The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has been approved as a licensing authority for Alternative Business Structures (ABSs) ahead of the implementation of this October's 'Tesco law' reforms.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) rubber-stamped the SRA application at a meeting this week (13 June), with non-lawyer ownership of law firms set to be permitted from this October.

SRA chief executive Antony Townsend (pictured) said: "We are delighted to win the LSB's approval for the licensing authority application, which will now go forward for Parliamentary approval. We believe that it is in the public interest for us to regulate ABS, as this allows us to ensure that these new business are subject to the same rigorous professional standards as those expected of traditional law firms.

'We are on track to be ready to license from October, but this is subject to the Parliamentary timetable and process."

The SRA's application to license ABSs has faced much scrutiny from the profession. In February news emerged that the LSB was investigating the procedures required to directly oversee ABSs ahead of a Law Society vote that threatened to block the SRA from assuming such a role.

This week's meeting also saw the LSB approve the SRA's new handbook, which is set to revolutionise the way UK law firms are regulated by moving away from prescriptive rules-based regulation to a more risk-driven approach known as outcomes-focused regulation (OFR).

The new handbook on OFR was unveiled in draft form on 6 April, giving law firms and the profession six months to prepare for the new regulatory approach.