Police Object to Controversial Licence Transfer

Police have objected to a licence transfer at Kings Food & Wine in Reading after repeated safety and licensing breaches, including knives found behind the counter.

The shop at 91-93 Kings Road, opposite the Back of Beyond Wetherspoon, has been open since Spring 2024.

Council officers have previously flagged a rat infestation in February and the display of childrens toys near age-restricted alcohol, smoking products and energy drinks. The licence to sell alcohol from 7am to 11pm was recently reviewed and suspended for four weeks.

Staff are trying to transfer the premises licence from the current holder, Manmeet Singh, to staff member Satpal Singh. Both were at the meeting on 1 October. Satpals answers were given on his behalf by a friend and by licensing representative Maninder Kaur.

The friend said the knives were found behind the counter during inspections because staff used them to cut fruit.

Declan Smyth, a Thames Valley Police licensing officer, has opposed the transfer. He wrote: "The failings were not isolated incidents but were identified repeatedly during inspections between 2024 and 2026 despite extensive advice, interventions, meetings and enforcement activity by both the police and the council.

"TVP understands that the proposed licence holder, Satpal Singh, has been working at the premises since late 2025 and has therefore been present throughout a significant period of the noncompliance identified by responsible authorities.

"During this period, the premises continued to demonstrate serious management failings, including repeated breaches of licence conditions, poor staff knowledge, inadequate record keeping, failures relating to age-restricted sales, and ongoing public safety concerns.

"Satpal Singh has been actively involved in the operation of Kings Food & Wine throughout a period in which the premises was found to be substantially non-compliant."

PC Smyth added: "The transfer application does not represent a fresh start or the introduction of new management.

"Rather, it seeks to transfer responsibility for the premises licence to an individual who has already been associated with the management failures that gave rise to the review proceedings.

"Accordingly, Thames Valley Police has no confidence that the licensing objectives, particularly the prevention of crime and disorder objective, will be promoted under the proposed premises licence holder and respectfully requests that the licensing authority refuse the transfer application."

The transfer will be decided by the councils licensing sub-committee on Tuesday 27 October.

Manmeet Singh has previously faced action for hiring an illegal worker at another shop he ran, M&M Food & Wine in East Reading, and an application by Kulwant Singh Gaba to sell alcohol at that site was rejected on 20 August.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter