Graeme Payne

I'm the global head of our International Retail & Consumer sector group. As a partner in our international Commercial group in London, I work primarily with retail & consumer focussed businesses on their domestic and international growth and expansion strategies.

As a commercial adviser to retail and consumer companies I regularly help our clients legal and commercial teams to coordinate both business to business and business to consumer relationships - often on a multi-jurisdictional basis. My team and I support a range of clients from entrepreneurs, early-stage ventures and SMEs to growing and established multinationals.

As a specialist in UK and international franchising, distribution and supply chain arrangements, a large focus of my role is to help retail, leisure, food and beverage, hotels, hospitality, services and wellness businesses both integrate and manage their multi-channel growth strategies. This may include advising on an international growth strategy via franchising and or distribution, the integration of e-commerce and m-commerce into a traditional bricks and mortar business or helping to manage the shift from a business to business model to a business to business and business to consumer model.

Where possible my team and I help companies drive efficiencies through the use of technology including automated document management systems. This is particularly attractive to companies with multi-national operations.

• Pret A Manger: advising on its international country and channel partner arrangements including competition and food regulatory advice.
• KFC: advising on its UK and European distribution, supply chain, IT and franchise arrangements - including its relationships with food delivery aggregators.
• Sunday Riley Skincare: advising this US wellness and beauty products brand on its UK market entry including corporate establishment, GDPR, social media and influencer arrangements and consumer law issues.
• Black Sheep Coffee: advising on international brand portfolio management and on its international franchise strategy and arrangements.
• Mothercare/ELC: advising on its international roll-out and franchise relationships as well as international distribution and IT arrangements.
• Liberty of London: advising on warehousing, logistics, GDPR, and distribution and competition issues.
• Moxy/Courtyard Hotels: advising the Norwegian franchisee on its purchase of the operating and franchise rights for the Moxy/Courtyard branded hotels.
• Pizza Express: advising on their international franchise expansion and rollout for a number of years.
• BYBI/Clean Beauty: advising this growing wellness and beauty products business on their international brand management, manufacturing and distribution arrangements and fund raising.
• Stagecoach: advising on the roll out of the new UK franchise agreement, franchisee network management issues and advising on international brand protection and international roll out strategy, including PRC and Australia.