Every event at the O2 is a web of contracts: the promoter, the venue, the production company, the caterers, the security contractor, the merchandise licensee and dozens of freelancers, all bound by documents that a business law solicitor in Greenwich may have drafted or will be asked to unpick. The peninsula around it, with its Design District, hotels and new offices, has become the borough's commercial centre, while Woolwich, with Woolwich Works and the shops and restaurants of the Royal Arsenal, is catching up, and Greenwich town centre lives on tourism, from the market traders to the pubs along the river.
Most of the borough's businesses are small, and the work is practical: setting up companies and partnerships, shareholder agreements for founders who have not yet disagreed, terms and conditions, supplier and customer contracts, leases for shop units in Woolwich and for stalls and restaurants in Greenwich Market, and licensing for food, alcohol and late opening. The logistics and manufacturing businesses on the Charlton riverside and at Thamesmead need commercial contracts, property advice and help with health and safety regulation. University spin-outs need investment agreements and clean ownership of their intellectual property.
Disputes over unpaid invoices, broken contracts and leases go to the county court, and larger claims to the Business and Property Courts in central London, though most are settled or mediated first. Insolvency advice is part of the service for hospitality businesses that have had a bad year.
Company formation, standard documents and lease reviews are usually fixed-fee; negotiation and litigation are charged by the hour.
The firms below handle business and commercial work in and around Greenwich, verified ones at the top. Useful background: the guides to business law and dispute resolution, the explainer on corporate law and the general business law solicitors page; staffing questions belong with employment law solicitors in Greenwich.
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