Commercial Agreements

Borneos has many experienced lawyers who can assist with the drafting and negotiation of the different types of agreements you are likely to come across in your business.  These range from terms and conditions of purchase, through supply and distribution agreements to franchises and other bespoke contracts. 

Terms and Conditions

Before dealing with suppliers, a trader is well advised to pay careful attention to the terms and conditions on which they wish to carry out business. These terms and conditions may cover:

• the price to be paid by the trader
• any exclusions of liability and warranties and
• method of delivery of the goods.

Reasonable notice of terms and conditions of trading must be given to the supplier. When sourcing goods it is advisable to print your terms and conditions of trading on the back and refer to them in your offer to purchase. If at all possible suppliers should sign to say that they have accepted your terms and conditions before you enter into the contract.

Supply and Distribution Agreements

These are appropriate when goods or services are provided to a customer or distributor of your products on a regular basis. The agreements will set down your terms and conditions. A trader should be most concerned with when and how payment is to be made, the trader’s liability and when responsibility for the products passes to the other party. These agreements sometimes require prolonged negotiation but this is worthwhile if there is to be a long-term business relationship.

Franchises

An increasing number of businesses are using franchises as a method of expansion. A franchise allows a business to grow without directly employing larger numbers of people and gives a degree of autonomy to the franchisee. There are few law firms with specialist knowledge of franchise agreements but Borneos has lawyers who can review, negotiate and draft franchise agreements to give the best commercial position for clients. Issues which need to be considered include:

• the basis on which payments are to be made and at what stages in the relationship
  
• sale of the franchise and in what circumstances this should be possible
• use of branding and other intellectual property.

Bespoke Agreements

As business evolves many commercial relationships may require tailor-made (bespoke) agreements to be drafted to reflect the terms negotiated by the different parties. Borneos has lawyers experienced in drafting such agreements who are able to understand the commercial ramifications of a variety of different businesses. This provides a commercial advantage for clients and avoids the potential pitfalls of relying on precedents to re-create deals that have been done before.

Lawyers at Borneos are happy to spend time with you so that we can get to know your business in detail.  This enables us to advise fully, to negotiate alongside you or on your behalf and to draft contracts which best reflect the agreement between the parties.

 

If you would like to discuss how we might help you, please:

 

• call any of our office numbers listed at the bottom of this page;
• contact one of our specialists direct by clicking on their name below; or
• complete our enquiry form

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Members of our team specialising in this area:

Ken Borneo, Andrew Kerr, Mark Thompson

Ian Jenkinson