Startups Articles
Expert articles and practical legal guides on startups for uk businesses.
What Is a Service Level Agreement (SLA)?
If you’re providing services to customers (or relying on a supplier to deliver them), you’ve probably heard the phrase “SLA” thrown around in sales calls, tenders, or contract negotiations. An SLA can...
6 March 2026
Starting A Lawn Mowing Business In The UK: Legal Steps And Compliance
Starting a lawn mowing business can be a brilliant way to build a reliable, local customer base with relatively low set-up costs. Whether you’re offering regular domestic grass cutting, commercial grounds maintenance,...
6 March 2026
Shareholder Voting Rights in the UK: A Practical Guide
When you’re building a company, it’s easy to focus on the “big” stuff: revenue, product, hiring, fundraising. But shareholder voting is one of those foundations that quietly affects everything - who really...
6 March 2026
Share Option Schemes In The UK For Startups And SMEs
If you’re trying to hire (and keep) great people while also protecting cash flow, share option schemes can be a powerful tool. But they can also get messy fast if you rush...
6 March 2026
Do Directors Have To Pay Themselves A Salary In The UK? Options, Pros And Cons
If you run a small limited company, it’s completely normal to wonder whether you have to pay yourself a salary as a director. You might be setting up payroll for the first...
6 March 2026
Terms Of Business Agreement: What UK Small Businesses Must Include And Why
If you’re running a small business, you’ll probably agree that most issues don’t start with bad intentions - they start with misunderstandings. A customer thinks the price included something it didn’t. A...
6 March 2026
Phantom Share Schemes In The UK: How They Work And Key Documents
If you’re building a startup, you’ve probably had the same conversation more than once: you want to attract great people, you want them to care about growth like founders do, but you...
6 March 2026
Pre-Emption Agreements in the UK: When You Need One and Key Clauses
If you run a UK company with more than one shareholder, sooner or later you’ll face a tricky question: what happens if someone wants to sell their shares, or the company needs...
5 March 2026
Can You Copyright a Business Name in the UK?
If you’ve just come up with the perfect business name, it’s totally normal to want to “lock it in” before you spend money on branding, a website, packaging and marketing. One of...
5 March 2026
UK Partnership Types: Which Business Structure Is Right?
If you’re building a business with someone else, a partnership can feel like the most natural way to do it. You’re sharing the workload, splitting the costs, and combining skills (and hopefully...
5 March 2026UK Small Business Legal Checklist: Before You Sign, Hire Or Launch
When you’re running a small business, it’s easy to treat legal admin as something you’ll tidy up later. But most legal problems don’t start with a dramatic dispute - they start with...
5 March 2026
How To Find The Right Intellectual Property Lawyer For Your UK Business
If you’ve ever typed something like “intellectual property lawyers near me” into Google, you’re not alone. For many UK small business owners, IP (intellectual property) is one of those things you know...
5 March 2026Becoming A Franchisee In The UK: Legal Checklist
Becoming a franchisee can be a smart way to get into business with a proven concept, established branding, and (often) a ready-made customer base. But it’s still your business on the ground....
5 March 2026Contract Risk: How UK SMEs Can Identify, Allocate And Reduce It
Contracts are meant to create certainty. But in real life, they can do the opposite - especially when you’re a growing UK business moving quickly, dealing with new customers, suppliers, contractors or...
5 March 2026
What Is a Holding Company in the UK? Benefits, Risks and Use Cases
If your business is growing (or you’re planning for growth), you might start hearing the term “holding company” thrown around by accountants, investors, or other founders. It can sound like something only...
5 March 2026Employee Share Option Scheme (ESOS) in the UK: A Startup Guide
If you’re building a startup or growing an SME, you’ve probably felt the squeeze: you want to hire and keep great people, but cash needs to stay in the business. That’s where...
5 March 2026GDPR Implications For UK SMEs And Startups: What You Need To Know
If you’re running a UK startup or small business, chances are you’re collecting some kind of personal data every day - customer names, email addresses, delivery details, employee records, even website analytics....
4 March 2026Joint Venture (JV) in Business: Definition, Key Terms and Legal Considerations
If you’re exploring growth opportunities, it’s completely normal to come across the term “JV” and wonder what it means in practice - and whether it’s actually workable for a small business. A...
4 March 2026
Breach Of Directors’ Duties In The UK: What It Means And How To Respond
If you run a limited company, directors’ duties aren’t just “nice to have” standards of behaviour. They’re legal duties, set out mainly in the Companies Act 2006, that help protect the company...
4 March 2026Legal Requirements For Starting A Business In The UK: Step-By-Step Guide
Starting a business is exciting - but it can also feel like there’s a “legal maze” you’re supposed to navigate before you can properly get going. The good news is that the...
4 March 2026
Business Partner Agreement: What To Include In A UK Partnership Contract
Starting a business with a partner can be exciting. You’re combining skills, sharing the workload, and (hopefully) growing faster together than you could alone. But there’s a reality check most founders learn...
4 March 2026
Are Shareholders Liable for Company Debts in the UK?
If you’re building a UK business (or investing in one), it’s completely normal to worry about what happens if the company can’t pay its bills. Many founders choose a limited company because...
4 March 2026Development Agreements: Key Clauses And Common Pitfalls
If you’re building software, launching a new product, or partnering with another business to bring an idea to life, a development agreement is often the contract that holds the whole project together....
3 March 2026
Ordinary vs Special Resolution: Key Differences And When To Use Each
If you run a UK company, you’ll eventually hit a moment where you need to make a decision “formally” - not just by email, Slack, or a quick chat between directors. That’s...
3 March 2026
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