rights and assets.

Ed advises founders, businesses and investors on a broad range of corporate, corporate finance and commercial matters. He has a particular expertise in the creative industries, including film and TV, video games and music, and in the broader media, entertainment and technology sectors. His practice spans mergers and acquisitions, fundraises from pre-seed to series A and beyond, startups, growth equity investments, music catalogue sales, public takeovers, joint ventures, management incentive arrangements, including EMI options, and SEIS/EIS investments. He is actively involved as a speaker and mentor for a number of different industry accelerators and trade bodies, including IndieLab, BAFTA and UKIE.

Alasdair advises individuals, families and fiduciaries based in the UK and overseas in relation to all matters of international taxation, wealth structuring, global compliance and cross-border estate planning. This includes tax and legal advice to wealth generators or custodians who are moving between countries, seeking to maintain tax efficiency across multiple jurisdictions or passing ownership or control to the next generation. Alasdair has significant experience in advising US-UK clients, individual entrepreneurs and family businesses. He also has a particular interest in clients connected to civil law jurisdictions, in particular France, Belgium and Switzerland, as well as to Latin America and the Middle East.

Senior partner Catherine Bedford commented:

“We are thrilled to be welcoming three outstanding lawyers to the partnership. Harry, Ed and Alasdair have continually demonstrated exceptional legal skills, dedication to client care and a drive to bring success to our business. Their promotions will strengthen our offering to individuals, families and companies and will enhance our expertise in key areas including the entertainment and media and private wealth sectors. We look forward to seeing them build on their accomplishments and continue their development as partners.”

For more information, please contact Alex Molyneux, Communications & Marketing Manager: ([email protected])