Retail & Hospitality Dispute Accounting Expert

Retail and hospitality disputes turn on margin economics, volume forecasts, and the commercial relationship between operators, landlords, suppliers, and franchisors. Supply agreement breaches entitle claimants to gross margin on products that could not be sold, calculated from purchase price, selling price, and historic sell-through. Dispute accountants reconcile like-for-like sales, ranging data, and promotional calendars to separate breach-related loss from market-wide disruption, a distinction critical since the pandemic.

COVID-related business interruption and loss of profit claims require careful adjustment of but-for turnover for industry-wide lockdown impact versus defendant-specific breach. Franchise disputes involve royalty calculation errors, failure to support territory as contracted, and quantum of lost profits from wrongful termination, quantified from franchisee trading records and network comparables. Lease disputes, footfall impact claims, and EBITDA normalisation in sale and purchase disagreements similarly demand transparent assumptions and sensitivity analysis.

Hospitality operators face additional complexity: revenue per available room, food and beverage margin, labour cost volatility, and seasonal trading patterns. Dispute accountants present figures in formats suitable for insurance litigation, commercial contract claims, and franchise arbitration. Sector-matched experts understand retail KPIs, net net pricing in supplier agreements, and the accounting treatment of rebates, shrinkage, and central marketing contributions.

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