AfterHours

AfterHours provides expert advice to a wide range of licensed premises, delivering a support service, backed up with insurance, to ensure premises operate within the terms of their licence.

AfterHours is led by two industry experts, Gill Sherratt and Suzanne Marchese, who have worked in licensing for more than 25 years each. They have followed every twist and turn of the Licensing Act 2003, with Gill reporting back on that experience to the House of Lords in 2017.

What does AfterHours do?

• Delivers accredited training
• Delivers compliance audits and due diligence checks
• Provides legal expertise and practical, down-to-earth advice
• Provides the Level 2 accredited Award for personal licence holders course
• Provides specialist insurance to indemnify clients against action towards the premises licence
• Submits every type of licensing application, including premises and personal licences, TENs (temporary event notices), pavement and wedding licences

Who does AfterHours work with?

• City centre bars
• City centre event spaces
• Convenience stores – both independent and as part of a national symbol group
• Hotels
• Late night takeaways
• Pub companies with every variety of premises, from country restaurants and local bars to town centre late-night venues
• Restaurants
• Rural estates for weddings and outdoor events, including concerts and festivals
• Supermarkets

What sets AfterHours apart?

AfterHours is significantly different to any other licensing service, not only due to the range of services and package of protections it brings to clients, but also giving clients the peace of mind, knowing they have a proactive team in their corner should they come to the attention of the authorities.

Premises and personal licence holders tend to seek out licensing services after there is a problem. This often highlights compliance issues with the terms of the licence, exacerbating the problem.

AfterHours has worked with the authorities involved in licensing for more than a decade, providing a proactive support service to resolve issues.

If a situation means enforcement action cannot be avoided, the insurance will cover them for a licence review or criminal prosecution, and AfterHours will be able to help them to evidence full due diligence as a defence.

The importance of licensing

• A licence holder is under a duty to prevent crime and disorder. Any crime associated with the premises can be tackled through the licence, as an alternative to a lengthy court process
• A premises doesn’t have to be a problem for there to be a problem with the licence. Given its user-friendly nature, the licensing system can be used by authorities to tackle issues not necessarily directly linked to the sale of alcohol, like the sale of tobacco and vapes
• A premises licence is often the lifeblood of a business
• Reviews gives authorities, local residents and other businesses the power to bring a premises owner in front of a licensing committee within eight weeks to answer to claims of wrongdoing
• The licensing system is heavily regulated, and it has a very user-friendly process called a review, designed to tackle problems, and pull premises back into line or even close them

AfterHours fixed fee retainer service

This removes the administrative burden from the operator, provides certainty on cost and ensures that any requirements or issues are dealt with the maximum of efficiency.

AfterHours fixed fee retainer service brings with it insurance, to cover any difficulties faced by our clients connected with their premises licence and provides complete peace of mind should the worst happen.

The service is provided by experts, on hand to advise out of normal office hours with fast, clear and practical advice.

The service includes

• Access to due diligence documentation including risk assessments and Challenge 25 posters
• Audits of all premises licences held by our clients
• Direct access to expert telephone advice for you, your managers and business development managers
• Instant access to the licensing portal with the ability to view your premises licence at any time
• Insurance to cover your business in the event of enforcement action
• Minor applications such as transfers, change of designated premises supervisor (DPS) and gaming machine notifications
• Retention of original premises licences and provision of certified copies to sites