Five questions you need to ask about your license

There are still more than 40 pubs closing every week and the licensed trade is now a question of survival of the fittest.

There is room for improvement in every business – but is your current premises licence holding you back?

Consider the questions below and consider whether it is worth applying to vary your licence.

1. Can you open for all the hours that you and your customers want – during the week, at weekends and at Bank Holidays?
2. Are there any special dates when you would like to open for longer – Bank holiday weekends, Burns Night, Valentines Night, St. Patrick’s Day, St. George’s Day, Halloween, ‘A’ level results night, over the Christmas period, New Year’s Eve?
3. If you ever thought of applying for Temporary Event Notices – could these events be included within your license?
4. Does your license allow regulated entertainment and (if so) can you provide all the regulated entertainment that you and your customers want (for example, can you hold pool / darts competitions)?
5. Can you do anything to minimise the effect of the smoking ban?

If you decide that you do not want to vary your license – that is fine, you have what you want/need but we would suggest that you repeat the exercise every so often in case any of your answers change. If you decide that you may want to vary your Licence – give Andrew Bartlett a call and we can have a chat either over the phone or at our offices.