Our fees for an application for a new Premises Licence, or the variation of an existing Premises Licence, will vary depending upon the complexity of the proposed application. We will provide you with a detailed figure once we have obtained initial information from you and advise which category the application falls into.

If you require pre-application advice (to include liaison with Responsible Authorities e.g. police) our normal fees are £500 plus VAT at 20%.

The normal range of our fees for applications for new licences and variations are:

These fees are charged at Knights hourly rates (plus VAT at 20%):

Partner £600/525/450/395

Senior Associate £385

Associate £325

Solicitor £275

Legal Executive £275

Trainee Solicitor £190

Paralegal £170

Legal Assistant £120

Application fee (payable to licensing authority) – this is based upon the Non Domestic Rateable Value (NDRV) of the premises. See chart below.

For premises with an NDRV above £87,000 there may be a multiplier of 2 or 3 times applied if the premises are used exclusively or primarily for the supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises.

No VAT is charged on application fees unless advised,

Advertising fee – this varies according to the length of the notice and the newspaper chosen, but is typically around £250 to £350 plus VAT at 20%. We recharge these to you at cost.

Printing additional copies of plans if necessary £20 plus VAT at 20% per copy.

What is included

• taking your instructions and advising you as to how you can promote the licensing objectives within your application. We assume the initial meeting will not last more than 45-60 minutes;

• providing guidance on the requirements for plans you are required to submit with your application;

• completing the application form for a new premises licence (including the operating schedule) in accordance with your instructions and providing you with a draft for approval;

• as necessary providing a Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) consent form for signature by a personal licence holder proposed by yourself;

• submitting the application by e-mail or on-line to the local licensing authority with suitable plans (as necessary). The cost of arranging for and preparing the plans is not included;

• drafting the notices advertising the premises licence application and supplying for you to erect on the premises, and advising as to where and how this should be done by you in order to comply with the requirements of the Licensing Act 2003;

• submitting the notice to the local newspaper for advertising;

• checking the licence once granted and correcting any errors with the licensing authority; and

• corresponding with you by e-mail.

Should the local authority not accept applications by e-mail or online, then there will be additional fees payable for preparing copies of the premises licence application for disclosure to the responsible authorities and serving copies of the application on the responsible authorities.

Any work we conduct not included in the above (for example see below) will be charged at an hourly rate of between £175 to £330 per hour depending upon experience and seniority of your adviser.

The fees stated do not include:

• obtaining suitable plans;

• site visits (except where local and in cases of high complexity);

• meetings outside the offices or outside normal office hours;

• attending pre-consultation meetings with the Licensing Authority or Responsible Authorities, nor their fee for this meeting (see separate charges above);

• dealing with or advising you in relation to queries or representations received from either the responsible authorities or other interested parties;

• attendance and representation at a licensing sub-committee hearing of the responsible authority. If representations are received and attendance and representation at a licensing sub-committee is required then we will provide a separate fee estimate for this work which will be charged at an hourly rate; and

• advice on any issues other than an application for a new licence or variation of an existing licence.

What we need from you

We aim to act as promptly as possible following receipt of your instructions. These estimates assume that you will supply us with all information and fees and disbursements requested promptly, all documents supplied are in the correct format and without unnecessary reminders on our behalf.

How long will my application take?

Matters usually take 5-6 weeks from receipt of full instructions from you assuming there are no objections.

This is on the basis of the application being straightforward and you being able to provide all the necessary documents and responding to requests for information promptly.

If your matter is more complex, for example, if there is substantial opposition from interested parties, or if there is a delay in receiving the documents we need, it may take longer.