{"id":1612,"date":"2017-07-17T11:33:42","date_gmt":"2017-07-17T11:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-business-name\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T10:52:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T10:52:51","slug":"how-to-choose-a-business-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-business-name\/","title":{"rendered":"How to choose a business name"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/category\/growth-customers\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Growth &amp; Customers<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to choose a business name\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2017-07-17T11:33:42+01:00\">17 July, 2017<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"How to choose a business name\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/how-to-choose-a-business-name\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/author\/alex-jordan\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/fr-fr\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/09\/alex-jordan-350x350.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" height=\"40\" width=\"40\" fetchpriority=\"high\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Alex Jordan<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Choosing the perfect name is incredibly important when starting or rebranding your business. You can&#8217;t just name your business anything you want &#8211; there are legal implications to contend with and significant marketing considerations too.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You may well invest in marketing activities to promote your business, but what you are really doing is developing an association between your business entity and your business brand. It is therefore essential that your business name is aligned with your brand identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-good-business-names-appeal-to-your-target-market\">Good business names appeal to your target market<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are lots of justifications for naming businesses certain ways. Some names use completely made-up words, because they are memorable and easy to market. Others may be much more literal or descriptive of the products and services offered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The important thing to remember is to ensure that your business name is right for your target market. To give you an example, please consider the following names of fictitious restaurants:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Kev&#8217;s Caff<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Fox and Hound<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Captain Ahab&#8217;s Bar and Grill<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Quick&#8217;n Chick&#8217;n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on those names, it&#8217;s highly likely that you have already assumed what these restaurants offer. Knowing that you want to go out for a meal tomorrow night, and without any further information available, you might even use these preconceptions to decide where you&#8217;d like to go!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, just as you would your products and services, I&#8217;d highly recommend further market research to ensure that the name elicits the desired response from your target audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Something else I find incredibly important is whether a name passes the &#8216;radio test&#8217; &#8211; that is, if the name is spoken out loud, would the person listening be able to first hear the name clearly without confusion, and then be able to spell it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-made-your-shortlist-of-business-name-ideas-now-check-what-s-available-amp-legal\">Made your shortlist of business name ideas? Now check what&#8217;s available &amp; legal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It is important to check that your intended name is not too similar to any others. Even if you are convinced that there are no other companies with that name, you must also ensure that you are not going to be breaching any trademarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You should start by conducting some research into whether your desired name is available. Assuming you are a UK business, the first three places I would go to are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/organisations\/companies-house\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Companies House<\/strong><\/a><strong>:<\/strong> by first checking the name against the companies register, you&#8217;ll immediately be able to see if there are any registered companies with similar names. If there are, then it&#8217;s probably not worth you pursuing that name. That said, if the similarly named company is in a completely different industry you may decide it&#8217;s worth continuing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ipo.gov.uk\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>IPO<\/strong><\/a><strong>:<\/strong> you can search through registered trademarks at the Intellectual Property Office. Like searching registered companies, you may well find the trademark taken, in which case it may not be worth you pursuing that name any further. However, trademarks are registered in classes, which relate to different industries, services and products. For example, you may find the name a registered trademark filed in classes related to petrochemicals, but since you&#8217;re opening a bakery that shouldn&#8217;t be an issue (again you should get professional advice). This is why you are able to see terms like &#8216;Polo&#8217;, which is used for the name of a car brand, a mint and a clothing brand, without any obvious trademark infringements.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Google it: <\/strong>it may seem obvious, but by trawling through search engines and business directories you&#8217;ll soon find out whether your desired name is being used.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Please note that if your desired name is not a registered company or trademark, that doesn&#8217;t mean the name is necessarily available. The name may be subject to unregistered rights, and you can&#8217;t simply call your business whatever you want. There are restricted names and phrases, and in some cases you must seek permission to use them, whereas others can&#8217;t be used at all. To be 100% sure, it&#8217;s always advisable to seek a professional opinion from an IP lawyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-check-a-domain-name-is-available-before-you-commit-to-your-company-name\">Check a domain name is available before you commit to your company name<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A domain name does not have to point to a website, so simply vising the website URL to find nothing does not mean that the domain name is available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is an easy way of finding out: The status of a domain name, whether registered or available, is publicly available and can be found via a &#8216;WhoIs&#8217;. Whilst a quick search of Google will bring up a number of WhoIs search providers, I tend to use <a href=\"http:\/\/who.is\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/who.is<\/a> as it covers many domain name extensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So by running a quick search via a WhoIs, you&#8217;ll know if the domain name is free to register or taken by someone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-to-choose-a-business-name-my-story\">How to choose a business name &#8211; my story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It took several months to name my company, Hyperlink. I knew I wanted a name that would reflect our industry and allude to the services we offered, but I also wanted it to portray a message, or at least an idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I originally settled on &#8216;collective&#8217;, because we are about coming together and working as a single body to solve problems. Of course, a quick search and I found that this was already taken, and by another digital agency no less.<br>\nIt seemed that every search brought up more dead ends, until several months later when I saw that the domain name <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hyperlink.co.uk\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hyperlink.co.uk<\/a> was up for auction. Fantastic. It seemed to tick the branding boxes: it was very much associated with digital, it was short, memorable, and it even portrayed that message of linking together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What&#8217;s more, a significant amount of research found that there were no other companies trading with that name, at least in the UK. I was even able to register &#8216;hyperlink&#8217; as a trademark for all of the services we offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It just goes to show that whilst finding the perfect name may take time, and you may not be able to go with your first choice, the exercise is worth the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Join more than 500,000 UK readers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-b1a63862-3fa0-4a5e-bb67-c76b88bbc6b8\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button 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1.5 8 2.293 8 3.25v8.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0 .243v4.38c0 .957.793 1.75 1.75 1.75h5.5c.957 0 1.75-.792 1.75-1.75v-4.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0-.243V3.25c0-.957-.792-1.75-1.75-1.75zm0 1.5h5.5c.147 0 .25.102.25.25V11h-6V3.25c0-.148.102-.25.25-.25m-4.012 7.989a.75.75 0 0 0-.739.761v4.5A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 9.749 21h2v2a.76.76 0 0 0 .216.537.74.74 0 0 0 .534.223.76.76 0 0 0 .535-.223.74.74 0 0 0 .216-.537v-2h2A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 20 16.25v-4.5a.76.76 0 0 0-.216-.537.74.74 0 0 0-.535-.223.75.75 0 0 0-.75.76v4.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25 3.25h-5.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25-3.25v-4.5a.755.755 0 0 0-.469-.707.8.8 0 0 0-.293-.055zM9.5 12.5h6v3.75c0 .147-.102.25-.25.25h-5.5a.24.24 0 0 1-.25-.25zm3 1a.997.997 0 0 0-1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1-1 .997.997 0 0 0-1-1\" \/><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-05-21T15:03:16+01:00\">21 May, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">37 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tHow to fund\u00a0a\u00a0start-up: Top tips from\u00a0Dragons\u2019\u00a0Den\u2019s \u2018best ever pitcher\u2019\u00a0\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-2 post-10198 post type-post status-publish format-audio has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters tag-business-finances tag-circular-economy tag-start-business tag-sound-advice-podcast tag-startup-stories tag-sustainability post_format-post-format-audio business_type-small-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/sound-advice-start-small-business-mart-drake-knight\/?scroll=1\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/Blog_Header_Image_22-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"Mart Drake-Knight\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/Blog_Header_Image_22-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/Blog_Header_Image_22-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/Blog_Header_Image_22-810x810.jpg 810w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" class=\"card-post__meta-icon svg-icon\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M9.75 1.5C8.793 1.5 8 2.293 8 3.25v8.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0 .243v4.38c0 .957.793 1.75 1.75 1.75h5.5c.957 0 1.75-.792 1.75-1.75v-4.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0-.243V3.25c0-.957-.792-1.75-1.75-1.75zm0 1.5h5.5c.147 0 .25.102.25.25V11h-6V3.25c0-.148.102-.25.25-.25m-4.012 7.989a.75.75 0 0 0-.739.761v4.5A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 9.749 21h2v2a.76.76 0 0 0 .216.537.74.74 0 0 0 .534.223.76.76 0 0 0 .535-.223.74.74 0 0 0 .216-.537v-2h2A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 20 16.25v-4.5a.76.76 0 0 0-.216-.537.74.74 0 0 0-.535-.223.75.75 0 0 0-.75.76v4.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25 3.25h-5.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25-3.25v-4.5a.755.755 0 0 0-.469-.707.8.8 0 0 0-.293-.055zM9.5 12.5h6v3.75c0 .147-.102.25-.25.25h-5.5a.24.24 0 0 1-.25-.25zm3 1a.997.997 0 0 0-1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1-1 .997.997 0 0 0-1-1\" \/><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-05-20T17:00:12+01:00\">20 May, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">36 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tHow small\u00a0start-ups can take shape with little money and a big idea\u00a0\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-3 post-7795 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-free-guides-templates category-strategy-legal-operations tag-cash-flow tag-create-business-plan tag-start-business business_type-small-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/how-to-start-a-small-business\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/12\/GettyImages-606923937_super-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"Don&#039;t forget about pensions if you&#039;re self-employed\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/12\/GettyImages-606923937_super-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/12\/GettyImages-606923937_super-768x585.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/12\/GettyImages-606923937_super-1064x810.jpg 1064w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" class=\"card-post__meta-icon svg-icon\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M11.988 2.989a.75.75 0 0 0-.739.761v10.689l-1.72-1.72a.75.75 0 0 0-.957-.099.75.75 0 0 0-.315.776c.031.146.104.28.211.384l3 3a.75.75 0 0 0 1.06 0l3-3a.76.76 0 0 0 .231-.533.74.74 0 0 0-.22-.538q-.108-.106-.247-.164c-.139-.058-.191-.057-.291-.056s-.198.022-.29.061-.174.097-.243.169l-1.72 1.72V3.75a.76.76 0 0 0-.22-.541.76.76 0 0 0-.542-.22zM5.75 8.5C4.24 8.5 3 9.74 3 11.25v7C3 19.76 4.24 21 5.75 21h12.5c1.51 0 2.75-1.24 2.75-2.75v-7c0-1.51-1.24-2.75-2.75-2.75h-3a.76.76 0 0 0-.537.216.74.74 0 0 0-.223.535.76.76 0 0 0 .223.535.74.74 0 0 0 .537.216h3c.699 0 1.25.551 1.25 1.25v7a1.24 1.24 0 0 1-1.25 1.25H5.75a1.24 1.24 0 0 1-1.25-1.25v-7c0-.699.551-1.25 1.25-1.25h3a.76.76 0 0 0 .537-.216.74.74 0 0 0 .223-.535.76.76 0 0 0-.223-.535.75.75 0 0 0-.537-.216z\" \/><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-05-20T15:58:17+01:00\">20 May, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">11 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tHow to start a small business in the UK\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-4 post-5326 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-strategy-legal-operations tag-start-business business_type-small-business industry-food-beverage\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/opening-a-bar-or-club\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/08\/patrick-tomasso-GXXYkSwndP4-unsplash-1-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/08\/patrick-tomasso-GXXYkSwndP4-unsplash-1-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/08\/patrick-tomasso-GXXYkSwndP4-unsplash-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/08\/patrick-tomasso-GXXYkSwndP4-unsplash-1-1080x810.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-05-20T15:36:17+01:00\">20 May, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">6 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tWhat\u00a0you need to know\u00a0before\u00a0opening a bar or club\u00a0in the UK\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Choosing the perfect name is incredibly important when starting or rebranding your business. You can&#8217;t just name your business anything you want &#8211; there are legal implications to contend with and significant marketing considerations too. You may well invest in marketing activities to promote your business, but what you are really doing is developing an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":183,"featured_media":1825,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"sage_hide_published_date":false,"sage_hide_read_time":false,"sage_hide_share_buttons":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[12],"business_type":[4],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[],"imagine_tag":[109],"coauthors":[441],"class_list":["post-1612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growth-customers","tag-start-business","business_type-small-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-gb","author_name":"Alex Jordan","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/08\/DrumbeatCreative_GL_040414-14.jpg","imagine_tags":{"109":"Small business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice UK","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/183"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/1825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1612"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=1612"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=1612"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=1612"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=1612"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=1612"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=1612"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}