Premises Licence

[IwanG]

I am nearing the stage where I intend to lease a commercial shop to use as a food to go outlet. So many pitfalls and things that you need to consider at this stage that it's a bit overwhelming. I would appreciate all feedback- especially if you've gone through the process yourself. Take a recent example in my home city, a veggie takeaway shop was meant to open in an upmarket part of town. The perfect fit you would have thought. It received a lot of attention in the local press when people became aware that they had made a licence application - and local social media sites were all over the story.But last week the veggie takeaway had to abandon their plans as the local authority rejected the licence, apparently a number of the local residents had objected to the application on the grounds that it would change the nature of the street (they didn't want to see their leafy suburban street that is full of independent boutiques becoming takeaway city!). This application did involve changing the use of the premises from A1 to A3.

Would the veggie takeaway owner have lost any money during this unsuccessful licence attempt?

Would the tenant be paying anything to the landlord during this period ?

Would commercial solicitors have been involved during this licence application period? And if so would you still have to pay a full price to the solicitors if the whole thing fell through?

Finally what steps need to be taken to make the whole process as painless as possible? What about

1. Discuss your idea with the licensing department before looking to lease premises
2. Take a fit-out expert into premises to ascertain if it's viable for the use you have in mind
3.Get the solicitors involved. Try to negotiate a rent free period during renovations, ascertain exactly what you will be paying for during these first few months, try and get the fit-out company to sign a clause stating that all works should be completed by a specific date

Anything else?

 

[Scalloway]

Would the veggie takeaway owner have lost any money during this unsuccessful licence attempt?

He would have lost money but gained experience

Would the tenant be paying anything to the landlord during this period ?

That would depend on what the agreement was. Did he take on the lease or did he just have an agreement with the landlord that taking on the lease woould depend on getting permission to open.

Would commercial solicitors have been involved during this licence application period?

If he had any sense he would have a solictor on hand to deal with legal issues.

would you still have to pay a full price to the solicitors if the whole thing fell through?

It is very unlikely that the solicitor would act on a no win, no fee basis.

1. Discuss your idea with the licensing department before looking to lease premises

Definitely. They won't want to give a definitive answer though until the application comes through.

2. Take a fit-out expert into premises to ascertain if it's viable for the use you have in mind

Yes.

3.Get the solicitors involved.

Yes.

Try to negotiate a rent free period during renovations, ascertain exactly what you will be paying for during these first few months,

Yes

try and get the fit-out company to sign a clause stating that all works should be completed by a specific date

Try but don't expect agreement.

The best sceheme is before you start spending serious money is to get a team of experts on board. It will cost money but a successful result depends on good preparation.

 

[Energise Accounting]

It is not easy to get a premises licence after a change of use, especially in a suburban street. If you should talk to the local licencing department beforehand, they would tell you the chances of a successful application. If one has already been refused the chances are slim.

 

[SMEMartyn]

Drop Steve Evans at Protocol Training & Support Services an email. What he doesn’t know about premises licences isn’t worth knowing. He helps people with applications and has a good success rate.