Contracts Articles
Expert articles and practical legal guides on contracts for uk businesses.

Limited Company Structure In The UK: Practical Overview For Startups & SMEs
If you’re building a startup or scaling an SME, choosing the right legal structure can feel like a “boring admin” job you’ll deal with later. But the way you set up a...

Business Acquisition Process In The UK: A Step-By-Step Legal Guide
Buying a business can be an exciting shortcut to growth. Instead of building from scratch, you might be acquiring customers, staff, supplier relationships, IP, stock, equipment, and a proven market position in...

Legal Packages for UK Startups and SMEs: What’s Included and How to Choose
If you’re building a startup or running a growing SME, you’ll probably reach a point where you think: “We need to get the legal side sorted… but where do we even start?”...

Do UK Companies Still Need a Company Seal (Common Seal)?
If you run a small company, you’ve probably come across the phrase “company seal” (sometimes called a “common seal”) at the exact moment you’re trying to sign something important - a lease,...

UK Shareholder Agreement: What It Is, What To Include, And When You Need One
When you start (or grow) a company with other people, it’s easy to focus on the exciting bits: building the product, winning customers, hiring your first team member, and getting revenue in...

Conditional Contracts and Agreements: What They Are and How to Use Them
If you’ve ever tried to close a deal while something important is still “up in the air” (funding approval, landlord consent, board sign-off, due diligence results), you’ve already run into the problem...

Permanent Employee vs Contractor: Key Legal Differences in the UK
If you’re hiring (or thinking about hiring) your first team member, one of the biggest early decisions is whether you need a permanent employee, or whether a contractor is the better fit....

Back-to-Back Contracts: Key Clauses, Risks And When You Need One
If you run a small business that delivers work for a client by using a supplier, freelancer, or subcontractor, you’ve probably had this moment: your client contract promises the world, but your...

Asset Purchase vs Share Purchase: Key Differences, Pros and Cons (UK)
If you’re buying or selling a UK business, one of the first big decisions is how the deal is structured. In most small business sales, you’ll hear two common options: an asset...

Essential Legal Documents UK Startups & SMEs Need To Protect Their Business
When you’re building a startup or small business, it’s easy to focus on the exciting stuff first: finding customers, improving your product, hiring your first team member, and getting your brand out...

Commercial Landlord Fire Safety Responsibilities in the UK
If you run your business from commercial premises, fire safety isn’t just a “building problem” - it’s a business risk. A fire can shut your operations down overnight, put your staff and...

Trial Shifts In The UK: Employer Pay, Contracts And Legal Compliance
Trial shifts can be a really practical way to check whether someone is the right fit for your team before you commit to hiring them. But if you get trial shifts wrong,...

Where To Find A Company’s Articles Of Association (And What To Check)
If you run a small business, you’ll eventually find yourself needing to check another company’s documents before you do something important with them - sign a contract, bring on an investor, appoint...

Commercial Sublease Agreement in the UK: Key Terms and Pitfalls
If you’re renting commercial premises, space can become a moving target. Maybe you signed a lease when your business was growing fast, but now you’re using only half the floor. Or you’ve...

Sole Trader Description: What It Is, Why It Matters And Examples
If you’re running a small business (or getting ready to launch one), you’ll probably come across the term “sole trader” pretty quickly. And if you’ve ever been asked to provide a description...

Equity Lawyers: Shareholders, Vesting And Cap Tables For UK Startups
If you’re building a UK startup or growing an SME, equity can feel like the exciting part of the journey - bringing on co-founders, rewarding early team members, and raising investment. But...

What Is Indemnity Insurance? Practical Guide for UK Businesses
If you run a small business, you’ve probably heard someone say you “need indemnity insurance” - often right when you’re about to sign a contract, start a new client project, or take...

Free Service Agreement Template (UK): Key Terms And When To Get Legal Help
When you’re running a small business, it’s normal to want to move fast. A new client says “yes”, a supplier is ready to start, or you’ve got a contractor lined up for...

Statement Of Work (SOW): What To Include In Your SOW Template
If you’ve ever agreed a project over email, started work, and then realised you and your client had completely different expectations - you’re not alone. Most small business disputes aren’t caused by...

Mistake In Contract Law: Unilateral Vs Common Mistake And Void Contracts
You’ve negotiated the price, agreed the scope, shaken hands (or at least exchanged emails), and started work - then someone realises something is “wrong”. The wrong company name. The wrong specification. A...

Service Agreement Template UK: Key Clauses And Common Mistakes To Avoid
If you’re running a small business, chances are you’re regularly engaging people to do work for you - designers, consultants, trades, developers, marketers, virtual assistants, and more. And at some point, you’ll...

UK Investor Agreement: Key Terms Founders Need Before Taking Funding
Taking investment can be a huge moment for your business. It can help you hire faster, build product, scale marketing, or simply give you enough runway to stop “bootstrapping by sheer willpower”....

Childcare Services Agreement: Key Terms To Include In the UK
Running a childcare business is rewarding, but it’s also high-stakes. Parents are trusting you with what matters most to them, and you’re juggling staffing, safeguarding, schedules, payments, and compliance - often all...

What Is a Sole Trader in the UK?
If you’re launching a small business, one of the first (and most important) decisions you’ll make is how to structure it legally. It affects your tax, your admin, the contracts you sign,...
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