Former Head of Licensing at Kuits, Tony embarked on the next chapter of his highly distinguished career as a senior consultant with Gosschalks in November 2022, described by Tony as "a firm I have always admired and quite possibly the law firm with the country's longest and closest relationship with the hospitality sector".

Based in Manchester, Tony delivers decades worth of experience to our in-house team and clients alike.

As Manchester’s go-to licensing adviser, Tony has managed to deliver law and order in some of the most colourful episodes of Manchester’s leisure sector down the decades – including handling the licences for the Hacienda nightclub during the turbulent Madchester era.

Anywhere that needs drinking, dancing or music needs a licence, and that’s where I help. Walk down any Manchester street and there are people having fun in many different premises. But they need a licence to do it, and, perhaps more importantly, one which doesn’t negatively impact their operations by being too onerous.

Tony worked closely with Jeremy Roberts and the late Tim Bacon, the legendary founders of Living Ventures through the group’s evolution. And his trusted commercial advice has helped many of North-west operators break the notoriously tough London market, including BrewDog, the San Carlo group and Revolution Bars.

He won the Revolution bars account by beating them in a tussle over a collapsed bar’s licence. “I was acting for the insolvency firm. After I won the hearing, the Revolution guys gave me their card and said I should call them.”

And he met BrewDog boss James Watt off the train to tour him round the city, introducing him to the Peter Street venue where, with Tony's counsel, the Scottish leisure giant would go on to open its first premises in Manchester.

In 2018 Tony received the Manchester Law Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award, his remarkable career praised for “forging a formidable reputation for his expertise in licensing and leisure.”. He has also had his place announced in the coverted Legal 500 Hall of Fame.

Hospitality is in my DNA. I am so fortunate to still get satisfaction from the sector, working with interesting characters and on exciting projects. Richard, Steve and the partners at Gosschalks have been wonderfully welcoming, and I look forward to working with them and their ever-expanding client base throughout the UK, as well as those I have had the pleasure of supporting in the past.