It is now widely accepted that English contract law does not deal equally well across the whole range of agreements that are made. The model which fits best to English contract law is one in which the parties move immediately from no contract to completed contract. There is great difficulty with situations where the parties spend a long time in an area where there are obligations and understandings but not yet a fully completed contract. This article considers an important development that attempts to deal with this difficulty. That is the increasing use by contracting parties of what may be called umbrella agreements.