Terms of service

1. Who we are and what these terms cover

The Black Circle Group is a hospitality consultancy operating from the United Kingdom and working with hotels, restaurants, bars and venues. You can reach us at theblackcirclegroup@gmail.com. By using this website or booking a session you accept these terms.

The Black Circle Group provides business-to-business commercial and operational hospitality consultancy. These website pages govern use of this website and online session bookings only.

2. Order of precedence with signed project agreements

Where project services are engaged, a signed Client Agreement together with its Commercial Schedule and an accepted Statement of Work governs those services and takes precedence over these generic website terms if there is any conflict for that project.

These website terms are aligned to our master Client Agreement Template version 1.1 dated 10 September 2026. Nothing on this website varies a signed agreement.

Signed project agreements include a 12-month non-solicitation clause covering our personnel. Nothing on this website reduces or overrides that clause.

3. Services

We provide commercial and operational hospitality consultancy: concept work, operational reviews, profitability and cost modelling, people and service standards, and growth planning. Sessions are delivered virtually by video or phone unless we agree otherwise in writing.

Our consultancy is advisory. It is not legal, financial, tax, accountancy, insurance, immigration, payroll or regulatory advice, and it does not replace advice from a qualified professional in those fields.

Our role is advisory. You remain responsible for implementation and for all business decisions taken in your organisation.

4. Bookings and the client agreement

Each booking requires acceptance of our client agreement at the point of booking, which is recorded against that booking. Paid bookings also require a written summary of what you want to discuss so we can prepare properly.

The complimentary 30-minute introductory session is limited to one per client.

5. Fees and payment

Session fees are shown on our pricing page in pounds sterling. Paid virtual sessions are payable in full in advance and are confirmed only once payment has cleared. Payment is taken through our payment provider, Stripe; we do not see or store your full card details. Where tax applies it is shown at checkout.

Project invoices are issued and payable in line with the signed Commercial Schedule and Statement of Work. Where a business-to-business project invoice is overdue, we reserve our statutory rights to late-payment interest, fixed-sum compensation and other reasonable recovery costs available under UK law.

6. Rescheduling, cancellation and refunds

You may reschedule a paid session once without charge with at least 48 hours' notice. With 24 to 48 hours' notice, 50% of the session fee is payable and retained. With less than 24 hours' notice, or for non-attendance, 100% of the session fee is payable and retained.

If we need to move a session we will offer the next available slot or a full refund.

7. Your responsibilities

We rely on the information, figures and documents you provide being accurate, complete and supplied in good time. We do not independently audit or verify that information unless verification is expressly scoped and agreed in writing.

You agree to hold the authority to instruct us on behalf of your business and to take your own decisions about whether and how to act on our recommendations. You remain responsible for compliance with all laws and regulations applying to your business.

Any people, HR or payroll support is operational consultancy only. You remain the employer and the decision-maker, and you remain responsible for employment status and contracts, consultation, disciplinary, grievance and dismissal processes, equality and anti-harassment obligations, right-to-work checks, payroll, PAYE and tax, National Insurance, pensions, holiday and holiday-pay records, working time, redundancy and collective consultation, TUPE, immigration and all other employer obligations. Where a matter is material you must obtain qualified UK legal, payroll, tax or accountancy advice.

8. Independent contractor relationship

We act as an independent business-to-business contractor. Nothing creates employment, agency, partnership or joint venture between us, and neither party may bind the other.

9. Intellectual property and licensing

We retain all background intellectual property, methods, frameworks, models, templates, know-how, tools and generic materials. Once paid for, final deliverables are licensed to you for your internal business use unless the signed schedule expressly states otherwise. They may not be resold, white-labelled or exploited commercially outside your business without our written consent.

10. Confidentiality and data protection

Each party will keep non-public information about the other's business confidential and use it only for the purpose of the engagement. Project-specific confidentiality is governed by the signed agreement.

We handle personal data in line with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended by UK legislation including the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. For ordinary business-contact and booking data each party normally acts as a controller in its own right. Where we process personal data solely on your instructions, the processor terms in the signed agreement (Schedule 2) apply. Please do not send us special-category data, criminal-offence data or extensive employee records unless it is necessary and has been agreed.

11. No guaranteed outcome

We give no guarantee of revenue, profit, margin, cost saving, funding, valuation, licence, employee outcome, regulatory approval or any other commercial result. Outcomes depend on market conditions and your own execution.

12. Limitation of liability

Nothing excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else which cannot lawfully be limited. Subject to that, and to the extent reasonable, our total aggregate liability for a standalone online session is limited to the fee paid for that booked session, and we are not liable for loss of profit, revenue, goodwill, business interruption, or indirect or consequential loss.

For project work, liability is governed by the signed agreement, where it is capped at 100% of the fees paid or payable for the specific Statement of Work or booked service giving rise to the claim, subject always to liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

13. Acceptable use

You must not misuse this website, attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of it, submit automated form or booking submissions, or use it to send unlawful, abusive or misleading content.

14. Changes and governing law

We may update these terms; the version published when you book applies to that booking.

These terms, and any dispute or claim arising from them, are governed by the laws of England and Wales, with the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.