Licensing solicitor joins hospitality front line for National Licensing Week

National Licensing Week is back from June 9 to June 13 2025, celebrating the vital role licensing plays in keeping people safe while enjoying the UK’s vibrant hospitality and leisure sectors. 

The Institute of Licensing promotes National Licensing Week as an opportunity to raise awareness nationwide and encourage as much engagement as possible. Supporting the underlying message of the initiative, which is “licensing is everywhere“, with daily themes to demonstrate how licensing affects our daily lives.

The daily themes for 2025 include:

1. Day 1 – Positive partnerships
2. Day 2 – Tourism and leisure
3. Day 3 – Home and family
4. Day 4 – Night time
5. Day 5 – Business and licensing

As part of the celebrations, Poppleston Allen’s licensing solicitor, Felix Faulkner, swapped his legal briefs for bar taps, gaining firsthand insight into life on the front line of the hospitality industry.

On Wednesday 11th June, with the help of James Dye and Benjy Leibowitz, the Co-Founders of High Note Hospitality, Felix joined the team at The Knave of Clubs in Shoreditch, London, to learn how to pour a few pints in honour of Day 4 – Night time.

Felix said, “This year, I thought I would try and give back to one of my clients and pop down and do a free shift behind the bar pulling some (pretty decent, if I say so myself) pints for the thirsty London public.

“Now, I’ll be honest, I haven’t pulled a pint since my university days however after an initial confidence wobble, and some amazing support from bar manager Will, I soon got into the swing of it and had a damn great time.

We sometimes forget the bar staff are the lifeblood of hospitality, working long hard shifts tirelessly to ensure our experience at their venue is as best as it can be. Working behind the bar really did renew my sense of appreciation for all the superstars in our industry.”

For further information on general licensing, please contact any of our licensing solicitors at 0115 953 8500.