With an expertise in licensing and a strong track record in commercial law, Linus brings with him over 20 years’ experience which will enhance McKees already extensive client offering. Linus’s experience within the hospitality and leisure sector has been well documented, having acted for notable hoteliers, publicans, off-trade, restaurateurs and acts in the acquisition, disposal, transfer and lease of all types of licensed premises.

Chris Ross, Managing Partner of McKees said: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Linus Murray as Partner at McKees. He brings specialist knowledge and a wealth of skill and experience across a wide range of practice areas including corporate and commercial, leisure and hospitality, property and mergers and acquisitions. He is extremely driven and hungry for success, both for our clients and our own business, so I am confident that he will bolster our already highly specialised teams.

“At McKees, our people are our greatest strength and it is high calibre appointments such as Linus that are fundamental to our ambitious growth strategy which has included two new partners, three solicitors and three trainee solicitors in the last six months, bringing our overall headcount to 56”.

New partner Linus Murray said: “I am very excited to enter this new chapter in my career. McKees is a firm I have always had huge respect for and whilst I have worked in competing firms for over 20 years, I’ve always regarded it as one of the best. Due to the nature of our industry, I have also had the opportunity to work closely with the banking team at McKees and their professionalism, expertise, legal prowess and people first culture was a big draw for me.

“A key reason for continued success throughout my career has been the calibre of clients I have worked with and the importance I place on developing client relationships. McKees shares this ethos with me and I am confident that through our combined expertise and experience, we will support both our current and new clients throughout these challenging times. I’m really looking forward to working with the partners to help strengthen and develop our people and the client services we offer as  we look forward to entering 2023 with exciting plans for continued growth and success at McKees.”

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A consultation was launched mid-month by the Department of Communities (DfC), which wants to relax the regulations ahead of the 148^th Open golf championship, which takes place at Royal Portrush in July.

The DfC is suggesting that it should be allowed to designate gatherings as ‘special events’, thus allowing it to vary licensing hours during those events and permit the sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises.

In a statement, the Department said that it wanted to vary the regulations in advance of the 148^th Open event because it believed the move would contribute to the tournament’s success and make Northern Ireland a more attractive destination for events of this type in the future.

‘[We are] aware that the organisers of a number of prestigious events held in Northern Ireland believe that restrictions around permitted hours for the sale of alcoholic drinks, and the sale of such drinks for consumption at home, have a negative impact on their events,’ added the Department

The DfC also said, however, that if the changes were introduced, the number of permitted ‘special events’ would be very small; the type of premises that could benefit would be limited and conditions would be imposed ‘where necessary’.

Speaking to LCN this month, veteran Newcastle publican, Jack O’Hare pointed out that the DfC proposal didn’t address any of the trade’s long-term issues around licensing law here:

‘I would welcome this [proposed] change but it doesn’t go anywhere near far enough,’ he said. ‘Our licensing laws have been in need of reform for the last 25 years and we are still trying to move that forward.

‘What we need is to be getting ahead of the game because we are currently way behind our counterparts in the Republic of Ireland and in the UK. and we are stuck where we are coming up to the longest holiday of the year. Again, instead of welcoming in our customers and tourists, we are going to have to tell them that we are closed,’ added Mr O’Hare.

And Colin Neill of Hospitality Ulster said that the trade body was ‘extremely concerned’ by the DfC’s ‘knee jerk’ proposal. He accused the Department of ‘ignoring the challenges faced by the hospitality industry here, who have lobbied for modernisation of liquor licensing for years’.

He also revealed that his organisation was seeking an urgent meeting with the head of the Civil Service, David Sterling and NI Secretary of State, Karen Bradley:

‘We are calling on them to intervene and get the wider liquor licensing laws sorted as part of this process once and for all and not just give special status to big event promoters who will be gone as soon as they arrive,’ he added.

‘The British Open may be worth £80m to the Northern Ireland ecnomy as a one off, but our members contribute £1.2bn to the NI economy every year.’

The Department’s consultation period is now live and will run until May 3.

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