BUYING ADVICE

When buying a business in Spain, e.g. a bar, you should first consider the location. If you want to serve a tourist market then you should choose a bar at one of the Spanish coasts such as the Costa del Sol, the Costa Blanca or the Costa Brava. Notice that sea front bars are not always the best choice as they may be very busy during the summer but in the winter months they are often very quiet. If you buy a bar in a back-street area you will probably have more residents among your guests which may guarantee constant earnings throughout the whole year. As there are a lot of bars and restaurants in Spain, it is very important to have passing traffic to run a chance, especially in the early stages.

If you do not have any experiences as a bar-owner, and even if you have some, it would be wise not to start with a big bar. The bigger your bar, the higher is the purchase price and with a big bar you need more staff so that your expenses will arise. It is better to start small and maybe move on to bigger projects later. The same applies to the budget. You should think carefully about how much you want to invest and once set your budget you should stick to it.

You should not spend all your savings to buy the bar but make sure that you will have enough money left to be provided for the first few months as there will be a lot of expected and unexpected expenses to bear. To secure the purchase you will have to pay a 10% deposit. The balance you will usually have to pay in 30/60 days. Do not forget to check the amount of your legal fees you will have to pay. Usually you will have to pay about 2,500 ? for a professional Spanish lawyer, including the fees for the transfer of the business, the change of name on the licence, the social security registration and all the other things you need to do to be legal. If you are renting a bar your landlord will normally require 3 months rent whereby 2 are a returnable deposit, furthermore you will have to pay your rent monthly in advance. The initial stock may be included in the purchasing price but even if so, it will probably be topped up by additional needs.

In Spain, the local authority insists that all businesses in Spain must have a license. As it is of vital importance, your Spanish estate agent should check this. If you buy a bar without a license they will close you down within short time because the Spanish police are very strict on this. There are different licenses for different types of businesses so that you need to be sure about which type of Spanish business you want to open. A bar may have a bar or a bar/cafe license. To stage live music in your bar in Spain you need a special full music license but they are rare and it is very hard to obtain one as the regulations are complex and very strict. As all Spanish businesses are registered with the local council you will have to pay a monthly registration tax.

To run your bar you will probably need some staff. Normally it will be no problem staffing your bar in Spain, especially if you are looking for seasonal staff. But you should be counselled by your Spanish gestor or a Spanish lawyer in order to formulate employment contracts that are very important.

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