Licensing solicitors

This section applies to our advice to you in respect of the preparation and submission of your licensing application.

Our overall fees for licensing matters vary depending on how complex your case is and what you would like us to do. This note provides a guide to how we calculate our charges for such work and an indication of how much the typical case is likely to cost. For an estimate tailored to your specific matter, please contact us and we will discuss your matter and needs with you and provide you with a bespoke cost estimate.

Our charges

Our charges consist of:

• Our professional fees for the legal work.
• Costs and expenses paid to others in order to progress your matter, such as fees for a barrister’s opinion or representation. We handle making these payments on your behalf during the course of your matter, either using money that you have given us in advance, or invoicing them to you together with our fees. These payments are called disbursements.
• VAT is charged on our professional fees at the applicable rate, which is currently 20%. Many disbursements also carry VAT, and we will inform you of the VAT on each disbursement as we go along.

Calculating our fees

Our fees will either be agreed with you as a fixed fee at the start of your case OR, be based on how much time it takes to deal with your case and we will usually be guided by your preference here.

The costs of a licensing application can vary according to how complex the case is. We will discuss your case and needs with you and provide you with a tailored estimate for your case. However, the table below sets out guideline ranges for the costs at different levels of complexity.

The table below sets out the guideline ranges for the fixed fee costs of a straightforward application for a new premises licence under Section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003:

The table below sets out the guideline ranges for the fixed fee costs of a straightforward application to vary an existing premise licence under Section 34 of the Licensing Act 2003:

If we do not provide you with a fixed price, or if we do additional work for you which is outside the scope of our fixed price, please note that our hourly rates may apply. The standard hourly rates for each type of solicitor or other team member who may be involved in your transaction are:

The factors which may impact on the complexity of your case and therefore the exact time spent and fees charged, include:

• The size and nature of the premises to be licensed.
• The location of the premises. For example, if it is a densely populated area or if the licensed activity would not be in keeping with the local area.
• The nature of the licensed activity, including operating hours, whether it will include festivals or special events, and whether there may be a perceived risk that the activity will attract anti-social or criminal behaviour.
• Whether there is likely to be any opposition or representations from local residents or authorities.

Disbursements and other expenses

You may have to pay certain expenses and costs to third parties, which are not included in the fees quoted above.

In the typical straightforward premises licence application the disbursements that you will need to pay are:

• Licence fee. This is charged by the licensing authority and will depend on the Non-Domestic Rateable Value (NDRV) of the premises. You can check the NDRV of your premises on the Valuation Office Agency website and can check the level of fee that will apply on the Home Office licensing fee levels website. Fees range from £100 to £1,905 depending on the NDRV of the premises.
• Advertising fees. This will depend on the size of the notice and newspaper chosen, but will typically cost £200 - £400 plus VAT at 20%.
• Enquiry agent fees for displaying public notices, if required.

Other costs to consider

In the typical case you may also need to pay the cost of preparing suitable plans for the application, which it will be your responsibility to provide.

Legal work involved in the transaction

The examples of typical fees above cover all of the work we would expect to carry out in relation to the following key stages of the licence application process:

• Taking instructions and advising you on your application.
• Advising on the type of plans that you will be required to submit with your application.
• Preparing the application form and ancillary documents and submitting this and accompanying plans to the local licensing authority. You must provide suitable plans for this purpose.
• Advising you on the licensing fee that will be payable to the licensing authority.
• Preparing any copies of the application that may be required for disclosure to the responsible authorities and serving copies of the application as required.
• Preparing the notice required to advertise your premises licence application and:
  • submitting this to an appropriate newspaper local to the premises; and
  • advising you in relation to displaying the notice advertising the premises licence application so as to comply with the requirements of the Licensing Act 2003.
• Providing a Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) consent form for signature by the personal licence holder that you propose.
• Checking that the licence granted is correct and raising any issues with the licensing authority.

The costs set out above do not include the costs of:

• Obtaining suitable plans for submission with the application. Obtaining these will be your responsibility.
• A member of our staff attending any pre-consultation meetings with the licensing or responsible Authorities, nor any fee that the authority may charge for such a meeting.
• Advising you on any objection, representation or other issues raised by the authorities, local residents or other interested parties.
• Advising you on varying the licence (or, if your application is to vary, on further variation).
• Attending or representing you at any licensing sub-committee hearing of the responsible authority.
• Attending the premises.
• Obtaining input from any experts that may be required.
• If any of this work becomes necessary in your matter, we will advise you on next steps and will provide a tailored estimate of the further costs for this work at that time.

It would not normally be necessary to undertake other work or incur other costs other than those described above. However, we would be very happy to provide you with a more tailored quote for all stages of your particular case once we know about your specific circumstances.

Timescale and key stages

In a typical straightforward uncomplicated matter, if the client is able to provide us with the documents, plans and information we require promptly, the application can be submitted within [2-3 working days].

How long after your application has been submitted it will take for a licence to be granted (if your application is successful) will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes 4 - 8 weeks. However, if the matter becomes complicated or is contested, or if an appeal is necessary, the process could take longer. We will advise you on time frames for more complex cases as they progress. You should be aware that, as with all such applications, your application may not be successful.

Who will be dealing with your application?

Your transaction will be handled by a trusted member of our licensing team.

Once we know who will be handling your case for you, you will be able to find further details of their background and qualifications by visiting the People section on our website.

If you have any queries, please contact:

• Michael Balmer at MichaelB@Cyxcel.com