I know the details of what I'm referring to here aren't perhaps commonly known, and a few people have asked me to explain, so if you'll permit me:
A thread on what the state of Liquor Licensing actually is for Northern Ireland
1/14 https://twitter.com/belfastbarman/status/1283747121133494277

In Northern Ireland there is no such thing as a new liquor license (it's important to note that restaurant licenses are treated different. If alcohol is sold as ancillary to a meal, you're grand).
If you want to open a new craft beer bar, wine bar, or rural pub - good luck
2/14

The Licensing (Northern Ireland) Order - 1996 establishes that the courts are not able to grant new licenses.
To 'get' a license, one must be acquired from an existing license holder. These trade for BIG MONEY.
3/14

These go for big money. I've seen them go for over £100,000, this article on @SluggerOToole references one for £80,000. That's about average in my experience. 4/14 https://sluggerotoole.com/2018/02/13/our-licensing-laws-need-to-be-more-flexible-to-allow-smaller-premises-to-compete/

This means the license acts as a retirement kitty for publicans. They know that when they want to get out of the industry, they're pretty certain they can get £80,000 in their pocket.
Usually by selling their license to a supermarket.
Yep. Supermarkets buy pub licenses. 5/14

Example: Tesco Metro near QUB, on the former site of The Globe (or Elms, as-was). They can sell alcohol. Why? Because they bought the pub license.
I remember years ago hearing the adage, "Every supermarket with an off-sales, is a pub that's died"
6/14

I can't find the figures right now, but I recall that somewhere in the region of 80%+ of all alcohol sales in NI are from off-sales (mostly supermarket). Which makes sense.
But also drinking at home is shown to be more likely to be 'problem drinking'. 7/14

Because licenses have that value, publicans don't want this to change. Hospitality Ulster represent publicans. And why would Hospitality Ulster want pub owners to no longer have an £80k retirement cheque in the form of a license sitting in their safe? They wouldn't. 8/14

The reason you don't see new bars opening, or breweries opening up a brew-pub on-site, is because on top of ALL the other costs of starting a business, you have to pay another businessperson £80k (+ often other associated fees) to take their license from them.
9/14

Literally everyone involved in the sector has an interest in maintaining the status quo. Except it's only people who are involved who benefit from the status quo.
It stifles competition. It stifles innovation and disruption.
It kills town centres, villages lose their hub 10/14

All so that publicans can sell a piece of paper on and (usually) so a supermarket can sell Carling at 24 cans for £11.50 in bulk.
11/14

There's lots of issues in the sector that need tackling (easter licensing, anyone? Nope). But stopping the industry being driven out by its own greed should be top of the list.

Easons just announced closures. Maybe that's a few town centres that could gain a central venue 12/14

Perhaps those premises could be great for a community pub, a micro-brewpub, or cocktail bar. But to do that, someone has to kill a pub somewhere else.
13/14

Alcohol is more of a danger when sold off-sales.
Pub licenses are year after year being sold to supermarkets for off-sales.
Nobody in the sector wants that to change, because
But in 30 years time, pubs and bars will be like hen's teeth.
14/14

PS: There's a bar in Stormont.
It doesn't have a license.