Taking a lease on a shop in Bath means taking on a listed building, and the first conversation with a business law solicitor in Bath is often about what can and cannot be done to it: whether the fascia can carry the brand's colours, whether the landlord's consent is enough or the council's is needed as well, and who pays for the Bath stone when it needs repair. Tourism and hospitality businesses, from the hotels and restaurants of the centre to the independent shops of Walcot Street, depend on that advice, and on licensing, pavement licences, employment contracts for seasonal staff and terms with tour operators and online platforms.
Bath's other businesses are a varied group. The city has an unusual concentration of consultancies, architects, engineers, designers and publishers, who need partnership and LLP agreements, succession plans and the contracts that define their liability. Software and technology companies, many born at the universities, need shareholder agreements, investment documents and intellectual property assignments. Family businesses in the city and the towns around it, Keynsham, Midsomer Norton and Radstock, need advice on selling, passing on or closing. All of them need terms of business, data protection compliance and someone to call when a customer does not pay.
Disputes are issued in the county court at Bath Law Courts when small and in the Business and Property Courts in Bristol when large, and a Bath solicitor will usually propose mediation first. Insolvency advice, for companies and for their directors, is part of the service.
Bath's firms tend to be smaller than Bristol's, with fixed fees for company formation and standard documents and hourly rates for negotiation and litigation; the Bristol firms are a short train ride away for the largest deals.
Business law firms serving Bath are listed below, verified firms first. Read what business law covers, dispute resolution and debt and bankruptcy, see the general business law solicitors page, or go to employment law solicitors in Bath and IP solicitors in Bath.
