How to buy a ready-made business in Spain

Spain is one of the most attractive European countries in terms of business and investment. The country is visited by millions of tourists every year, so with the right approach, buying a business in Spain can be a pretty profitable investment. Foreigners have the opportunity to both organize their own business from scratch and buy a ready-made business.

Advantages of buying a ready-made business in Spain

Buying a ready-made business in Spain has a number of advantages:

• no need to issue licenses, buy equipment, make repairs, since all this has already been organized;
• having bought a ready-made business according to the "traspaso" scheme (which will be discussed below), you do not need to pay VAT, as well as tax on the transfer of ownership;
• before buying, there is an opportunity to evaluate the pros and cons of an organized business, its profitability, business strategy, efficiency, advantageous location, etc.;
• no need to look for new workers;
• the ability to immediately earn money with a competent approach thanks to the accumulated customer base (if the company being sold has proven itself well in the market);
• to buy a ready-made business, you do not need to be a resident of Spain, moreover, a resident card can be obtained on the basis of owning a business in the kingdom;
• the minimum number of required documents at the very registration of the purchase (a little more time will have to be devoted to further re-registration of documents in different authorities).

The most profitable activities

The most profitable areas of business in Spain include:

• restaurant business (cafes, bars, bakeries, pastry shops, night food delivery);
• tourist-oriented grocery stores (where you can sell Spanish wine, jamon, tapas, turron and other national products);
• hotel business (hotels, mini-hotels, hostels);
• night clubs;
• renting out premises in shopping centers;
• construction of cottages, multi-storey buildings, residential complexes, shopping and business centers.

Organizational and legal forms of doing business in Spain

A business in Spain can be registered as an individual or a legal entity. In the first case, you need to register as an individual entrepreneur (Autónomo), and in the case of legal entities, there is a more extensive list of possible regulatory forms:

• Collective Society (Comunidad de Bienes).
• Limited Liability Company (Sociedad Limitada - S.L.).
• Joint Stock Company (Sociedad Anónima - S.A.).
• Labor Limited Liability Company (Sociedad Limitada Laboral - S.L.L).
• Labor joint stock company (Sociedad Anónima Laboral - S.A.L.).
• Cooperative Society (Cooperativa).
• Mutual Guarantee Society (Sociedad de Garantía Recíproca).

Search for ready-made companies to buy

The most common and affordable way to find ready-made businesses is the Internet. We bring to your attention the most popular resources on which advertisements for the sale of ready-made companies for the Russian-speaking segment are placed:

BusinessesForSale is the largest online marketplace for businesses and shares in them, franchises, business projects for investment and commercial real estate worldwide. Here you can find 350 advertisements for the sale of businesses in Spain.

Housage is an online directory of business properties around the world. There are about 9000 advertisements for the sale of commercial real estate, offices, hotels, ready-made enterprises and other business proposals in Spain. At the same time, the company advises on all issues (including taxes, visas, paperwork, etc.) and provides assistance to the client up to before departure for inspection of the object.

JJC is an information portal for the sale and purchase of inexpensive residential and commercial real estate, as well as ready-made business enterprises around the world. The site contains almost 200 advertisements for the sale of a ready-made business in Spain.

Checkout process

First you need to decide whether you want to acquire a real estate business or just the right to a business. A real estate object with a business organized in it (equipment, licenses, the right to lease) can be leased under the "traspaso" scheme.

Traspaso ”is an option for the sale of a business organized in a commercial facility, in which the building itself is rented out.

That is, you can be the owner of the real estate in which the business is organized, but not have rights to it, if it was sold in Traspaso.

There is another option - to buy a business together with the building and sell it yourself for "traspaso", while remaining the owner of the real estate. And finally, you can only buy traspaso without buying a real estate.

The latter option is very common, since traspaso is often much cheaper than a property. In addition, you need to pay for the "traspaso" only once at the beginning of the transaction, and then pay only the rent of the premises.

When choosing an object for purchase, you need to try to find out in detail why the sale of the business was announced. In addition, it is necessary to carefully read the documentation of the company and make sure that the company does not have any debts. For this, it is advisable to invite a lawyer and an auditor who will help to understand this issue.

Of the documents for buying a ready-made business in Spain, a foreigner will only need a passport, NIE (foreigner's identification number) and a sufficient amount of funds.

When buying a ready-made business, a foreign entrepreneur must take the following steps:

• consider the available options on the market, choose a suitable object;
• familiarize yourself with the documentation (it is advisable to hire a lawyer and an auditor to check the documents);
• calculate the profitability of the company;
• if you need to get a loan for a purchase, then before registration you need to calculate its payback;
• prepare a package of necessary papers for processing a loan and contact the bank with it;
• get a loan;
• pay for the purchase;
• receive a document on the transfer of ownership;
• register a company with a notary, with the tax office and the register of commercial enterprises.

The cost of ready-made enterprises

The cost of finished business objects depends on many factors.

First, the type of business matters: retail outlet, beauty salon, restaurant, hotel, etc.

Secondly, location matters. The properties located in Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Valencia, as well as on the Costa Brava and Costa Blanca are the most expensive.

Third, the size of the area is important. In addition to these factors, the price formation can also be influenced by the lease of the object and the period for how many years the lease agreement has been concluded.

To better understand this, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the prices for some business objects presented in the table:

Business taxation

Both in the process of registering a business and in the course of managing it, the owner must pay certain taxes. For example, in 2021, the following taxes are levied on a law firm in Spain:

• corporate tax (IS) - the general rate is 25%, for cooperatives - 20%, for companies operating for the first 2 years - 15%;
• Value Added Tax (IVA) - the general rate is 21%, a reduced rate of 10% applies to basic foodstuffs, construction of new real estate, accommodation services, a 4% rate applies to essential products used by the company;
• tax on economic activities (IAE) - the amount of payment depends on many factors (for example, on the type of activity, the number of hired workers, and even the number of residents in the city in which the business is organized);
• tax on registration of legally documented acts - 0.5%;
• repair, reconstruction and construction tax (ICIO) - 4%.

How to organize your own business in Spain

In order to independently open a business in Spain from scratch, a foreigner must go through the following steps:

• obtaining a certificate on the name of the future enterprise;
• opening a bank account for a company, obtaining a certificate of the presence of money on it in the amount of the minimum required amount of authorized capital (in accordance with the legal form of the enterprise);
• drawing up a notarial deed on the establishment of a company with a notary;
• obtaining a temporary tax number (NIF) of the company with the tax authorities, where a declaration on the payment of tax on the authorized capital is submitted (the declaration must be submitted even though the rate of this tax is 0%);
• registration of the company in the Register of Commercial Acts;
• payment of registration fee;
• obtaining a permanent tax number;
• registration with social insurance authorities (if the company has more than two co-founders and has hired personnel).

Depending on the type of activity of the company, the founder may also be required to obtain a special license.

How to sell your company

If you want to sell your business in Spain, you can use one of the following methods:

• contact a real estate agency or an intermediary company that sells real estate;
• place an ad on the Internet portal for the sale of real estate.

In the first case, the sale will be carried out by the agency, for the services of which a certain commission must be paid.

In the second case, you should provide a detailed description of the object, name the reasons for its sale, add photos.

If a potential buyer is found, he needs to be given the opportunity to inspect the object personally and get acquainted with the company's documentation. If the buyer is satisfied with everything, you can proceed to the registration of the transfer of ownership.

Conclusion

Many foreigners buy a ready-made business in Spain, since this does not require being a resident of the country and preparing a large package of documents. In addition, the Spanish market has many offers in different cities, in particular in Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Seville, as well as by the sea in Torrevieja, Alicante, Malaga and other localities.

Spain is a tourist country, so it is most profitable to buy a business aimed at foreign tourists: shops, restaurants of national cuisine, hotels.