The hospitality industry is highly regulated by various authorities often requiring complicated and detailed licensing. Businesses are subject to rigorous inspections and enforcement of the law due to public health and safety concerns. From restaurants to hotels and bars, as well as nightclubs, each one needs to be properly licensed before it can start operating. We understand how challenging it can be to remain compliant. Licensing can be a minefield – but you don’t have to go it alone!
Added to this is the continued mid to high staff churn within the industry, which just adds to an already demanding to-do list once an establishment is up and running. This increases the opportunity for inconsistent management and the very real risk of non-compliance.
We’ve seen that Opium Nightclub, a 500-capacity venue only opened in December 2018 following a £7m refurbishment and the winner of Luxury Lifestyle Awards Best Luxury Nightclub in London 2019, lost its licence last month.
Having hosted an event in late August 2019 where one person was stabbed and another person shot, the Metropolitan Police brought summary review proceedings and the club’s licence was suspended. At the full review hearing this week the licence was revoked following a catalogue of breaches of the licence conditions. These incidents were entirely preventable had proper search procedures and other practices been followed as per their licence conditions. Had the business complied with these then almost certainly the outcome of the hearing would have been different.
If Licensing is leaving you or your management team overwhelmed – our team of professionals can help! Licensing is complex and we’re here to make it less so for you. We can visit your premises, check your policies and procedures are adequate for the style of your business and that you are compliant with the objectives and the conditions contained within your licences. We work with you to get you compliant and review every six months to ensure you stay compliant. This will minimise the risk of incidents and provides documentation should an incident occur to demonstrate you have done all that you can to prevent one.
LSS Group have a team of qualified licensing practitioners and business partners on hand to assist you with:
• Personal License training
• Alcohol Licensing
• Applications
• Premises licence management
• Major & minor variations
• Transfers & holdings
• DPS/DPM variations
• Mediation
• Reviews & enforcement
• Licence holding
Take advantage of our free 30 minute business review to explore how our licensing services can support your business.