London-based multiple-operator, Incipio Group has hailed advice from specialist licensing law firm, John Gaunt & Partners, as being instrumental to its growth.
The premium bar operator believes without the expert legal advice it would have been saddled with premises licences that would have hampered its development.
John Gaunt & Partners, which has offices in London, Sheffield and Portsmouth, has most recently secured premises licences for Incipio Group’s Mahiki venue, in Kensington, now reopened as Bloom.
It has also applied for and secured licences for Pergola Paddington; The Prince, Earl’s Court; and W12 Studios, in Shepherd’s Bush.
Partner Jon Wallsgrove said, “We’ve secured three licences for Pergola Paddington, each granted for 12 months, and all requiring extensive liaison with the police, environmental health officers, and local residents’ associations. For the second, we negotiated conditions allowing a relaxation of door staff provision, and an increase in the number of customers permitted in the bar area.
“The new licence for W12 Studios was later varied to extend the hours it could stay open, sell alcohol and provide entertainment. We’ve also varied the licence for Bloom, revising conditions which didn’t work for Incipio Group, and to approve a new layout design.”
Incipio director Ed Devenport said, “We have established a great working relationship with John Gaunt & Partners, and in particular Jon Wallsgrove.
“Jon was brilliant when securing a licence for our second venue, Pergola Paddington. He has an innate understanding of how local authorities, the police, and local residents’ groups operate; and has been able to steer us around lots of bumps in the road as we’ve grown and developed.Without him we’d have ended-up with premises licences that would have inhibited our growth.”
Incipio Group, which began in 2015 as a street food dining experience in Shepherd’s Bush Market, has plans for another Kensington site, and five new projects over the next 18 months, including venues in Mayfair and Birmingham, which will be its first outside London.