Charles Russell Speechlys advises on the sale of No.1 Lounges Ltd to SwissportALD

Charles Russell Speechlys has advised the owner of No.1 Lounges Ltd, the UK airport lounges operator (also operating under the brand “Clubrooms”), on its sale to SwissportALD, a joint venture between Swissport and Airport Dimensions. SwissportALD will run nine No1 Lounge properties at the UK’s London Heathrow, London Gatwick, and Birmingham airports.

The No.1 Lounge spaces will retain their existing brand identity, and SwissportALD intends to continue to provide the full range of existing No.1 products, including Premium Security (express security) at Gatwick airport, enhanced by Airport Dimensions’ digital and physical technologies.

The new venture also means members of Priority Pass, the world’s largest independent airport lounge access programme, will once again be able to access the No.1 network. Airport Dimensions and Swissport will continue to work with partners such as Holiday Extras, Lounge Pass, Dragon Pass and TUI to provide No1 Lounges for their members and guests, and day passes will continue to be available to travellers via the No1 website.

John Upton, CEO of No.1 Lounges, commented: “Hamish, Nathan and the rest of the CRS team fully contributed in their position as trusted members of our team as we worked through our transaction.  With all the usual twists, turns and bumps, CRS gave us exactly what we needed to navigate the deal to completion.  I’d 100% recommend them to anyone looking for smart, commercial and pragmatic corporate advisors.”

Hamish Perry commented: “We were delighted to assist John and the team at No.1 Lounges on this transaction. It’s great to see active investment and investor collaboration in this sector, as it continues on the post-pandemic road to recovery. We wish all parties every success in the future.”

The Charles Russell Speechlys team, led by Corporate Partner Hamish Perry included Nathan Lightman, Jeff Carvell, George Lawson and Giulia Brunello (Corporate), Cara Fulker (Banking) Helen Coward and Elliot Michaelson (Tax) and Nick Hurley (Employment).