Retail and Leisure

The retail and leisure sector is broad and fast-moving. It includes high street shops, independent retailers, shopping centres, online and multi-channel retailers, cafés, restaurants, bars, gyms, hotels, visitor attractions, entertainment venues, sports clubs, sporting facilities such as tennis, padel and squash courts, rugby & football pitches, garden centres, and leisure operators.

Whether you are opening new premises, expanding into additional locations, negotiating supplier contracts, managing staff, protecting your brand, dealing with a dispute or planning for investment or sale, our team provides clear, commercial advice designed around your business.

Our Retail and Leisure team advises businesses, investors, developers, landlords and tenants across the sector. We understand the commercial pressures faced by retail and leisure operators, from property costs and staffing matters to supply chain issues, consumer expectations, brand protection and changing market conditions.

Legal Services for Retail and Leisure Businesses

DTM Legal provides practical, commercially focused legal support across the full range of issues affecting retail and leisure businesses. Our team brings together specialists from across our core commercial departments, allowing us to provide joined-up advice that supports both day-to-day operations and long-term growth.

Commercial Property & Land

Property is often one of the most important considerations for businesses in the retail and leisure sector. Whether you are taking on new premises, renewing an existing lease, developing a site or managing a portfolio of properties, our Commercial Property & Land team can provide clear and practical advice.

We can support with:

Property transactions
Development projects
Commercial leases and lease renewals
Licences to assign, alter or underlet
Landlord and tenant matters
Restrictive covenants and easements
Property finance
Property due diligence for acquisitions and investment
Property management

Corporate & Commercial

Our Corporate & Commercial team advises retail and leisure businesses on the legal structures, contracts and transactions that underpin their operations. We work with start-ups, growing businesses, franchise operators, investors and established brands on a wide range of commercial matters.

We can support with:

Business sales and acquisitions
Investment and finance arrangements
Shareholder and partnership agreements
Franchise agreements and franchise structures
Supplier, distribution and agency agreements
Terms and conditions of business
E-commerce and online trading terms
Intellectual property, brand protection and licensing
Data protection and commercial compliance
Restructuring and succession planning

Employment & HR

People are central to the success of retail and leisure businesses. Our Employment & HR team provides practical support to help employers manage staff, reduce risk and respond effectively to workplace issues.

We can support with:

Employment contracts and staff handbooks
HR policies and procedures
Recruitment, onboarding and right to work checks
Managing performance, absence and conduct issues
Disciplinary and grievance processes
Redundancy and restructuring
TUPE advice
Employment Tribunal claims
Settlement agreements
Training for managers and HR teams

Dispute Resolution

Disputes can be disruptive, costly and damaging to reputation. Our Dispute Resolution team works with retail and leisure businesses to resolve issues efficiently and commercially, whether through negotiation, mediation or litigation where required.

We can support with:

Commercial contract disputes
Supplier and customer disputes
Debt recovery
Property and lease disputes
Franchise disputes
Shareholder and partnership disputes
Professional negligence claims
Injunctions and urgent applications
Reputation and brand-related disputes
Alternative dispute resolution and mediation

Contact our team of solicitors

Our solicitors work closely with clients to understand how their business operates and the outcomes they want to achieve. By bringing together expertise from across our Commercial Property & Land, Corporate & Commercial, Employment & HR and Dispute Resolution teams, we provide joined-up advice that reflects the commercial realities of operating in the retail and leisure sector.