Published: 06 November 2014
Q: My premises licence is being reviewed for the third time in two years and the Police this time are going for Revocation. Obviously, I am looking at ways to save the licence and I was wondering whether by transferring it to another operator this may help?
A: Your proposal very much depends upon the nature of the transfer. I do not know the history or detail of your premises, but if the transfer is a real one in the sense that a genuinely new operator is acquiring the premises from you at market value and is proposing to run it in a different way (or indeed proposing to do the same things better than you) then this of course may help – the authorities should be interested in any realistic alternative to revocation of a premises licence. However, if you are planning to transfer the licence to a friend or business associate, [perhaps in the hope that the Police will not make the connection between you and the transferee, then this is unlikely to materially affect the outcome of the Review.
In summary, a technical transfer will probably not help, but a genuine disposal of the premises to a responsible operator may be just what is called for.
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