Licensing Trust

Licensing Trust

Licensing Trusts were born out of the prohibition of alcohol era, partly as a reaction to the excesses of New Zealand’s pioneering times, but also as a major social experiment. Invercargill Licensing Trust was the first Trust established in 1944.

The uniqueness of Licensing Trusts revolves around:

• A primary responsibility to enhance the well-being of their defined community;
• The distribution of (surplus) profits back to their communities;
• The provision of good, ‘model’ facilities for the sale of alcohol, the provision of accommodation and meals, and gaming;
• Accountability back to the communities who own them.

In addition, there is an inherent responsibility to efficiently operate commercial businesses profitably.

Licensing Trusts belong to the family of community enterprises that are part of the third sector, a hybrid form of organisation that crosses over sectors, a mixture of market orientation and solidarity (community support). They may be defined as businesses whose primary goals are to support the well-being of their community principally through reinvesting profits generated from their trading activities either in the business and/or in support of community activities, rather than being driven to maximise profits.