Helping Adam Grooming Atelier scale their brand of boutique barbershops

Adam Grooming Atelier’s founding story begins at The London School of Economics, where co-owners Esat Kolege and Oytun Pakcan discovered they shared a hometown – Istanbul – and an entrepreneurial spirit. The friends saw a gap in the market for a high-end barber’s salon that would combine traditional Turkish techniques with design-led surroundings and impeccable customer service. Adam – the Turkish word for man – opened their first luxury male grooming salon in Canary Wharf in 2016 and since then, the ambitious start-up has gone from strength to strength. Now a seven-salon-strong operation, spanning some of London’s most desirable locations, the university friends are just about to go global and open their first barbershop across the pond, in New York.

It’s no exaggeration to say Adam Grooming is driving the revolution in men’s grooming. A visit to one of their ultra-modern ateliers shows you why their rise has been so meteoric: greeted by an expert barber, you’re invited to select your treatment from a menu and then attended to by a waistcoated barman. Whether you pick the Director’s Cut or Face Time – that’s a custom cut or close shave – expect your grooming treatment to be performed with precision and panache. Luxurious touches like hot towels and complimentary cocktails add up to a total wellbeing experience. It’s no wonder that modern professional men have reviewed Adam more than any other London barbershop on Google, and rated it the highest.

Harper James has been proud to work with Adam Grooming Atelier since the beginning, advising them on a range of commercial, employment and investment matters. Our team of property lawyers have steered the founders through the complex landscape of acquiring and negotiating commercial property leases for their fast-growing network of salons. Our established intellectual property team have provided guidance about trademarking and protecting their thriving brand. We have also dealt with employment matters for the expanding employer, developing contracts, policies and procedures to enable Adam to manage their team of expert barbers. Our business relationship has developed in tandem with the start-up’s rapid growth: Adam’s need for legal advice has diversified alongside their multiple locations and services.

Oytun said: ‘Harper James have been a valuable asset to us at a pivotal time in our business’s growth. Their Enterprise Plan has worked perfectly in supporting our business, providing access to whatever legal support we need, whenever we need it.’

Paul Davies, Property Solicitor at Harper James said: ‘It’s been great to work with Esat and Oytun right from the start. Sharing in their vision for the business and seeing how far they’ve come in such a short space of time is very rewarding for us. This is one of the reasons I wanted to work for Harper James, as I share the entrepreneurial mindset of our clients.’

The chain of ateliers has recently been successful in attracting investment to enable their start-up to scale and grow. Harper James has guided them through that process, supporting the founders with advice on SEIS and EIS schemes. The future is looking very bright for this boutique barbers, and if their upcoming expansion into the US is anything to go by, they have the global men’s grooming market within their sights.