Selling a business in Turks & Caicos
 

hi all,

Can anyone recommend a few links/sites it would make sense to promote the sale of my friend's business in Providenciales, Turks & Caicos?

cheers,

Benny

Re: Selling a business in Turks & Caicos
 

Well, the broader you pitch, the better. And why be secretive about the kind of business it is, and the price, and some rough details of what it does?

Re: Selling a business in Turks & Caicos
 

Because the last time ol' BennyBoi posted more details, the Mods deleted it. :nod:

Re: Selling a business in Turks & Caicos
 

Isn't there a "business broker" in T&C? If not, I'd start by contacting a local office of one of the larger, better-known accountants as either they may engage in business broking, or will know someone who does.

Re: Selling a business in Turks & Caicos
 

at least say what kind of business it is as I know many people there and might buy the company or at least the license.....

the big problem in TCI is the ability to get a business license, unless you are a 'Belonger' , locally born...

Companies are FORCED to have a belonger as a director, i.e. get a sleeping partner, this person gets paid to be the Belonger on the paperwork and gets to do almost nothing.... Hence foreign investment in the island is starting to dry up...

There are also issues with work permits, non locals will need a permit..this costs a lot, it takes many months to process the paperwork...

I can mention a case where after 10 years of getting a permit a specialist worker would get the right to get a PRC (Permanent resident certificate), at that point the local paper pushers decided not to allow the person to stay and refuse the permit.. The person then gets the tourist amount of time 3 months to get off island.. Considering by then the person has a house, car, kids at school etc its a big problem, especially when the company looks likely to be forced to close down making several local workers redundant..

Until the problems relating to work permits are resolved I would tell any would be investor to avoid the Country, it is a FANTASTIC place to visit and cheap to have a Caribbean home, its even great to work there on a short contract, but don't expect to make a life there... They want your money not you.

Re: Selling a business in Turks & Caicos
 

thank you all for your input, much appreciated.
Pulaski was right, the last time I was bit more elaborate I got told off by the mods :)

I will try my luck via brokers then.

cheers,

Benny

Re: Selling a business in Turks & Caicos
 

Or use the classifieds section on this site..

Re: Selling a business in Turks & Caicos
 

Does being from another British Crown Colony add any advantages to business ownership or employment there?

Re: Selling a business in Turks & Caicos
 

it doesn't matter I'm afraid. In order to do business on the island, you will have to have a Belonger aka a native islander as a silent partner at least in the business.
Only then will you be able to complete the business registration process and set up a business on Turks & Caicos Islands.

Re: Selling a business in Turks & Caicos
 

Thanks Benny.....Looks like I will have to find someone there.

Question tho....How are people promoting their business? And do locals seem to go to the web any?

Re: Selling a business in Turks & Caicos
 

I can actually vouch for someone reliable. She's an entrepreneur herself and has experience with the business administration process and requirements.

Local businesses advertise in a very old fashioned kind of way: outdoor, local radio, leaflets and events/promos. They do of course surf the web and hang out on Facebook all the time but local businesses do not have the skillset and knowledge to tap into that in a smart kind of way.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.

Re: Selling a business in Turks & Caicos
 

I will. I am in the preliminary stages of what I want to work on there. More hunting information there right now.

Do they have fast food places there? I was looking to travel there and could not find a Burger King or any American Fast Food places there.

Re: Selling a business in Turks & Caicos
 

Nope, none of the mainstream fast food franchise is present on the island. There are a decent number of various small scale restaurants, and a couple of chicken shops which are selling dirt cheap fried chicken.

The only place I can see a McDonald's or Burger King operating is in the Grace Bay area. Footfall traffic as well as the quality of the area could make it an ideal location but you have to run your numbers very carefully as things can be a lot slower in Provo than any other Caribbean island. In my opinion anyway.

Re: Selling a business in Turks & Caicos
 

Actually no. I wasn't thinking along those lines to be honest. I was more thinking about places to eat when I go there to have a look see. Although would not seem like a bad idea to be honest.

I am more hunting info right now on how things move there. How people advertise their businesses, sell their stuff, that kind of stuff.

The Cayman Islands is not too different but we have taken a decent leap into the online world.

What are the major websites there that people go to for news or promotions?

Thanks


Kevin

Re: Selling a business in Turks & Caicos
 

ah ok makes sense.
In terms of places to eat I strongly recommend:
Kalooki's
Seven
Kitchen 218
Mango Reef
Las Brisas (this one is a bit out of the way, but the view is really nice)
Baci (John the owner looks like he's grumpy all the time, but he's alright)
Crackpot
and the Flamingo Cafe right on the beach. Really nice Caribbean food and a stone throw away from the ocean

Most businesses, if they do any online, they rent banner placements on a tenancy basis from some of the below
Turks and Caicos Weekly News
TCI SUN Newspaper
Latest News from the Turks and Caicos Islands
www.enews.tc | Rent Tell Sell

They also tend to do bulletins quite a bit but that's about it.
Some of them do social media but don't put money into boosting their content so not much are being actually seen by their followers.

so pretty basic. would need to do quite an education there I reckon.