Small Business Legal Advice

We are here to provide your small business with all the advice you need to succeed and thrive, including specialist advice about setting up a business, commercial contracts, employment law and dispute resolution.

You may provide the best product or service in your local area or industry, but that is not enough if the foundations of your business are not rock-solid.

Our Corporate and Commercial team have been providing bespoke advice to new and established small businesses for many years. We can offer you a fully inclusive service, covering all your needs, including:

Advice about forming a business, including advice on business structure and limited liability
Putting in place a wide range of documents, contracts, policies and procedures
Advice about recruiting, employing and dismissing workers
Commercial property advice, such as leasing commercial premises
Advice relating to financing
Data protection, security and technology related advice
Advice about protecting and promoting your financial and commercial interests, from advice about directors’ duties to assistance registering trademarks
Commercial dispute resolution
Any other matter relating to the formation or operation of a small business

We take to time to get to know businesses, their people, and their goals so we can carefully tailor our advice. We combine technical legal knowledge with a commercial understanding of a wide range of industries and sectors.

You may also be interested in our Legal Advice for Business Start-Ups page.

Get in touch with our specialist small business lawyers

For bespoke advice relating to setting up and/or running a small business, contact our corporate and commercial law solicitors in Chichester, Fareham, Havant or Petworth, or fill in our online enquiry form and a member of our team will be in touch shortly.

How our lawyers can help your small business

We may be lawyers, but we don’t take a traditional approach when it comes to small businesses. Our commercially-minded team specialise in helping businesses succeed.

We set out our advice in plain English, ensuring that you are fully aware of all your options so you can make quick, confident decisions about how to move forwards. We love it when our client stick with us for the long-term and will adapt our advice as your business grows and evolves.

That being said, we are also more than happy to assist your small business with one-off legal issues.

We help all types of business, including:

Sole traders
Partnerships
Owner-managed businesses
Start-ups
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

Commercial law advice for small businesses

We can help small businesses put in place a wide range of commercial contracts, including:

Corporate law advice for small businesses

Our solicitors for small businesses can provide advice about a wide range of corporate matters, from setting up and structuring your business, to exploring finance options, to restructuring, corporate estate planning and leadership change. Our service covers:

Advice for business start-ups – specialist advice to get your new enterprise off the ground.
Advice for charitable organisations – sector-specific advice on setting up a wide range of charity structures, as well as other corporate law advice.
Company incorporations – an inclusive service, covering initial advice about limited liability and assistance with all documentation, including Companies House documentation, Articles of Association and associated contracts.
Company sales & purchases – expert advice on share and asset sales and purchases across a wide range of sectors.
Corporate finance – advice for businesses seeking to raise finance from banks, other institutional lenders or private investors, as well as preparation of the relevant documentation, including debentures, charges and inter-creditor agreements.
Cross option agreements – an in-depth corporate estate planning service covering initial advice about planning for the loss of shareholders and drafting the relevant documentation, including trust deeds.
Joint ventures – commercially-focused advice for joint venture parties, including negotiating and drafting the agreements and ancillary documentation.
Advice about limited liability partnerships (LLPs) – assistance setting up a limited liability partnership or transferring an existing business into the LLP structure.
Management buy-outs – expert advice and support throughout your business’s transition, ensuring meticulous attention to detail and careful consideration of your financial and commercial interests throughout.
Restructurings – make your business more efficient or navigate out of financial difficulty with our specialist restructuring service.
Share transactions – specialist advice about selling shares to third parties or restructuring the business’s shareholding amongst the existing shareholders.
Shareholder agreements – protect your interests and the interests of the business as whole with a bespoke shareholder agreement drafted by one of our corporate law experts.
Business regulations & compliance – navigate the complex world of regulation and compliance with ease. Our expertise covers a broad range of industries, from IT and financial services to cleaning and hospitality.

Employment law advice for small businesses

We provide smart, effective advice for existing employers and businesses looking to take on employees for the first time.

Our service covers all your needs, from hiring, to managing existing employees, to dismissing employees. We can also provide a specialist employment dispute resolution service to negotiate problems with your employees and protect your business. Our expertise includes:

Service agreements & contracts of employment
Employment policies and procedures
TUPE
Settlement agreements (compromise agreements)
Wrongful dismissal claims
Employment Tribunal litigation
Any other type of employment law dispute

Commercial property advice for small businesses

Your premises is likely to be essential to the success of your small business. Whether you are looking to expand your home business and lease your first studio or you are an established business requiring advice about moving or resolving an issue with existing premises, we are here to cover all your needs. Our expertise includes:

Commercial lease advice – including drafting, negotiation and review services.
Advice about agricultural land – including sales and purchases of farms and rural land and associated advice about property rights , contracts and disputes.
Landlord & tenant advice – including dispute resolution services
Commercial leasehold enfranchisement – purchasing the freehold of your commercial property
Planning & environmental law – including assistance with applications, appeals, obligations and change of use
Property development advice – including site acquisition and assembly, related contracts, environmental issues and resolution of property development disputes
Sales & purchases of commercial property
Secured lending – such as the negotiation and document execution of small business loans

Dispute resolution advice for small businesses

We have a dedicated Commercial Litigation team ready to provide clear, practical advice and dispute resolution services to small businesses. Our goal is to help you find a resolution as efficiently and cost effectively as possible while protecting the interests of your business and its reputation. Our expertise includes: