Licensing and Regulatory Crisis Management

A serious incident at licensed premises can place your business under immediate scrutiny. Whether you are facing a police investigation, a summary review, a closure notice or intense media attention, the decisions made in the first few hours can have a lasting impact on your premises licence and your business.

Complete Licensing provides strategic advice and regulatory support to operators, solicitors and businesses following major incidents at licensed premises across England and Wales.

Our role is to help clients navigate the licensing and regulatory consequences of serious incidents while working alongside solicitors, barristers, police, local authorities and specialist experts.

If your premises licence is at risk, early strategic advice can make a significant difference. Contact Complete Licensing or call 0207 222 2345.

We can help following

• Fatal incidents
• Serious assaults
• Allegations of sexual assault
• Police closure notices
• Summary reviews under the Licensing Act 2003
• Premises licence reviews
• Serious crime and disorder
• Safeguarding concerns
• Drug-related incidents
• Public nuisance incidents
• High-profile enforcement action
• Significant media attention

Our crisis management services

Immediate regulatory advice

We provide immediate advice to help operators understand the licensing implications of a serious incident and identify the actions that should be taken to protect the business.

Licensing strategy

Every incident is different. We develop a bespoke strategy to help clients respond to police concerns, local authority investigations and licensing proceedings.

Evidence coordination

Effective evidence is often critical during a licensing review. We assist in coordinating:

• CCTV preservation
• Incident records
• Door supervisor documentation
• Witness statements
• Body-worn video
• Digital evidence
• Specialist expert reports

We work with leading independent experts, including former senior police officers, acoustic consultants, security specialists and other recognised professionals where appropriate.

Liaison with your legal team

We regularly work alongside licensing solicitors and King’s Counsel, ensuring that technical licensing issues, evidence and expert reports are coordinated effectively throughout the case.

Preparing for summary reviews

Summary reviews under section 53A of the Licensing Act 2003 can move extremely quickly. We help clients prepare for:

• Police representations
• Interim steps hearings
• Full review hearings
• Evidence gathering
• Operating schedule improvements
• Licence recovery strategies

Recovery planning

Our support continues after the immediate incident. We assist clients with policy reviews, staff training recommendations, compliance improvements, licensing action plans, risk reduction measures and preparation for future inspections.

Why choose Complete Licensing?

Our experience extends beyond preparing licence applications. We understand how serious incidents are investigated and how licensing authorities assess risk, evidence and compliance.

We work with operators throughout the entire process, from the immediate aftermath of an incident through to licensing hearings and long-term recovery.

Our practical experience includes working on matters involving premises licence reviews, summary reviews, crime and disorder issues, public nuisance complaints, CCTV evidence, expert evidence coordination, noise management, security management, licensing hearings and appeals.

Meet the consultants who handle this work, or read about our licensing reviews and expert witness reports and hearing evidence.

Licensing crisis management for solicitors

We also support solicitors acting for licensed premises.

Our role is to provide specialist licensing knowledge, coordinate expert evidence and assist legal teams in preparing technically robust licensing cases.

We can work alongside your chosen legal advisers or introduce experienced licensing solicitors where appropriate.

Questions and answers