The Legal 500, 2023 comments that FTB is the "Top set for licensing", "FTB is clearly the leading licensing set. It has unrivalled depth in the licensing and regulatory field and they have been a joy to work with." and "FTB is the strongest of the chambers in terms of strength in depth for work on licensing." 

Chambers and Partners 2022 notes that FTB "has an impressive roster of both silks and juniors, equipped to handle instructions from clients including licensing authorities, the police, taxi and private hire vehicle operators and the operators of licensed premises." 

Our barristers advise and advocate on behalf of the private and public sectors, local authorities, residents and the police alike. Our private clients include many of the country’s leading commercial operators, small businesses and individual entrepreneurs.

The experience of our team is second to none. We act for, or against, nightclubs, bars, pubs, restaurants, casinos (terrestrial and online), betting shops, lap-dancing venues, taxi and private hire operators, sporting and music arena, major music festivals, museums and galleries, live music venues, cinemas and theatres and other premsises.

Members of Chambers have appeared in most of the leading licensing cases at first instance and in the appeal courts. We accept instructions to deal with cases at all levels from licensing sub-committee hearings through to the Supreme Court.

Our team is vastly experienced in making and opposing licensing applications before local authorities, appearing in heavily contested reviews of premises licences and closure orders, as well as before magistrates’ courts on appeal. Members also regularly appear in judicial review applications before the High Court and appeals to the court of Appeal.

We are at the forefront of licensing policy, law and practice. Members advise central and local government and other public and commercial bodies on issues of national, regional and local importance ranging from Statements of Licensing Policy to new or proposed Parliamentary legislation.

Members also advise in relation to the emerging market in lawful cannabis, hemp and CBD products. 

Our barristers edit and/or contribute to the leading practitioners’ books and journals in the field of licensing. These include: Paterson’s Licensing Acts, The Law of Gambling (Smith & Monkcom), The 'Clubs' The Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents, the Journal of Licensing.

We also act in related criminal and civil enforcement proceedings taken against licensees and their employees.

Our areas of licensing expertise include:

• Alcohol and entertainment
• Late night refreshment
• Gambling, casinos, betting shops and lotteries (terrestrial and online)
• Taxis and private hire vehicles
• Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEVs)
• Cannabis licensing and regulation
• Firearms, shotguns and explosives
• Street trading, pedlars and busking
• Special treatments
• Zoos, dangerous wild animals, pet animal licensing and animal welfare
• Closure Orders
• Noise abatement/statutory nuisance proceedings

Members are regularly instructed by the leading firms of licensing solicitors and consultants around the country and are qualified to accept cases directly from members of the public and the trade under the Bar’s Public Access Scheme.  Further information including indicative fees can be found here.