What legal documents do I need to start a sports or recreational business?

Answer

To establish a sports or recreational business in the UK, you will need to prepare and register a variety of legal documents. Key requirements include:

• Registering your business name with Companies House.
• Obtaining Employers' Liability Insurance and business insurance (e.g. public liability, professional indemnity).
• Securing Local authority approval (if operating from a commercial premise) and a lease agreement (if renting premises).
• Having Health and safety policies and procedures in place.
• Complying with privacy and data protection policies and procedures, including GDPR.
• Obtaining a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) and registering for Value Added Tax (VAT) if applicable.

Relevant external URLs for the UK: - Companies House: [https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house) - Employers' Liability Insurance: [https://www.gov.uk/employers-liability-insurance](https://www.gov.uk/employers-liability-insurance) - Local authority approval: [https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-a-licence](https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-a-licence) - Health and Safety Executive (HSE): [https://www.hse.gov.uk/](https://www.hse.gov.uk/) - Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for GDPR: [https://ico.org.uk/](https://ico.org.uk/) - HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for UTR and VAT: [https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs)