Licensing - Charges and service information

 

Winckworth Sherwood acts for supermarkets, convenience stores, petrol stations, restaurants, bars, sports and leisure facilities and some of London’s most prestigious hotels. Some of our clients operate single premises but we also act for clients who operate up to 1,000 licensed premises. Our lawyers are geared up to give prompt, practical licensing advice when you need it. Winckworth Sherwood’s licensing experts are well organised, efficient and will keep you updated on changing regulations.

New Premises Licences – Services and Costs:

Consultation preparation and submission of an application:

We charge on a time basis and costs will range between £500 and £2,500 (excl. VAT) depending on:

• The licensable activities sought
• The hours required
• The location of the premises
• The number of applications

Negotiating following receipt of representations:

Time basis and costs will range between £75 and £2,500 (excl. VAT)  depending on:

• The number of representations made in relation to the application
• The nature of the representations
• The issues that arise

Variations of premises licences

Consultation preparation and submission of an application: basis of charging is the same as for a new licence but costs will range from £350 to £2,500 (excl. VAT)  depending on the factors set out above.

Negotiation following receipt of representations and representation at hearing is charged on the same basis as for new premises licence applications.

Representation at hearing:

We charge on a time basis limited to a 5 hour cap per day.

Costs

We work on an hourly rate basis but we will consider agreeing fixed fees for categories of applications for clients with multiple premises. Our hourly rates are set out below:

*Fee earners: senior associate, associate, solicitor and trainee solicitor.

 

Disbursements

Disbursements are expenses payable to third parties which we incur on your behalf in the course of your matter.

In a typical licensing application these will include the application fees payable to the Licensing Authority, and which will  depend on the rateable value of the premises. The scale of fees currently ranges from £100 to £635, subject to additional fees for premises used exclusively or primarily for the supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises.

Other Licensing Authority fees include:

• Personal licence £37
• Temporary event notice £21
• DPS variation £23
• Transfer £23

Some applications must be advertised in a local newspaper. The fees charged by newspapers for this typically range from £250 to £450.

We will charge for travel and accommodation expenses by agreement with the client.

There may be other disbursements, depending on the circumstances, and we normally make a charge for photocopying and a file set up fee of £30 plus VAT.

VAT

Our fees attract VAT which is charged at the standard rate (currently 20%) in addition to the fees set out above.

Licensing Authority fees do not attract VAT but the travel accommodation and newspaper disbursements referred to above do attract VAT.

Conditional fee/damages-based agreements

We do not use either of the above.

Services included in the above costs

Most applications involve a preparation, consultation and submission phase. The 1st key stage will be the submission of the application. The 2nd key stage will be negotiation with interested parties. The 3rd key stage will be representation at a hearing. Each of these stages is reflected in our prices displayed above. This will not cover exceptional cases such as cases that go to appeal or cases where unusual issues arise.

Timescales

For a relatively straight forward applications and variations where the client provides all the necessary documents promptly it will usually take between 4 and 8 weeks. More complex applications, or applications which are opposed, may take significantly longer.

As we are required to do under our professional rules we will provide with you with best information we can about the likely overall cost when you first instruct us at the outset of your matter and update you at  appropriate stages as the matter progresses.  When an unforeseen complexity arises or where the way in which you ask us to proceed means additional work, we will discuss the likely impact on the overall cost and timescale with you.

Experience and qualifications

The team is led by partner Robert Botkai who has in excess of 25 years’ licensing experience. Partner Sabrina Cader has in excess of 10 years’ experience. Work is also carried out under their supervision by a team of licensing assistants who have a range of experience up to 25 years.

Full details of the team and their qualifications can be found here.