Frederic Robinson to cover pubs' costs for new regime

Family brewer Frederic Robinson is paying the legal and licensing costs for all its 408 pubs to switch over to the new licensing regime.

The Stockpot-based pub group has made the decision to pay for premises licenses and associated conversion for its 380-plus tenants as well as its much smaller managed estate. It will also pay the ongoing annual fees.

Robinsons' solicitors will also be checking each application for accuracy before making the submission, and they are also available to act on behalf of tenants if their applications are contested.

Under the scheme, spearheaded by director William Robinson (pictured)​, the company will drive the application process for both premises and personal licences, the solicitors coordinating the final submissions.

"Our tenants will be heavily involved in the process, so as part of our support package, we have delivered a series of roadshows that clearly set out the facts behind licensing transition and how the company is managing the change," said Mr Robinson.

The 11 roadshows, covering every corner of Robinson's North West and North Wales estate, were also attended by a number of newly- appointed Local Authority licensing officers, taking the opportunity to find out more about how the process is being handled by the trade.

Robinsons expects all its pubs to have made their applications for new licences well ahead of the August 6 cut-off date.

"The whole issue of reform has been extremely complex for the industry and we are very pleased to have to put together an effective solution for our tenants that is well inside the average industry cost," said Mr Robinson.