COSTS & OTHER INFORMATION
LICENSING
1. INTRODUCTION
2. TYPES OF APPLICATION
3. WORKS AND STAGES
4. TIMESCALE
5. SERVICES EXCLUDED
6. BASIS OF CHARGING
7. ADDITIONAL LEGAL FEES
8. DISBURSEMENTS
9. GENERAL EXPENSES
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 All matters will be handled by our Mr Stephen Chung who is the Principal of this firm and the Head of our Licensing Department. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1982 and has gained invaluable experience in different aspects in this field over the past 41 years in practice. Please see our web page for “Solicitors” for more information about him.
1.2 For personal reasons, he now accepts instructions only for the following types of applications and only on the following charging basis. Please first read our web page for “About Us” for Important Announcements.
1.3 Please note that Value Added Tax (“VAT”)* is chargeable in addition to our legal fees and other expenses which is currently fixed at 20%.
1.4 Your instructions must be accepted by us on before 01.06.2024 and which must be given in person since we do not accept instructions by video call, telephone or message. You must be in the UK and is available for meetings at our office since we must meet our clients face to face to ascertain their identity.
1.5 Mr Stephen Chung’s currently hourly charge is £278 + VAT £55.60 = £333.60** (per Court’s guideline effective from 01.01.2024 for Grade A National 1 solicitors).
2. TYPES OF APPLICATION
2.1 Only for a Premises Licence for provision of late night refreshment and not for other purposes, (2) your instructions must be accepted by us on before 01.06.2024, and (3) the applicant is in the UK and is available for meetings at our office.
3. WORKS AND STAGES
3.1 The precise works and stages involved in such a licensing application vary from case to case. However, they are generally like this for a straight-forward application:-
- Taking your instructions, ascertaining your requirements and eligibility for the Licence, advising you of your rights and obligations under the Licensing Law including the promotion of the licensing objectives; assessing the likelihood of extended opening hours in your vicinity and possible objections from the local residents, the Police and the Local Authority; checking your licensing background and the licensing history of your premises and for any likely problems.
- Inspecting your premises (if required by us only and for no extra charge), advising you on what extended opening hours should be applied for; advising on the total costs involved including legal, plan drawing and application fees, advising you on the estimated application time scale and obtaining your instructions to proceed.
- Arranging drawing of plans for your premises by a professional draughtsman.
- Preparing a Notice of Application for advertising in a local newspaper and arranging publication.
- Arranging for you to display the Notice of Application at your premises and advising you on where and for how long it should be displayed.
- Preparing and serving the Application with plans on the Local Authority and the other responsible authorities.
- Dealing with all incidental correspondence and works leading to the grant (or refusal) of the Licence and if granted checking the Licence and the conditions attached such as relating to display, validity and renewal fee.
4. TIMESCALE
- It varies and is dependent on the co-operation of all the parties and authorities concerned. If all goes well, it should take about 4 weeks from receipt of instructions to submission of application and then a further 4 weeks for it to be processed by the Local Authority, an overall period of at least 8 – 10 weeks.
- If there are substantial oppositions or unforeseen complications, it may take longer and involve more costs.
5. SERVICES EXCLUDED
- Site inspection unless offered by us on a free of charge basis but limited to once only.
- Dealing with any opposition, objection and/or variation of the original application.
- Attending any meeting with the Local Authority, any of the other responsible authorities or the local residents and submitting any oral or written representation in support of the Application or for any other reasons.
- Amendment of the Application or supporting documents for any reason (unless caused by our fault or default).
- Appeal or fresh application following refusal of the Application.
6. ADDITIONAL LEGAL FEES
6.1 In some circumstances, we may increase our legal fees to account for additional time, work or skill required to comply with your instructions, if you still wish to continue with the Application. Examples include but are not limited to:-
- Where there is a strict or short deadline;
- Where there is a cumulative impact policy in place;
- Where there are issues relating to the type, size and location of your premises;
- Where the premises is in a residential or sensitive area;
- When the extended opening hours may adversely impact any of the licensing objectives or cause strong objections; or
- When further representations, supporting evidence or variation of the extended opening hours may salvage the Application.
6.2 The exact addition will depend on the individual circumstances and the complexity of the matter. You must provide further details to enable us to evaluate the situation again. If we are prepared to undertake any further work for you, we shall give you an estimate of our extra costs and expenses required. If agreed, we can proceed again otherwise you must seek alternative assistance to conclude or otherwise dispose of the Application for you.
7. BASIS OF CHARGING
- All quoted charges and expenses are estimates on the assumption that the intended transaction is straightforward without any undue complication or delay. If not and we have to do more work, we may require you to pay more but we shall endeavour to agree the amount with you in advance before carrying out any further work. All our works and charges are governed by and subject to our Terms and Conditions of Business as published in our website.
- We cannot guarantee success, any particular outcome and/or conclusion of any work within a specified time scale since there are so many factors which are outside our control. However we always strive to meet the reasonable expectations of our clients.
- We do not offer any “No result no pay” service and we charge for all works done, regardless of outcome. In exceptionally successful cases, we are entitled to charge a top-up fee of up to 20% plus VAT* of our original legal fees but we shall agree it with you in advance.
- We reserve our rights in exceptional circumstances or when you act in breach of our Terms and Conditions of Business to decline instructions or cease acting without accepting any responsibility, even if you have paid our legal charges and/or expenses in part or in full. We shall then reassess our charges and expenses incurred and seek payment of any shortfall from you or refund any credit balance to you.
- There are cases where we wish to charge only on time-spent basis. If so, it will be based on the said hourly rate of our Mr Stephen Chung or £278 + VAT £55.60 = £333.60 per hour**. If so, we shall divide it into 10 units and charge accordingly but subject to a minimum sum of £300 + VAT £60 = £360.00.
8. DISBURSEMENTS (fees payable to third parties)
8.1 Disbursements are expenses related to your matter which are payable to third parties, such as application fees. You must pay them in addition to our legal fees. We normally handle the payment on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
8.2 For application fees, they vary depending on the individual premises and where it is located. They can on occasion be higher than the ranges given below. We shall give you an accurate figure for each item when you wish to proceed with us.
8.3 The typical disbursements involved in this type of application are (current rate):-
9. GENERAL EXPENSES
9.1 They are our overheads and where applicable are also payable by you as additional legal fees:
- Office Administration Charges: £20 + VAT £4 = £24.
- Bank Transfer fee: £30 + VAT £6 = £36 per transfer.
- Postages/telephone/fax/photocopying/stationery charges: £25 + VAT £5 = £30.
- Travelling/Mileage Expenses: £0.95 + VAT £0.19 = £1.14 per mile.
- Bank’s cash handling fees: £0.80 per £100 (if you paid in cash by prior arrangement with us).
- Post Office/DHL - Delivery to collection point charges: £10 + VAT £2 = £12 per return trip.
- Colour photocopying charges: £0.50 + VAT £0.10 = £0.60 per A4 size page.
- Identity and address checks: From £30 + VAT £6 = £36 per person.
