UPDATE 8 January 2026: Following contact from independent practitioners, we have added a clarification below distinguishing premises licensing obligations from individual practitioners’ qualifications. See “Note on premises licensing” section.
Two beauty treatment businesses on Upper Richmond Road will face a council licensing hearing next week after an officer discovered unlicensed laser and massage treatments being provided and raised concerns about “misleading or forged documentation.”
Therapy Rooms Putney at 130-132 Upper Richmond Road and The Pilates Room at 226 Upper Richmond Road both offer treatments including laser hair removal, microblading (semi-permanent eyebrow tattooing), electrolysis and body massage. All require special licences due to risks of burns, infections and scarring if performed improperly.
Following an inspection at Therapy Rooms Putney on 20 November 2025, Wandsworth Council’s senior licensing officer objected to both businesses’ applications, stating he has “serious concerns regarding fitness and propriety.”
The director of Therapy Rooms Putney, Deborah Henley, has told the council she cannot attend the hearing on 14 January because she is abroad dealing with a family medical emergency. She is also named in the application for The Pilates Room. Neither business will have representatives at the hearing to answer councillors’ questions.
What the council found
The licensing officer’s inspection at Therapy Rooms Putney in November discovered that “unlicensed special treatments were recently discovered being provided.” His objection also references concerns about “misleading or forged documentation” discovered during the inspection.
In his objection to The Pilates Room’s licence renewal, the officer states that the business owner, Mario Perez, “is also the landlord for another nearby premises at Therapy Rooms Putney, 130-132 Upper Richmond Road, London, SW15 2SP where unlicensed special treatments were recently discovered being provided.”
The officer’s objection references an “ongoing investigation,” though details are redacted from the public hearing documents.
His conclusion is brief: “This objection is based on clear evidence that Mr. Mario Perez is not a fit and proper person to hold such a licence.”
During the application process, the officer contacted therapists working at Therapy Rooms Putney directly via WhatsApp. Those therapists subsequently left the premises.
What the businesses say
Ms Henley, director of the newly formed company operating Therapy Rooms Putney, states in her written response that higher-risk treatments have now stopped.
“Since the submission of the application and subsequent correspondence, all higher-risk treatments have ceased,” she wrote. “No laser treatments are being carried out. No massage or medium-risk treatments are being provided. Practitioners previously associated with those treatments are no longer operating from the premises.”
She describes the concerns as “historic” and states: “Therapy Rooms SW15 Limited is a newly incorporated company created specifically to ensure the premises is operated correctly, professionally, and in full compliance with licensing requirements.”
Companies House records show Therapy Rooms SW15 Limited was incorporated on 4 May 2022, with Ms Henley as sole director since that date.
Ms Henley’s statement says therapists who left did so following “direct regulatory contact made with individual practitioners.”
The business partnership
The Pilates Room, which Mr Perez holds the licence for, argues in its written response that objections concerning Therapy Rooms Putney are “irrelevant to this renewal.”
“There is no operational link between the two businesses and no evidence of any issues or concerns at 226 Upper Richmond Road,” the response states.
Public records show a different picture. According to business listings, The Pilates Room “was founded in 2001 by Deborah Henley and Mario Perez.” Companies House shows The Pilates Room Ltd was incorporated in July 2007 and has been operating from 226 Upper Richmond Road for 18 years.
The treatments and the risks
Both businesses offer treatments that require special licensing under the London Local Authorities Act 1991. These include laser treatments using Class 3b/4 lasers (council guidance warns the main risk is “skin burns”), microblading and micropigmentation (tattooing eyebrows and lips, with risks of infection and scarring), and electrolysis using needles and electric current.
The law requires operators to hold £2 million public liability insurance, maintain documented practitioner qualifications, obtain client consent forms and pass environmental health inspections.
The council can refuse a licence if those involved “could be reasonably regarded as not being fit and proper persons to hold such a licence” or if “the premises have been or are being improperly conducted.”
Note on premises licensing
Following publication, we have been contacted by independent practitioners who rent space at one of these premises.
The council’s objections relate to premises operators’ licensing obligations under the London Local Authorities Act 1991. These obligations are distinct from individual practitioners’ professional qualifications, insurance, and regulatory compliance.
Independent practitioners renting treatment rooms can hold their own qualifications and insurance separate from premises licensing requirements. Readers considering treatments should verify practitioners’ individual credentials directly.
What we don’t know
The specific details of what was found during the inspection, what the alleged forged or misleading documents were, what the ongoing investigation concerns, and whether there have been customer complaints or injuries are all redacted from the public hearing papers. The council justifies the redactions under Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, citing protection of personal information and business affairs.
The hearing
The Licensing Sub-Committee hearing will take place on Wednesday 14 January 2026 at 7pm. Residents can watch live at democracy.wandsworth.gov.uk.
The Licensing Sub-Committee will consider the applications and can grant the licences, grant them with conditions, grant some treatments but not others, or refuse the applications entirely.
If the licences are refused, the applicants can appeal to Wandsworth Magistrates’ Court. Operating without a valid licence is a criminal offence.
Residents can ask to see a premises licence before booking treatments: it must be displayed and cover the specific treatment offered. Anyone with concerns can contact Wandsworth Licensing Team at Licensing.Committee@wandsworth.gov.uk or 020 8891 7275.
UPDATE 6 January, 10pm: An additional document [pdf] provided “by the Objector” has been added to the documents for this case. It comprises six pages – a cover sheet and five entirely blank pages, three left blank “intentionally” and two that state only “Document is restricted.”
UPDATE 8 January, 2pm: This article has been updated to add a “Note on premises licensing” section clarifying the distinction between premises operator obligations and independent practitioners.
