The Bench Welcomes Tim Hannah Back to the Hospitality & Leisure Team

The Bench is delighted to welcome Tim Hannah back to co-head our market-leading Hospitality & Leisure team. Tim, who moved to Dubai in 2006, previously worked with The Bench back in 2018, when he went on an initial 12-month secondment to IHG Hotels & Resorts in Dubai to act as their regional Head of Legal. The secondment proved successful and was transitioned into a permanent in-house role for Tim. It was also one of The Bench's first ‘try-before-you-hire' projects, which has since become a very attractive option for many other clients in the region.   

Tim went on to serve as Head of Legal for India, Middle East & Africa at IHG for another 7 years during the course of which he led the legal function in providing support and advice to the company on its hotel management and franchise agreements and enabling delivery of strategic expansion plans and exponential pipeline growth.   He also served as a senior leadership team member for Middle East, Africa and Southwest Asia and was a founding member of IHG's regional diversity & inclusion board, focusing on business reputation and responsibility.

Tim has deep expertise in hotel development projects, hotel operations, hospitality and leisure, corporate governance, mergers & acquisitions, sovereign wealth fund investments, joint ventures, high value corporate transactions, strategic partnerships and related deals, franchising with high profile IP owners, licensing, complex telecoms and technology contracts.

He also has extensive experience of hiring and building a successful hospitality legal team and will be actively available to assist The Bench's clients with not only legal services but also secondment and legal recruitment services.

Tim comments: “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to return to The Bench. Looking back, my own journey clearly demonstrates the value of The Bench's approach. What started for me as a secondment, evolved into a rewarding eight-year in-house career in hospitality; creating value both for me and the business. That experience reinforced my belief that the best legal recruitment isn't just about filling a role; it is about finding the right long-term fit. I look forward to helping clients navigate their myriad legal and commercial challenges, while also supporting their efforts to build high-performing legal teams through permanent hires, secondments, and other flexible legal solutions.”

The Bench boasts the largest team of senior hospitality lawyers with UAE in-house experience including Joby Beretta (ex Jumeirah), Alexandra Plain (ex Accor), Annika Dreesmann (ex Omniyat), Yulande Neethling (ex ICD), Gerard Hobby (ex Dubai Holding), Elise Gillians (ex Meraas) and now Tim Hannah (ex IHG). The Bench lawyers are consistently recognised as amongst the leading real estate and hospitality lawyers in the United Arab Emirates and the team is ranked yet again in the Legal 500 Real Estate UAE 2026 , which reported “With a strong focus on the hospitality sector, The Bench is a key port of call for landlords, hotel managers, and tenants. Joby Beretta is particularly active in the hotel sector, while Alexandra Plain and Annika Dreesmann are well-versed in real estate acquisitions and disposals. Other key members of the practice include Yulande Neethling.”