Guide to buying a restaurant, commercial or cafe bars in Costa del Sol, Spain - Part 3

Leasehold + Freehold Businesses

By far the most popular choice, especially if new to the business, are leases. They are easy to buy and easy to sell on later if required. The term of the lease does vary as in the U.K., usually 5, 10, 15 and 20 year leases are available. In most cases the leases are renewable and this is something that our legal advisors discuss with the landlord and advise you accordingly. Once the monthly rent is agreed, it can only be increased once a year by inflation as set out in the Spanish law for the length of the lease. When the lease expires, this does not mean that you have to pay for another lease, it is merely a paper exercise with the landlord for him to issue you with a new one and this then enables the landlord to increase the rent up to a maximum of 20%, however your legal advisor will negotiate this with him on your behalf. In all our leases the price includes the goodwill plus fixtures and fittings. The rent is usually paid monthly in advance as well as 2 months rent as a returnable deposit.

The freehold is not as popular as the leasehold, mainly because of the expense, however the benefits are that there is no rent to pay, and as a freeholder, you could lease the property taking a one off payment and receive a monthly rent.

License & Legal Paperwork

You are more than welcome to sort these out yourselves, however, what we offer is a package where by our solicitor and ourselves will do all the donkey work (so to speak) for you. Therefore enabling you to concentrate on your business and also be assured that everything is done legally and correctly, the following is required:

N.I.E. NUMBER
FISCAL LICENSE
OPENING LICENSE
REGISTRAION FOR I.V.A.(V.A.T.)
APPLICATION FOR N.H.S
RESIDENCE PERMIT
CONSULAR INSPECTION
FOOD AND HANDLERS CERTIFICATE
SECURITY CERTIFICATE
LIAISON WITH REGIONAL JUNTA(COUNCIL)
LIAISON WITH GUARDIA CIVIL
SANITARY INSPECTION
TECHNICAL INSPECTION

Although it takes time for all this paperwork to be completed, you can open the business in Spain while waiting, as long as you have certain documents in place. All license applications are made by your solicitor and the charges for this are set out in the financial section.

Stock

All bars and catering businesses in Spain are FREE HOUSES. So you choose what breweries and suppliers you want to deal with. Beer coolers and fonts are supplied by the breweries and usually, so are glasses/umbrellas/drip mats/ and promotion products. You do not need to keep large amounts of stock as most wholesalers deliver daily, however you should allow yourself approximately £700 for your initial opening stock in an average size business.

Overheads

Compared to the U.K. overheads in Spain are much lower with profits running as high as 70% on drinks and usually higher on food, this is why our clients usually go into the pub/catering business in Spain. Most of our clients have never worked in this industry before, but it is much easier and less stressful than being a publican back in the U.K. After all, you have at least got an all year round beer garden and your own opening hours.

Summary

Does this sound good to you and you think that this is just a dream? To most people it does and to most people it is! But for all our clients it’s hard but fun work and very profitable. If you can afford £20,000 or more, then we can turn that dream into reality. Why not contact one of the team on the numbers below to discuss your requirements in more depth and arrange for you to view some bars on the Costa del Sol that may be of interest to you.