A study by the London Evening Standard has shown that pubs and bars in the city have not exactly been rushing to apply for 24-hour opening licences.

The newspaper claims that only two London bars have applied for extensions and none for 24-hour opening.

Last week, Leisure Opportunities reported that local councils were unlikely to see a rush for applications following the Licensing Act taking effect last month.

Bob Cotton, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, said that no business was going to stay open longer just because it could, but would make decisions on opening hours based on demand and profitability.

Regardless of changes to opening hours, pub and bar operators must switch to the new personal and premises licences as required under the Licensing Act by August this year. Failure to do so means they will have to go through the whole licensing application procedure again.