Four checks
before you sign.
A retail unit is not judged on rent. It is judged on whether it can be licensed, powered, supplied and legally traded from. All four happen before you commit money.
Any one of these can kill a site.
Rent is the last thing we look at. A cheap unit that cannot get an alcohol licence, cannot power a chiller run or cannot take a pallet delivery is not cheap.
Licensing prospects
Whether alcohol is realistically obtainable at that address, on what conditions, and whether a saturation or cumulative impact policy applies.
Planning & use class
Whether retail use is permitted, whether a food counter needs consent, and whether trading hours are restricted by planning condition.
The physical unit
Electrical capacity for refrigeration, plant location, drainage where food is prepared, delivery access and stockroom.
Trade evidence
For a trading store: accounts, EPOS history, supplier statements and licence record. For a new site: observed footfall and catchment analysis.
All four are checked before you commit money. If any one fails, we say so and the site is dropped — and you have spent nothing beyond the engagement fee. A shop lease is the longest and least reversible commitment in any of our four ventures. It is worth being slow about.
USA and UK compared.
Stated in general terms. Specifics vary by state, county, city and local authority, and we verify for your chosen location rather than relying on generalities.
| United States | United Kingdom | |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol framework | State by state. Fifty different regimes, some control states where spirits are state-sold | One framework in England and Wales; Scotland separate but similar in shape |
| Licence availability | Often quota-limited. May require purchase on the open market | Not quota-limited, but subject to representation and local policy |
| Named individual | Some states require a resident or citizen licensee | Designated premises supervisor holding a personal licence, expected to be involved |
| Objections | Varies; hearings common | Application advertised; hearing if representations are made |
| Saturation policy | Some cities apply moratoriums or distance rules | Cumulative impact policy creates a presumption against in some areas |
| Tobacco | State licence or registration | Registration; age-restricted sales rules apply |
| Lottery | State lottery retailer registration | National lottery retailer agreement |
| Age verification | Staff training and ID checking required | Challenge 25 in practice, refusal register expected |
| Food handling | Health permit where prepared food is sold | Food business registration, inspection and a published hygiene rating |
| Transferring a licence | Varies; frequently possible with the business | Yes — a strong reason to buy a trading store |
What we do, and what we are not allowed to do.
We are a setup and operations firm. We are not licensing solicitors, surveyors, environmental health officers or a licensing authority.
- Research the licensing regime and local policy for a specific address
- Assess honestly whether a licence is realistically obtainable there
- Run all four site checks before you commit money
- Prepare and lodge applications, and coordinate a licensing solicitor if contested
- Build the compliance pack — refusal register, training records, age verification policy
- Maintain the compliance calendar and escalate before renewal deadlines
- Hold a premises licence, a personal licence, or act as designated premises supervisor
- Represent you at a licensing hearing where representation is regulated
- Promise that any licence will be granted, or on what conditions
- Give legal, tax, immigration or licensing advice
- Make or refuse an age-restricted sale
- Arrange a nominee licence holder who is not genuinely involved in the business
Any arrangement where a named supervisor is paid to appear on a licence without being genuinely involved in running the shop is a licensing risk to you and a professional one to us. We will not set one up. The designated supervisor should be the person actually managing the store, which is another reason that hire matters so much.
Get the licensing position for your area
We research the specific address and give you the check-by-check position in writing before you spend anything.