THE family of a luxury hotel owner have revealed their shock at realising it had been serving alcohol without a valid licence for years following his death.

Giles Weaver, who owned Greywalls Hotel, Gullane, with his wife Ros, died in February 2020 – just weeks before the first Covid-19 lockdown saw huge restrictions placed on the hospitality industry.

But it took until this month – four and a half years later – for licensing chiefs and his family to realise that his name remained on the premises licence, making selling alcohol on the site against the law.

At a meeting of East Lothian Council's licensing board today (Thursday), Mr Weaver’s son-in-law Dr Dominic Hoar said that he had been "appalled" by the discovery that alcohol had been sold without a licence.

And he fought back emotion as he recalled the traumatic time surrounding his father-in-law’s death and the impact on his family.

He told the board that Mr Weaver’s daughter Flora was executor for her father following his death but had not transferred the licence, which was in her father’s name, or informed the board of his passing as an oversight.

'Grieving daughter'

Dr Hoar said: “As an executor, she was also a grieving daughter trying to arrange her father’s funeral and support a grieving mother who was, at the time, being forced by Covid into isolation.

“The hotel was clearly going to have to shut, so I can understand Flora’s oversight.”

Dr Hoar, a solicitor advocate, said that while he and his wife Jo were partners on Greywall LLP, which owns the hotel, it had been run for a number of years by Inverlochy Castle Management International (ICMI), which oversaw its management, including ensuring it held the correct licences.

He said that quarterly meetings were held with ICMI for updates on the hotel, at which he had been assured that the licences were in place, but said it appeared that no one had realised Mr Weaver was still the named premises licence holder.

He added that might have been because Mr Weaver was occasionally referred to as Christopher, a first name only close family knew, that confusion had been created.

Dr Hoar told the board: “I would like to apologise unreservedly for this oversight. I am personally appalled this happened.”

'People are human'

The board heard that its licensing standards officer visited Greywalls, which sits on the edge of Muirfield golf course, earlier this month and advised that it did not have a valid premises licence.

Alcohol sales were immediately stopped by the general manager and Dr Hoar said that he had been working with ICMI and staff to ensure full training and understanding of the licence requirement were understood by everyone at the premises moving forward, adding that he would be “extremely vigilant”.

Dr Hoar appeared before the board to request several occasional licences to allow it to sell alcohol again while it arranged for a new permanent premises licence.

Councillor Lachlan Bruce, board chairman, thanked him for his apology and "clear and open" explanation for the oversight regarding the licence.

He said: “People are human and mistakes happen, and being willing to say ‘we got it wrong’ is something the board encourages and appreciates.

"Clearly, this was a difficult time.”

The board unanimously approved the occasional licences.