Category: News

Harbottle & Lewis has advised F1® Arcade on its $130 million growth financing raise.

Backed by Formula 1® and Liberty Media, F1® Arcade is the world’s first F1® experiential hospitality brand, offering a gaming experience to simulate the thrill of F1 racing. F1® Arcade opened its first venue in London in 2022, followed by Birmingham, and in April 2024 the brand launched its first US site in Boston Seaport. As part of its roll-out plan, F1® Arcade is set to open in Washington D.C. in autumn 2024 and a flagship site in Las Vegas is set to open in 2025.

Partner Tom Macleod and senior associate Katerina Capras led the Harbottle team advising on the transaction, with support from associate Matthew Shannon and trainee Anna Traherne. Harbottle & Lewis were co-counsel on the raise with White & Case.

Adam Breeden, founder and CEO of F1® Arcade commented: “We are delighted with the outcome of this latest fundraise which will enable us to accelerate our global expansion. Building on the success we have seen for the F1® Arcade concept in both the UK and US, we are focused on building our pipeline of openings into 2026 and beyond.”

Tom Macleod commented: “We are very proud to have advised F1® Arcade on this exciting milestone. Having been involved from the company’s inception we are delighted to see F1® Arcade go from strength to strength and look forward to seeing its continued expansion both in the UK and US”.

To read F1® Arcade’s full press release, follow this link: F1® Arcade completes $130M raise – F1® Arcade (f1arcade.com)

Harbottle & Lewis has advised Adam Spiegel on the sale of the world’s longest-running play, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, to a consortium led by TodayTix CEO Brian Fenty.

Partner Charles Leveque commented: “We have advised Adam for many years and it was fantastic to have played a role in this landmark transaction involving one of the West End’s most celebrated shows. Our expertise in and extensive knowledge of the theatre industry across our practice areas meant we were perfectly positioned to advise on all elements of the deal.” 

On working with Harbottle & Lewis, Rich Blacksell, joint-managing director of Adam Spiegel Productions said: “Harbottle were exceptional throughout. Working with a cohesive, diligent and highly responsive team ensured that the process ran smoothly. We really valued their pragmatic and commercial advice.”

Charles Leveque (partner) and Katerina Capras (senior associate) led the team advising on all aspects of the transaction including providing corporate advice. Neil Adleman (partner) and Zoey Forbes (managing associate) advising on rights issues and Jonathan Hewitt (managing associate) advising on property aspects. The team was further supported by Matthew Shannon, Elizabeth Compton, Sarah Verrecchia, Amabel Torrance and Anna Traherne.

A team at Harbottle & Lewis led by partners Sacha Wilson and Emma Wright has contributed the UK chapter for an AI regulation guide, published by World IT Lawyers (WITL). The new guide summarises the current national AI regulations across different European jurisdictions.

While there is currently no specific legislation governing AI in the UK, the chapter discusses the overall approach as well as general OECD principles around safety, fairness, security and accountability. Further, a number of industry specific bills, which were going through this year, have been dropped or paused due to the General Election last week.

The guide states that the law relating to IP and AI-generated works is still developing and existing frameworks are being tested. In terms of international agreements and conventions, the UK has set up bodies to ensure alignment and collaboration with international rules on AI.

See the full report.

Today, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (the “Working Group”) has published an Opinion concerning the ongoing detention of Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, concluding that Mr Khan’s detention is in violation of international law.

The Working Group has called for the Government of Pakistan to release Mr Khan immediately and “accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law”.

The Working Group has further called on the Government of Pakistan to allow the Working Group to conduct a state visit and has urged the Government to ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Mr Khan.

In a petition to the Working Group, brought by Jared Genser and Brian Tronic of Perseus Strategies, Washington DC, along with Sarah Gogan and Charlotte Boyce of Harbottle & Lewis, London, it was argued that Mr Khan had been arbitrarily detained, on the basis that:

• It was not possible for Pakistan to invoke any legal basis justifying Mr Khan’s arrest and detention (a “Category I” violation).
• Mr Khan’s deprivation of liberty resulted from his exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the right to political participation, and the right to freedom of association (a “Category II” violation).
• The non-observance of the international norms of fair trial were of such gravity as to give his deprivation of liberty an arbitrary character (a “Category III” violation).

The Working Group agreed with the petitioners, rendering its Opinion that the detention is in violation of Categories I, II and III, and in contravention of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Regarding the legal basis for detention, the Working Group stated (at §64) that Mr Khan’s detention had “no legal basis and appears to have been intended to disqualify him from running from political office”.

The Working Group considered (at §71) that Mr Khan’s mandatory pretrial detention appeared to be as a result of “non-bailable offences”, which violates international human rights law.

In consideration of the lack of rebuttal to representations made that there was no individualised judicial review of Mr Khan’s pretrial detention, the Working Group found (at §72) that such detention “was not properly constituted and thus had no legal basis”.

Further, the Working Group was concerned (at §85) that “the authorities denied Mr Khan the right to defend himself through legal assistance of his own choosing making it impossible for international counsel to follow the in camera proceedings”, and that “the court reportedly terminated the defence lawyers’ cross-examination of witnesses and appointed public lawyers instead”.

The Working Group also expressed grave concerns (at §95) regarding the alleged arrest and disappearance of a close colleague of Mr Khan. It is alarmed by the general allegations of widespread arrest, detention and disappearances of individuals, including many Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters and also urged the authorities to take swift and appropriate action in this regard.

The Working Group has called on the Government of Pakistan to allow the Working Group to conduct a state visit and has urged the Government to ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Mr Khan. The Working Group has called for the Government of Pakistan to release Mr Khan immediately and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.

Zulfi Bukhari, adviser to Imran Khan and spokesperson for PTI, said:

“The international silence has finally broken on the illegal incarceration of Imran Khan. We welcome the Working Group’s Opinion with hope and optimism, as we call on the international community to continue holding the Government of Pakistan accountable for the inexcusable miscarriage of justice Mr Khan, his wife and many PTI members have suffered. The international condemnation of the manner in which the Government of Pakistan illegally stripped Mr Khan of his freedom and rights has echoed from the US to the UN, with the House of Representatives and now the Working Group shining a light on it as a blatant effort to interfere with his intentions to run for political office.

“We reiterate the Working Group’s calls for Mr Khan’s immediate release and right to compensation and other reparations, as well as call for the immediate release of Mr Khan’s wife, senior leadership of PTI and the thousands of party workers who have also been detained. We remain hopeful that the Government of Pakistan will take the appropriate next steps in accordance with international law.”

Sarah Gogan and Charlotte Boyce acted for the petitioner to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention along with Jared Genser and Brian Tronic of Perseus Strategies.

The full Opinion provided by the Working Group is available here: A/HRC/WGAD/2024/22 (ohchr.org)

Harbottle & Lewis has announced its financial results for the 2023/24 financial year.

This year’s published figures capture both the ten month period from 1 June 2023 to 31 March 2024, in light of the alteration of the firm’s year end to align with the tax year following HMRC’s basis period reform, and the twelve month period from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024.

• For the ten month period ending 31 March 2024, the firm reported income of £42.9m. This represents a 12.9% increase on the corresponding ten month period the year before, from 1 June 2022 to 31 March 2023, in which the firm generated income of £37.9m.
• For the twelve month period ending 31 May 2024, the firm reported income of £51.9m. This represents a 9.3% increase on the 2022/23 financial year, in which the firm reported income of £47.5m.

These results reflect the firm’s continued growth over a number of years. In the 2016/17 financial year, the firm reported income of £28.1m. This year’s results therefore represent an 85% increase in income over the last seven years.

Co-managing partner Tony Littner said:

“This is the first time that Harbottle & Lewis has generated fees of over £50 million in a twelve month financial year in its near 70 year history, so to reach and then comfortably surpass this figure is a significant achievement and historic milestone for the firm. Everyone at the firm has played their part in contributing towards our achievements and, on behalf of the senior leadership team, we thank them all for their dedication and commitment. Our strong performance not only demonstrates the progress we are making in implementing our strategy and realising our long term vision, but it also means we have strong foundations for further growth, whether through investment in innovation and new technology or through investment in our people via promotions or lateral hires. These results mean that we move forward with great optimism that we will continue our upward trajectory.”

Harbottle & Lewis has advised Mercuri, an early-stage venture capital fund, on its recent co-lead investments in Human Native AI and Ittybit, adding to the growing portfolio of its second fund, which closed last summer.

Human Native AI is a London-based startup founded by James Smith and Jack Galilee in 2024, which is aiming to empower content creators and owners of IP to take control of, and get paid for, their data being used for training AI models.

Mercuri co-led the investment in Human Native alongside LocalGlober in the company’s £2.8m seed funding round, which closed in May 2024.

Commenting on the investment, Alan Hudson, founding partner at Mercuri, said: “Rights holders are demanding greater control over how their works are being used to train AI systems, and we think Human Native AI is the answer to this problem, preserving human creativity in the face of rapid technological developments.”

Ittybit is a Salford-based startup founded by Paul Anthony Williams in 2021 to meet the rising demand for high-quality image, video and file uploads. Ittybit has developed an AI compression tool to reduce upload and download times, as well as reduce storage requirements for files. It also offers tools to filter unsafe uploads, enhance content searchability and automate the tagging and transcription processes.

Ittybit raised £1.5m in its seed funding round in May 2024, which was co-led by Mercuri and Sure Valley Ventures, with participations from Oxford Capital, Baltic Ventures and angel investors.

James Pringle, Mercuri principal and newly appointed investor director at Ittybit said: “As specialists in media and technology industries, we see Ittybit as a groundbreaking solution that excels in speed, quality, and cost-efficiency. While it’s still early, we are enthusiastic about Ittybit’s potential to significantly impact and grow within the dynamic media landscape.”

Both investments fit within Mercuri’s thesis of investing in companies at the intersection of media, entertainment and technology.

The Harbottle team which advised Mercuri in connection with these investments was led by co-managing partner Tony Littner and senior associate Rosie Marston.

Emma Wright, partner and head of our Technology, Data & Digital team, last night received the Outstanding Leader of the Year Award at the Digital Revolution Awards. This award looks to recognise an individual who has demonstrated exceptional guidance, direction, integrity, decision-making and inspirational leadership which has had a major impact on the success of their organisation; whether that be by accelerating growth, implementing innovative practices or empowering others.

The Digital Revolution Awards is a global cloud IT awards and fundraiser that recognises and celebrates the very best individuals and businesses working in the cloud tech ecosystem. The awards recognise a wide range of achievements, from exceptional digital transformation efforts and exemplary leadership to supporting vital cloud tech upskilling and dedication to diversity and inclusion. The winners were announced at last night’s ceremony which was held at Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane.

Emma’s inspiring work has been receiving widespread recognition. This latest win is in addition to several other awards collected by Emma this year, including Law Firm Leader of the Year at the Women & Diversity in Law Awards, a double award win at the Forward Ladies Leadership Summit and Awards, the Global Goals Impact Award at the CogX Awards and her continued listing in Computer Weekly’s Top 20 Most Influential Women in UK Tech.

Emma is currently leading and driving investHER, a not-for-profit focused on providing a voice to underrepresented groups in the tech and finance ecosystems in the UK, which earlier this year successfully campaigned for the Treasury to reverse its controversial investment restrictions on angel investors that had a disproportionate effect on women and other underrepresented groups eligible to invest.

Harbottle & Lewis today announces the promotions of Alexa Collis and Lizzie Williams to the partnership, with effect from 1 June.

Alexa advises individuals and families based in the UK and overseas on a broad range of cross-border estate planning matters, wealth structuring and personal taxation. Alexa has a particular focus on clients in the entertainment and creative industries alongside entrepreneurs and business owners. She combines her private client specialism with a deep understanding of the charity and philanthropy sector. Alexa has significant experience in tax and estate planning for individuals and families with US connections and is widely recognised as a specialist in this field. A former eprivateclient Top 35 Under 35 winner, Alexa joined the firm in 2020 having spent time at law firms in the UK and the Channel Islands.

Lizzie advises on corporate, commercial and individual disputes, with a focus on disputes in the technology, media and entertainment sectors. Lizzie has wide-ranging experience of High Court litigation and arbitration, including urgent injunctions, appeals and group litigation. Lizzie acts for a wide range of clients, from high net worth individuals to large corporates, including technology companies, public sector entities, startups, investors, founders, shareholders and established brands. Lizzie has a particular interest in disputes with a technology angle and has had various works published, including her book: A Practical Guide to Smart Contracts and the Law. Lizzie, who has also been admitted as a Solicitor Advocate, joined the firm in 2017.

Senior partner Catherine Bedford said:

“We are delighted to be welcoming two outstanding female lawyers, Alexa and Lizzie, to the partnership. Each have demonstrated their enormous talent and an unwavering commitment to providing our clients with the highest quality of service and their promotions will undoubtedly strengthen several key areas of focus for the firm. They have both built strong practices which are aligned with our strategic vision of advising the most innovative and creative people and businesses to help them overcome complex legal and personal challenges.”

Harbottle & Lewis today announces the appointment of Catherine Bedford as Senior Partner, with effect from Monday 1 April 2024.

Catherine succeeds Gerrard Tyrrell after a tenure of nearly 17 years as Senior Partner.

Widely regarded as one of the UK’s most revered family lawyers, Catherine joined the firm in 2017 to lead Harbottle & Lewis’s family team. Catherine’s practice encompasses the full spectrum of family law in instances of relationship breakdown and she is recognised for her work advising on the highest profile, highest value and most complex cases in the family courts, often faced by significant public and media scrutiny.

Catherine’s appointment follows the recent election of co-managing partners Charlie Leveque and Tony Littner in late 2023, with whom she will be working closely as part of the senior leadership team.

Charlie Leveque said:

“Catherine is an outstanding professional and rightly held in high regard by colleagues, clients and the wider professional community. Since joining the firm in 2017 Catherine has been instrumental in building our family offering, further enhancing our position as an adviser of choice for highly successful individuals, their families and their businesses. I know she will bring that same level of entrepreneurial drive, determination and commitment to excellence to the role of Senior Partner.

“On behalf of the whole firm I would like to congratulate Catherine on her election and we very much look forward to working with her and the wider leadership team to deliver on our long-term vision and ambition. I would also like to offer our thanks to Gerrard for his indelible contribution in the role of Senior Partner over the past 17 years – which has been a transformative period in our near 70-year history and has helped create the platform for success which we continue to build on together.” 

Catherine Bedford commented:

“I am honoured to have been elected to represent the firm at what is an incredibly exciting period of growth and transformation. It is also a real point of pride to be the firm’s first female Senior Partner, which is both a milestone for us but also, I hope, a further indication of the progress that continues to be made in the profession more widely.

“Much of my practice is centred on supporting clients who are facing some of the most difficult times of their lives. I have always tried to apply the lessons learned from these and all my other professional experiences to create a working environment grounded in trust, mutual respect and fairness – which, I feel, are key in differentiating what we offer as a firm both to clients and to colleagues.

“Alongside our reconstituted leadership team, and strengthened business services team, I am focused on supporting our ongoing growth while championing these values and everything that makes Harbottle & Lewis unique, and the firm of choice for the best legal talent looking to do interesting work for interesting people.”

We were delighted to see Emma Wright and Polly Broad each win awards at last night’s Women & Diversity in Law Summit and Awards ceremony.

Emma, partner and Head of our Technology, Data and Digital group, was named Law Firm Leader of the Year (Small-to-Medium Sized Practice). This award was given to recognise an exceptional leader that sets and delivers on strategic goals while also ensuring their business operates ethically and with integrity and, in doing so, is an inspiration for future leaders. This further recognition for Emma follows her double award win at the Forward Ladies Leadership Summit and Awards, her Global Goals Impact Award at the CogX Awards and her continued listing in Computer Weekly’s Top 20 Most Influential Women in UK Tech 2023.

Polly, an associate who specialises in all aspects of private family law, won the Rising Star (Small-to-Medium Sized Practice) award. Polly won this award due to the exceptional start she has made to her legal career and by showing promise to being a future leader in her field.

These awards are given to recognise the exceptional individuals and teams making the UK legal profession more diverse and inclusive. The winners were announced on Wednesday 13 March at the ceremony which took place at The Brewery in London.