Sale delay won't scupper licence

I had a very interesting discussion with a local licensee last week. He asked me about his own situation with regard to his personal licence. It seems that he is in the process of selling his pub and wants to buy another in the West Country. But negotiations have stalled on the purchase, while the sale is going ahead more or less as planned.

He has put in his application for his personal licence to our local authority, but he has not yet heard back. What happens if he leaves the pub before the new personal licence is in his hands? And, more importantly, what happens if he goes off this licence before he takes over the new pub, if he does?

This question raises a number of points, which are more to do with the procedures in local authorities than with the applicant. My view on his position is clear: he has provided a copy of his current licence and he is entitled on that basis to receive his new personal licence under grandfather rights.

If he subsequently moves to another pub, he does not need to re-apply.

Even if he has a period not on a licence between now and the Second Appointed Day, the personal licence has already been granted to him and does not lapse but lasts for the full period of 10 years, 'beginning with the date on which it was granted.

The important point about this question is that from the wording of Schedule 8 it would appear that the licensing authority must be satisfied at the time of grant that the applicant holds a justices' licence.

This may well be different from the time of application, given that they have a processing period of two months, but I am not sure whether local authorities will be in a position to check the currency of the licence to that level of accuracy, or will want to.

With up to 300,000 applications to process, as long as the licence itself is current, that will probably do.

There is a requirement on this licensee to notify the relevant licensing authority of his change of address and he has to include the new personal licence with the notification.

They will then send it back to him with the changed details. It is an offence not to make this notification, incidentally.