Mama May

I was chatting to a friend of mine today who is also looking to relocate and mentioned the forum (she doesnt have internet poor love!) they were planning on buying a cafe/bar somewhere but someone who has just returned has said its fierce with no money to be earnt.

She has asked if I please could ask whether anyone has/does run a cafe bar and what your experiences were? They would be looking to borrow the money to buy an established business and wondered if similar to the UK there was filed accounts etc so they could verify information given?

Any info would be much appreciated

Spain4me

I looked into buying a established bar in Torrevieja region and when the accountant looked at the books below the surface so to speak , it was losing some £ 450 every week !! So be careful ..

scampicat

The little bit I know about it suggests it is hard, hard work for long, long hours and very little reward.

mikeoc

A guy here owns two bars, he has let them out for others to run as he makes more money that way rather than doing it himself!

b121

to be honest i could never work out how they profit and if they do cant be great

SueG

That is what we came out here to do back in January. Certainly where we are they are inundated with cafes and bars - most are certainly not making any money and the commercial agents will tell you that they make their living by selling the same premises virtually every year. No accounts are kept - the Sellers tell absolutely unbelievable lies and our local bank manager who we have got friendly with says no-one is making any money. There is no way I would borrow money to buy a business - I think in most cases you would be throwing good money after bad.

I also have to say (with great regret) that the English businesses we have seen are mostly dirty, tatty and have no idea of customer relations at all.

We have virtually decided not to go down that route ourselves now and very few commercial agents are trustworthy. If you wish to pm me I can give you details of the only one I would recommend in our area.

I am sorry if this is upsetting for you but your friend would be taking a very big risk especially as she intends to borrow to start up.

Mama May

Hi thanks for all the replies - she will be very grateful!
I will speak with her tomorrow but am pretty sure she said the same owner had had the premises they were interested in for 11 years (although not sure whether you could check this?!) - I don't think she would buy anywhere that didn't have accounts, are they not required there by law as they are here?

Mitzyboy

Theres a lot of constructive accounting taking place in Spain

SueG

I have yet to see any accounts for any business that I have looked at!!! She will also have to take with a pinch of sale the reason for selling after eleven years - the usual one is "illness" Do you know whereabouts the business is - if it is local to anyone on here we perhaps could give it the onceover - best put the town rather than give anything away

SueG

It's frightening!!!

sarahchirles

On the otherside of the coin friends of ours run, with their daughter and son in law, a small English bar/cafe in Benidorm.

They start at 0800 and finish at whenever...

It is very clean and the food is good if not basic ie. the usual Breakfasts etc. It's not gonna revel in the heights of Michelin Guide! They have been running the bar for over 3 years now and it makes a good living for them all. With SKy TV for sports lovers and Countdown for the 'blue rinse brigade' it is what it is. With regular punters coming in year after year. As an exception they are totally registered with the Spanish SS and tax offices with all the red tape that this brings.

The have an very good location which is paramount in the success they have. So with a lot of hard work and a good location it can be done.

john1979

What Sarah said it can be done and will be but it is all about location.

I have a friend who is the manager of a very sucesful comercial agents down on the costa del sol and his main trade is bars. I once had the idea of a bar a long while back and he said no straight away to me. He see's so many fail day after day.

Also all owners have had them years and are retiring or have health issues. Go through any site and all the same reasons are there.

Dont let all this put you off as surly the thousands of bars over in Spain must make something or they would not all still be running right ?

Lionda

We visited a friend of ours yesterday who is from Galicia, he is running a small restaurant/bar with his mother in benidorm, old town area, and has been there two years now. He told us he is giving up the business as there is no money to be made and he is moving to Murcia to live with his girlfriend and to find work there. His mother is moving back to Galicia. Very sad as he was full of hope when he first took over the business and the premises are very clean and well presented. But it just isn't working for him!

Mama May

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply, it's much appreciated.
They got the idea after speaking to a very busy restaurant (although to be fair he told them it was bloody long hours and hard work!) but his location was such he was in a prime catchment area - a small row of restaurants at the edge of a huge apartment complex with not much competition. I think they've looked for longstanding owners as he said if they had been trading 10+ years, they've likely been making a profit as you can't sustain a loss for so long...
All sounds a bit risque to me lol are there any businesses worth buying into? car rental seems to be another LARGE market.

Mitzyboy

Stating the obvious, just because its been there for 10 years doedn't mean its now making a profit.

Another Benidorm story, if anyone knows the Coach and Horses on Pontiente, just next to it there is a locked up bar. Some time ago the owners dissapeared overnight and have not been seen since. They had no experience of running a bar and made a hash of it ... allegedly ran up debts, couldn't cope, and dissapeared.

Although front line, it's sandwiched between two well established bars, and to be truthful was going to struggle from the beginning