Pictured above: (l-r) Richard Muir and Tom Gibbons of Rothera Dowson and Neil Etherington

Lincoln has a new bar aimed at students and young professionals. Intervention Limited, from Nottingham, has opened L4 - a fresh new offering for the city's thriving nightlife scene.

L4 occupies the former Orgasmic Café site in the very heart of historic Lincoln, on Guildhall Street. Richard Muir owner of L4, who studied in Lincoln, saw an opportunity to open the new bar when Orgasmic Café closed.

Richard says: "I enjoyed my time studying in Lincoln and saw a gap in the city's offering for a student bar and young professionals' venue. L4 is a niche market bar with a lively fun feel that offers a wide range of drinks tailored to our target market. I'm very excited about the bar, it will create jobs, help the local economy as well as providing something different for the students and young professionals of Lincoln. We are committed to Lincoln and see the venture as a long term investment."

The new venture wasn't without its hitches however, and the owners of L4 chose one of the East Midlands' most experienced property law firms to help with the complex deal, Nottingham based Rothera Dowson. Neil Etherington, a partner in the firm's commercial property department advised Intervention throughout.

He said: "We acted on behalf of L4 on its acquisition of the seller's assets. The title to the property was particularly unusual in that there were two leases, rather than one. Both leases were transferred along with the other assets.  

"A further problem was that the leases contained unusually restrictive conditions that would have interfered with L4's business plan. We were able to successfully broker variations to the relevant lease clauses to enable L4 to use the property as it intends."

Richard Muir adds: "We want to establish a new brand quickly in the market. We'll be creating awareness within the student populous and young professionals in Lincoln and the surrounding area. 

Neil believes that Richard can make L4 a resounding success. He continues: "The clear business vision of L4 will help the business in these tough market conditions. I look forward to hearing from Richard that the Lincoln venture is a success and that they are looking to roll out another location in the East Midlands."

This isn't the first high profile leisure establishment that Neil has acted for, having also advised on Nottingham's famous Tamatanga Restaurant in the Corner House and the acquisition of the Trent Navigation Inn near Notts County's football ground on Meadow Lane, Nottingham.