Pricing information – Licensing

We understand that transparency and certainty about legal costs is just as important as providing pragmatic and succinct advice with excellent response times.

We pride ourselves on being open and transparent on costs from an initial enquiry to a successful conclusion.  We also regularly benchmark our costs against our local competitors.

We are required by the Solicitors Regulation Authority Transparency Rules to publish information on the cost of applying for a new Premises Licence and varying a Premises Licence.  We have provided this generic information below but would be happy to provide you with a bespoke quote for your matter.

Applying for a New Premises Licence or Variation to Existing Premises Licence

We would estimate our fees for applying for a basic new premises licence at between £1,500 to £2,500 plus VAT and disbursements.

As much of the work involved is the same as applying for a new Premises Licence, we would estimate our fees for applying for a major variation to an existing Premises Licence at between £1,500 to £2,500 plus VAT and disbursements as well.

We would estimate our fees for applying for a minor variation of an existing Premises Licence at between £750 – £1,000 plus VAT and disbursements.

Our charges would be set out in a detailed breakdown at the start of the matter and would be based on the following hourly rates:

Partner:  £295 plus VAT

Associate:  £230 plus VAT

Solicitor:  £175 to £200 plus VAT

Trainee and paralegal:  £90 to £120 plus VAT

Please note that the use of titles such as “Associate” or “Senior Associate” differ amongst firms and as such our rates may not be directly comparable with some of our competitors.  Our rates are normally reviewed and benchmarked in April each year.

Stages of a typical case

Our fees above cover the following key stages of a claim:

• Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you:-
• as to how you should be promoting the licensing objectives, as set out by the Licensing Act 2003 (“the Act”) within your application;
• on the type of plans required by the Act that will need to accompany your application;
• Completing and submitting your application;
• Disclosing your application to the responsible authorities; and
• Arranging for your application to be appropriately advertised.

We would expect the above stages (save for settlement discussions) to be required in all applications for a new Premises Licence.

Our fees include:

• Taking your instructions and advising you as to how to promote the licensing objectives under the Act;
• Advising you as to the plans required to be submitted with your application;
• Completing the application for a new Premises Licence (including the operating schedule) or a variation to an existing one;
• Advising you in relation to the application fee required to submit the application and, where the application is for a new Premises Licence, advising you as to any multipliers applied to the fee as a result of the location/size/type of premises;
• Submitting your application to the local Licensing authority with the compliant plans (provided by you);
• Preparing copies of your application to be sent to the relevant responsible authorities;
• Drafting the notices advertising your application and, where necessary, submitting the notice to a local newspaper for publication;
• Advising you as to how to display the notices at your premises in order to comply with the requirements of the Act; and
• Drafting and providing you with a Designated Premises Supervisor consent form for signature by a personal licence holder proposed by you.

Our fees do not include:

• Obtaining suitable plans;
• Attending pre-consultation meetings with the Licensing Authority and/or Responsible Authorities (or their fees for attending any such meeting);
• Advising you in relation to queries or representations received from the Responsible Authorities and/or interested parties; and
• Attendance and representation at a licensing sub-committee hearing. If representations are made and you require us to attend and represent you at the hearing, then we will provide a separate fee estimate for this work that will be charged at this firm’s standard hourly rates (see above).

Our team

We have one solicitor within our licensing team who specialises in Property Litigation and licensing matters.  Details of our Property Litigation team and their expertise can be found here.

Disbursements

Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as counsel’s fees. We handle the payment of disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

There will be a licence fee when submitting the application and this is dependent on the non-domestic rateable value of the premises and what type of Premises Licence you are applying for. The fee can be as little as £100 and as much as £1,900.

There will be a fee for advertising your application in a local newspaper and this varies from area to area but we would estimate the costs at £100 to £350 plus VAT.

In relation the application fee and advertising fee, we will give you an accurate figure once we receive the necessary information about the premises.

You may also need to budget for printing and photocopying costs. These costs would typically be in the region of £20.

How long will an application take?

Applications usually take between 1 to 2 weeks from receipt of full instructions from you to filing the same with the local licensing authority. However, this is on the basis that your application is relatively straightforward. Once the application is received, the local licensing authority will grant a minor variation within 5 days of receiving your application. For an application for a new Premises Licence and a major variation, the consultation period is 28 days. If your matter is complex and/or the local licensing authority receive opposition to your application, it is likely that the matter will take longer.

Next steps

Whilst the above represents a reasonable estimate of the process, costs and timing in respect of the licensing service provided by this firm, the above information is generic in nature as each matter is case specific.