Transfers of Premises Licence Lawyers Glasgow, Scotland

There are various circumstances in which it might be necessary to apply to transfer a Premises Licence to a new licenceholder. You might be selling your business, taking on a new venture, or the current licenceholder may no longer be able to act.

There are two types of transfer possible under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 –

Section 33 transfers, which can be made by the existing licenceholder only
Section 34 transfers, which can be made by anyone other than the existing licenceholder, but only in certain circumstances. These are –
1. the licenceholder dies or becomes incapable;
2. the licenceholder becomes insolvent;
3. the licenceholder is dissolved (please note this does not apply to individuals, partnerships or companies); and
4. the business carried on at the premises is transferred to someone else.

Generally, the consent of the existing licenceholder is required for a Section 34 transfer and, importantly, they can only be lodged within 28 days of one of the four events above taking place.

Once lodged with the relevant Licensing Board, transfer applications are passed to Police Scotland for comment. Assuming the proposed licenceholder (or any connected person) has no convictions and the Police have no adverse comment to make, the application will be granted.

Where the proposed licenceholder (or any connected person) does have relevant convictions, the Police will report on this and may make a recommendation that the transfer is refused. In that case, the application would be referred to a meeting of the Licensing Board for consideration.

The legislation relating to transfers is not straightforward and it can be tricky to ensure that transfer applications run smoothly. Amending legislation has been passed, but this has not yet come into force. The team at Hill Brown Licensing have extensive experience of managing all kinds of transfers and can advise on how best to handle your particular situation.

Contact our Licensing Solicitors Glasgow, Scotland

To find out more, please contact our Licensing lawyers on 0141 221 1919 or fill in our online form.

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