Licensing (premises)

Solicitors here undertake applications for licences (liquor, gaming, entertainment and leisure). There can be few, if any, areas of regulated activity other than licensing in which so forbidding a combination of legal and administrative requirements is encountered. These range across statutes, regulations and bylaws and involve such disparate bodies as licensing justices, magistrates' courts, district councils, Customs and Excise, the Gaming Board, the Police and fire authorities.

Our solicitors are available to address the licensing needs of the entertainment and leisure industries, from cafes to restaurants and from amusement arcades to zoos. They are able to assist prospective licensees not only in identifying the licences required but also in providing guidance along the procedural route which should be followed in obtaining them. Our solicitors aim to anticipate the needs of licensing applicants and to supply practical, constructive advice; for example, as to notice requirements, fees, the hearing itself, duration of the licence, grounds for refusal, rights of appeal, procedures for renewal and steps to be taken on transfer.