How do you take over a new venue's IT without disrupting trading?

Why venue takeovers go wrong

When a leisure operator buys or takes over a venue, the building usually comes with years of IT that nobody documented. The broadband is in the seller's name. The password for the EPOS (till system) back office belongs to a manager who left last year. The CCTV recorder was installed by a contractor who no longer answers the phone. The card terminals pay into the seller's bank account.

None of this stops the doors opening on day one. It becomes a problem when someone cancels the wrong contract, a phone number disappears with a closed account, or the tills stop working on the first busy Saturday. The aim of a good takeover is simple: customers shouldn't notice.

What should you secure before completion?

The best time to get information is before the sale completes, while the seller still has a reason to help. Ask for:

• Admin access to the router, firewall, WiFi, EPOS back office, booking or ticketing system, CCTV recorder, door entry and the website, domain and email
• A list of every phone line, broadband line and mobile, with the provider, account holder, contract end date and notice period
• Every phone number customers use, including old numbers still printed on signs and listings
• The payment provider for each card terminal, and whether terminals connect over WiFi, cable, SIM or an old phone line
• Contact details for the security, EPOS and ticketing suppliers

On completion day, change every admin password and remove any remote access the seller or their suppliers still have. You're responsible for those systems now.

How do you deal with the old suppliers' contracts?

Every line and service in the building sits under a contract, and each one needs a decision: keep, transfer or end.

Whether contracts come with the venue depends on how the deal is structured. If you buy the company that runs the venue, its contracts usually stay in place. If you buy the business and assets, contracts normally stay with the seller unless they're formally transferred. Your solicitor will confirm which applies.

Then check the terms. Many business telecoms contracts renew automatically unless you give written notice by a set date. Ofcom's extra protections, such as the 24-month maximum commitment, only apply to businesses with ten or fewer employees. Every business customer does get one month's notice of any contract change that isn't to their benefit, with the right to leave without penalty (Ofcom). Put every end date and notice deadline in one place, and diary them.

Don't let old contracts decide your timeline. It's often cheaper to run a short overlap than to keep an unreliable line or system for another year.

How do you keep the phone numbers?

Port them. Don't cancel them. A number belongs to the line or account it sits on, and if that account closes, the number can be lost. Ofcom's rules say business customers can't be charged directly for porting, and must be able to port a number for at least one month after switching. That's a safety net, not a plan.

Mobile numbers move within one working day once the new provider has the PAC (porting authorisation code) (Ofcom). Landline numbers are scheduled through Openreach and move between 9am and 5pm. New phones can be installed and run alongside the old system, so bookings keep coming in while the port completes. Before the analogue network closes on 31 January 2027, also check the site's lines for anything else still on it, such as alarms, lift lines and old card machines. Our free PSTN switch-off check covers this.

What about card terminals, WiFi and CCTV?

Card terminals usually need replacing, because they're tied to the seller's merchant account and pay into the seller's bank. Set up your own merchant account and terminals early, and run both sets side by side for a day if you can. The new terminals should join your payment network from the start, not the building's existing WiFi.

Guest WiFi should move onto your own network and splash page as soon as possible. The seller's WiFi may be collecting customer data under their privacy notice, not yours. Marketing permissions don't automatically transfer either; the ICO says "consent isn't transferrable". See can venues use guest WiFi sign-ups for marketing?.

CCTV and door entry stay, but you become responsible for them. Update the signs so they name you as the operator, set your own retention period, control who can view footage, and move the system onto its own network.

A week-by-week plan

This is a typical plan for a single venue, assuming the connection and network can be replaced without major building work.

The detail of what the standard build includes, and how to manage it centrally across sites, is in our guide chapter on multi-site IT for leisure operators.

What we see

How Indigo does this. Indigo Unified Communications provides managed IT, connectivity, WiFi, phones and mobiles for Wonderworld Group's head office and 10 sites across the Wonderworld, Air Thrill and Electric Thrill brands. Wonderworld moved to Indigo to bring all its suppliers under one banner. We're involved from the start of new-site projects, and a soft play venue Wonderworld takes over is typically on the standard setup within 2–3 weeks. We document every site in IT Glue, and when a client switches mid-contract we usually cover overlap costs or buy out the old contract. Switching to Indigo →

What to do next

1. Send the seller a list of what you need before completion: admin access, contracts, numbers, terminals and supplier contacts.
2. Put every contract end date and notice deadline in one spreadsheet.
3. Order connectivity as soon as the deal is likely. Check what's available at the address with our connectivity availability check.
4. Start number ports in week 1, and don't cancel any line until its numbers have moved.
5. For a quick first look at the site, use how to audit your business IT in 30 minutes.