Licensing: Our Fees
Practical licensing advice backed by transparent and cost-effective fees
Licensing lawyers fees
Our specialised and experienced licensing team can guide you through the licensing process under licensing and gambling law.
Our team acts for many types of hospitality and retail businesses from small owner-operators to national pub chains. Our key focus is to seek and maintain a licence that fits the needs of your business, whilst providing flexibility to allow you to operate within an ever-changing economy.
Our licence application fees
Below is the outline of our fees for both an application for a new premises licence and an application to vary a premises licence.
| Type of application | Range of fees |
| Simple | £750.00 – £1,500.00 plus VAT |
| Medium Complexity | £1,500.00 – £2,500.00 plus VAT |
| High Complexity | £2,500.00+ plus VAT |
There are also a number of disbursements – fees paid to third parties – that are linked to all premises licence applications. We can advise you on these at the outset.
Hourly rates
Sometimes you may require some pre-application advice (i.e. liaising with the relevant authorities). This would be charged at the relevant fee earners hourly rate and discussed with you at the outset of your instruction:
| Fee earner | Charge per hour |
| Partner | £350.00 |
| Senior Associate | £330.00 |
| Associate | £310.00 |
| Senior Paralegal | £180.00 |
| Trainee Solicitor | £180.00 |
Hourly rates are to subject VAT at 20%.
Licensing authority fees
| Band | A | B | C | D | E |
| Non-Domestic Rateable Value | None to £4,300.00 | £4,301 to £33,000 | £33,3001 to £87,000 | £87,000 to £125,000.00 | £125,001 and above |
| Application Fee | £100 | £190 | £315 | £450 | £635 |
| Annual Charge | £70 | £180 | £295 | £320 | £350 |
The licence fees above are not subject to VAT.
Advertising fee
It is a requirement that applications for licences and variations are advertised in a local newspaper.
The fee for the advertising varies according to the length of the notice and the relevant publication. We use a specialist agent to obtain the most cost effective rates and typically is around £300 to £500 plus VAT.
Post application
Following the end of the consultation period of an application, it may be necessary to attend a hearing if representations are made that have not been withdrawn.
Any work carried out on mediation in an effort to resolve any representations or preparation for a hearing would be charged on a time spent basis at the relevant hourly rate of the fee earner acting on your behalf.
We would discuss the anticipated costs of any additional work required at the time.
We believe in being transparent about costs from the outset, as we know that our specialist advice will save you substantial amounts in the future.
