Matthew Phipps

Matthew is a Trustee (and Companion) of the British Institute of Inn Keeping, legal officer for the Welsh region of the Institute of Licensing and former secretary to the All Party Welsh Assembly Food and Drink group.

Matthew is independently recognised as a "Star Individual" by Chambers UK and is recognised within the Legal 500's Hall of Fame.

The team act for substantial estates, pub companies, hotels, music festivals, restaurants, retailers, developers and other leisure operators, as well as local authorities. Matthew is a regular speaker at national licensing conferences and has presented at the annual national Institute of Licensing Conference, as well as numerous other events, to local authority officers and other key stakeholders, for many years.

Matthew has presented and defended many hundreds of applications before local licensing authorities and Magistrates Courts. With regulation and compliance a significant licensing issue, Matthew advises clients on the setting up of robust due diligence systems as well as advice following enforcement, review and prosecution.

Matthew and the team have provided all clients with significant update information on the fast changing Covid situation, covering regulations, guidance, tiering, enforcement etc.

Jurisdiction: England & Wales

• Flight Club Darts – applying for and obtaining a new premises licence for Flight Club Darts, Manchester and Birmingham premises.
• Skewd (Knightsbridge) Limited – applying for and obtaining a new restaurant licence in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
• Confidential – assisting client in defending licence review seeking revocation of licence following significant concerns about operation of the premises.
• Boomtown Events Limited – advising Boomtown Festival on premises licence application for variation to increase capacity and attending hearing to obtain premises licence for large pop-up event space in Bristol.
• Confidential – attending interview under caution to support clients answering questions about perspective criminal prosecution for licensing condition breach.
• SA1 Hospitality – undertaking pre-application consultation and dialogue with responsible authorities in anticipation of premises licence application for 2 new bar/restaurants in Swansea Marina.