Francis Taylor Building

Licensing and Regulatory Crime

Gary Grant is one of the UK's leading licensing barristers. He is top-ranked in both of the major independent legal directories where he is described as "The go-to counsel for licensing matters” (Legal 500) and “Star Individual: the best licensing lawyer in the country... phenomenal intellect and superb advocate” (Chambers Guide).

In addition to his licensing expertise, Gary has a wealth of experience in the criminal courts at all levels up to and including the House of Lords/Supreme Court. Consequently, he is frequently instructed in cases at the frontier of both licensing and criminal law that require expertise in both.

He is also at the forefront of advising businesses and trade bodies in regard to the legal cannabis and CBD market in the UK and is the Head of FTB’s Cannabis Law Group.

Gary has over 25 years' experience at the Bar dealing with complex and important cases in all areas of licensing. They include many of the most hard-fought and high-profile licence applications, reviews and appeals involving the country's leading nightclubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, taxi and private hire operators, gambling operators (online and terrestrial), sex entertainment venues, sporting and entertainment arenas, gambling operators (online and land-based), large mixed-use food and leisure developments, cinema groups, museums, theatres, markets, street carnivals and music festivals.

His clients have included the Hard Rock Cafe, Amazon, Chiltern Firehouse, McDonald's, Tate Modern, Pacha, Spearmint Rhino, Marriott, Hilton and Britannia hotel groups, the nightclubs of Rekom UK ("Atik", "Pryzm"), the restaurants of Sir Terence Conran ("Albion") and Alan Yau OBE ("Park Chinois", "Wagamama", "Busaba"), Secret Cinema, Everyman Cinemas, the Inception Group's bars ("Mr Foggs" "Bunga Bunga"), Ola Cabs, Notting Hill Carnival and the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. He recently obtained a 5am premises licence for a new London nightclub, a result that Time Out magazine described as "a landmark ruling...unprecedented".

As a true "independent" he represents the trade (from sole-traders to multi-national PLCs), residents, police forces, local authorities and central Government. This broad experience enables Gary to employ his insights to the advantage of all his clients at tribunals ranging from local Council licensing sub-committees through to the Supreme Court. He has a reputation for pursuing his clients' interests with fierce independence, skill, tenacity and integrity.

He is widely experienced in judicial reviews and has appeared in several of the leading reported cases of recent years in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court/House of Lords (including R v Rimmington the leading modern case defining "public nuisance", and the landmark cases of ''Funky Mojoe'' and ''Essence'' on procedural defects in licensing).

Gary is a Consultant Editor of Paterson's Licensing Acts ("the bible of licensing law"), the Principal Contributor to the "Clubs" volume in the Encyclopaedia of Forms and Precedents (Lexis Nexis), and is widely published in the Journal of Licensing and other law journals. He is the Vice-Chairman of the Institute of Licensing.  In 2021 he was made a Fellow of the Institute of Licensing in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the field of licensing.

For more information, please visit: www.licensingbarrister.com.

Called to the Bar 1994, Grays Inn Recipient of the Sir Raymond Phillips MC Award (1994) Graded as ‘Outstanding’ by the Gray’s Inn Advocacy Committee (1995).

Institute of Licensing (Vice-Chairman) Criminal Bar Association Extradition Lawyers Association International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists Planning and Environmental Bar Association

BA Hons (Law and Philosophy) Inns of Court School of Law, 1994 Sir Raymond Phillips Award, Gray's Inn, 1994 Institute of Licensing (Vice-Chairman) Criminal Bar Association Extradition Lawyers Association International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists Planning and Environmental Bar Association

Direct Access Gary Grant is qualified to accept instructions directly from professionals and members of the public in appropriate cases.

Frequently appears as a legal analyst on national and international news channels.