General Topics

Category: General Topics

Accolade worthy of investigation

We at Complete Licensing are delighted to announce that we have been admitted as a corporate member of the Association of British Investigators. And on top of that, two of our unrivalled team of experts, Richard Bunch and Adrian Studd, have also been accepted for membership.

Don’t miss Festive deadlines

Don’t let the mild autumn weather fool you – the Festive Season is just around the corner, and you’d better act fast if you’re not fully prepared to meet the potential rush of merrymakers heading for bars, clubs and restaurants.

Taking an objective view

At Complete Licensing, we’re asked all sorts of questions about licensing and the hospitality sector, and among the most frequent topics which comes up is that of licensing objectives.

Check your tactics before the big kick-off

Here we are then – or, in football parlance, here we go (here we go, here we go) – at the start of Euro 2024, when fans of all nations are still full of hope and keen to sink more than just one glass as they cheer on their team.

Extra reason to toast British Euro success​

Licensees will be hoping for English and Scottish success at the Euro 24 football championships – and not just for patriotic reasons. In a move which recognises nationwide interest in the Germany-based event, the Government has made provision for longer opening hours should either or both of the Home nations make it through the group stages and into the business end of the finals.

Take our top tips on new tipping law

It’s a sad but inescapable fact that the threat of terrorist action is something we live with nowadays. Attacks by terrorists may be thankfully rare in the UK – thanks, in no small part, to the vigilance of security forces and the public – but their effects can be devastating.

Getting to grips with Martyn’s Law

It’s a sad but inescapable fact that the threat of terrorist action is something we live with nowadays. Attacks by terrorists may be thankfully rare in the UK – thanks, in no small part, to the vigilance of security forces and the public – but their effects can be devastating.

Summer – and football – on the way

So, here we are, racing headlong through Spring, knowing that Summer’s just around the corner. Summer – the season of outdoor drinking and dining, the season of tennis and cricket, flat racing and football.

Viva this new anti-violence scheme

Best Bar None held its annual awards presentation evening at the House of Lords recently, and Complete Licensing was represented in the form of Jim Sollars, one of our compliance experts.

Lordly event celebrates best practice​

Best Bar None held its annual awards presentation evening at the House of Lords recently, and Complete Licensing was represented in the form of Jim Sollars, one of our compliance experts.

Spring-cleaning your licence is on the agenda

Who knows whether we’ll see a break in the rain which seems to have been a constant companion over the last few months. What we do know is that Spring is upon us – the season for looking forward and getting things in order – including your business practices and licensing matters.

Give yourself the gift of forward thinking

Here we are at the end of the year once again, and while most of the population is planning nothing more strenuous than a post-prandial stroll on the 25th or a browse through the Boxing Day sales, this is ‘the show’ for the hospitality sector.

Think again – and act fast – on TENs

Amid all the sprucing up and organising and ordering ahead for the Festive Season, it’s important to remember – and plan for – the big changes to TENs which are almost on us.

The Festive clock is ticking

Licensing Review. A couple of words which, when used in conjunction, might have even a stout-hearted licensee reaching for a stiff drink.

Get animated about your licence

Licensing Review. A couple of words which, when used in conjunction, might have even a stout-hearted licensee reaching for a stiff drink.

Waving through good practice

The hospitality industry has to deal with many issues and challenges, but few are more important than the question of vulnerability; not least because – on top of welfare and vulnerability engagement being a moral imperative – you could find yourself facing a licensing review if you don’t make it a priority.

Get onside to keep off-sales going

You may not want to – given the cliff-edge tumble which hospitality income took during the Covid-19 pandemic – but try casting your mind back to the measures introduced to boost trade.

Help at hand when age is a challenge

Remember when youngsters (of whatever gender) used to flutter their eyelashes and plead with the bar staff to let them buy a crafty underage drink?

Here comes summer (apparently)

As the door swings open and a clutch of courageous clients shake the spring squalls from their coats and hair, you may be wondering where those semi-mythical sunny days have got to.

Get set for the big night

Preparation is everything in business, and we were reminded of this twice in recent licence applications.

Look to the east for cup of good cheer

Stumbling through this disrupted autumn – more a season of blanketing fog and shrivelled windfalls than one of mists and mellow fruitfulness – we can at least look forward to one of the highlights of the hospitality industry’s year.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

All of us at Complete Licensing send our deepest condolences to the Royal Family following the news that Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, has died.

Help for Households

We at Complete Licensing are not political animals and neither, we suspect, are our clients, our website visitors, pretty much the whole of the hospitality industry. Don’t have the time; don’t have the inclination.

Straighten those Santa hats – the party’s going ahead

So here we are – our second Covid Christmas, and once more governmental regulations are forcing rapid rethinks as the hospitality sector seeks to bring some cheer to pandemic-weary customers (and recoup some of the alarming losses of the past 21 months or so).

Put the Festive finishing touches in place

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat – and it might be the best option for this year’s Festive feasting, given the anticipated supply chain problems with turkeys. Whatever’s on offer in hotels, restaurants and pubs up and down the country, it seems demand will be high.

No-one said it would be easy, but…​

No-one said it would be easy, but… If you’re working in the hospitality sector, chances are you’re a realist – or you are now even if you weren’t when you started out. All those little fluffy dreams of leaning on the bar of a lovely little pub, or smiling serenely across the dancefloor of your […]

Opening up presents new challenges

Opening up presents new challenges So, how are we all feeling about July 19 and the great ‘opening up’? Confused? Not surprising, really. This, we were told, was going to be ‘Freedom Day’ when the gloves (and masks) would finally come off and the remaining restrictions on social movement and interaction would be cast aside […]

Let’s make this the last delay​

Let’s make this the last delay Fifteen months and 700,000 jobs later, we’re still not going live. The Government’s announcement this week that the ending of all remaining social restrictions would be extended by four weeks to July 19 hardly came as a surprise. Indeed, it felt like we all knew it was going to […]

When one size doesn’t fit all​

When one size doesn’t fit all Firstly, let’s acknowledge how good it is to see pubs, bars and restaurants doing what they’re supposed to: serving customers and putting smiles on the faces of all those who’ve missed their pint, their steak frites, their chance to catch up with friends – face to face. Licensees and […]

Opening time is here at last​

Opening time is here at last We’ve all been fed a steady diet of statistics in the past year: deaths, infections, vaccinations, economic losses…all adding up (sorry, couldn’t resist) to a banquet of facts and figures. We can’t doubt the importance and relevance of these stats, but there comes a point where even the most […]

Finally on the road to somewhere​

Finally on the road to somewhere There are 106 miles to Chicago, we have a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses. Oh, wait, that’s another movie and one which ended with a lengthier lockdown. Whereas we have a ‘roadmap’ and an end date looming, tantalisingly just […]

Let’s talk about ‘opening time’

Let’s talk about ‘opening time’ It’s hard not to be cynical nowadays – particularly if you have more than a passing interest in the hospitality trade. Whatever promising noises the Government makes (and there have been enough to smash even the most lenient council’s decibel limit), none of us is holding our breath that the […]

Make the most of trade-friendly moves

Make the most of trade-friendly moves It may sound like a bad joke, but the slightly odd truth is that now isn’t the worst time to be thinking about your licence. Obviously there’s next to no licensed trade happening, but if you can bring yourself to look a little way down the line – when […]

Perfect time to spring clean your licence​

Perfect time to spring clean your licence No point in sugar-coating it – things are bleak for the hospitality industry at the moment. But rather than bemoaning our luck, or lack of it, there are positive steps we can take – and ones which will lay the foundations for a swifter recovery once we get […]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Merry Christmas andHappy New Year All the team at Complete Licensing would like to thank you for your support over what has been a difficult and very different year. It’s been the most testing period for the hospitality industry that any of us can remember but we’re full of admiration at the way venue owners, […]

Squeezing the life out of our Live Events industry​

Squeezing the life out of our Live Events industry Let’s start by stating the obvious: This Covid-19 pandemic has left millions of people throughout Britain in a horrible state of uncertainty about their future. Without going down the rabbit hole of facts and figures (this is a blog post not a company report) we can […]

Adding some cheer to a not-so-merry Christmas ​

Adding some cheer to a not-so-merry Christmas ‘Tis the season to be jolly– well, jollyish, as long as you don’t live in a Tier 3 area. As ever, we’re fully behind the Government’s continuing attempts to fight the spread of the Covid-19 virus, but for millions of people across great swathes of England the news […]

All hands to the pumps as takeaways take off

All hands to the pumps as takeaways take off So the doors of restaurants, bars and pubs are firmly shut once more as England navigates a path through Lockdown:2 (The Slightly Lighter Version). No arguments here about the need to preserve life and protect the vulnerable, but the economic cost is obviously a huge concern. […]

Clubbing together to save the industry​

Clubbing together to save the industry As we tick off the nth month of Covid-19 (who’s still counting??), one thing we can all agree on is that we can’t all agree on the precise rules and regulations governing our nation’s response to the pandemic. Bad enough for the population as a whole. Ten times worse […]

Sacrificial lamb’s off today – the restaurant had to close​

Sacrificial lamb’s off today – the restaurant had to close There can’t be too many people working in the hospitality sector who would put the full weight of their voting might squarely behind this Government should a snap election be called in the near future.   Not that Prime Minister Boris Johnson would have any […]

Restricted freedoms on Independence Day

So July 4th will be a different kind of Independence Day as hotels, restaurants and pubs begin to open up again thanks to the easing of the Covid-19 Lockdown.

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