bobd22

Rosemary yes that sort of thing happens all the time at 1 bar in our village even when you order food you will often see 1 girl toddling of to the shops to get the ingredients lol

Rosemary

Yes, I have had that in a restaurant. The owner had about eight different desserts but then added watermelon as an afterthought, I ordered it and he trotted to the fruit shop a couple of doors away and bought one.

Rosemary

Domino

I don't talk about the electricity bill here, barebones rented property, freezing cold in winter, boiling in summer, can't make any alterations or additions.
Like all things - use in moderation unless desperate.

jackytoo

That is a good idea! much better than buying it in and no one ordering it and it gets wasted

Lestatiger

Guys
I originally posted because, as I said, we are considering our options.
We are, as I also said, experienced in the catering industry, just not in Spain.
I wasn't trying to dis the comments, merely asking for constructive advice!!!
I understand the principles of due dilligence and would never consider entering into any business venture without a structured plan.
picking through the 'negatives there are some good comments posted but I was really after info on things like what is autonomo, what are the legal requirements etc not just someone telling me how stupid I am for considering it!!
Thanks anyway - maybe, as one poster said I should try a professional forum not a social one!!

Chiclanagir

Autonomo is self employed. It might be worth listening to opinions of people who actually do live out here and know what the problems are. My son in law was exactly like you wouldn´t listen to anything and knew everything. Thankfully NOT selling the house. Left Spain 2 years later vastly in debt and only just recovering. At the end of the day you may have vast wealths of catering experience but if people don´t have the money to spend in your bar it makes no odds.

HBG

Quite a few of us on this forum are running businesses in Spain, or have done so in the past. Post 20 on this thread is a live example.

Those of us who haven't, have seen many decent and sensible people, often friends, who have gone skint running businesses in Spain, especially bars.

The negative and truthful comments are meant to save prospective expats from themselves.

Nobody can truthfully answer your requests concerning legal matters, especially in the area you mentioned. Practically all the politicians, lawyers and police agencies are currently before the courts on corruption charges. If you google Marbella One court, it will make your head spin.

Lestatiger

AAAAAAAAAAAAAArrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't profess to know everything and am totally willing to listen to anything - THATS WHY I AM ASKING FOR ADVICE
I fully understand that if people don't have the money to spend it makes no odds!!
These are not things I am seeking advice on, I am seeking advice on things peculiar to Spain eg legal things, taxes, visa's etc.

pwwm

In that case go to speak to a lawyer that knows Spanish law, with all your experience would have thought that you would have done so by now, as er wouldnt they know what you are asking.

Adding my twopennorth, and I have been following this thread, everyone is correct, we have seen the only 2 British run bars go bankrupt with one or two Spanish as well, look at the ads in al the papers, hundres of bars for sale. You asked what people thought but dont like to be told the reality.
Good luck you will surely need it.

Oh why do you not know re Visa´s er you are British? has it escaped your attention that Spain is part of EU and so was UK last time I bothered to look

Lestatiger

I was seeking advice from people who have experience - why is everyone on here so damned hostile?????????

Surely if I knew it all I wouldn't be seeking advice - as for asking about visa's I asked because someone mentioned it in an earlier post - as did someone else mention that as an autonomo I would have to pay 500 euros a month iae - they didn't mention that you don't have to pay any iae if your business turns over less than 1 million euro's!!!!!
This forum should be renamed 'angry negative british expats', and you wonder why foreigners have a negative opinion of the British!!!

cricketman

You seem to have your mind made up, so fair enough, your choice, best thing you can do is go for it

To get a job, you dont need to do anything (Except find one, thats the hard part). Just register as a foreigner, get an NIE, sign on the padron and social security etc like anyone else

Calahonda is barely Spain, its closer to Southend, so there are lots of English bars who would probably need an English chef. You have no chance in a Spanish bar/restaurant

I know people who worked in bars around there cash in hand, 50 euros per night. Most are unwilling to give work contracts out

Then when you want to open a bar. Well, if you buy a failing bar which is what most people do then they will already have a lot of the permisions in place. You'd probably need to invest £50k-£100k to get a bar up and running and stocked up. And give yourself 6-12months or so to upturn business. You will need to pay autonomo, which is 250 euros per month and of courses the wages and social security of any staff you have. You will need staff if serving food

Banks arent giving out business loans, so you'll need the cash

Seeing how every English bar around Fuengirola seems to be empty except for 2 months in the summer then it certainly is a challenge, and an expensive one at that!

agoreira

Is that right?

fionamw

Thing peculiar to Spain also include downsides. I've never run a bar (well not as anything other than a barmaid) here or in the UK but sure as heck I'd be seeking professional advice in either country.

In our village of the three 'foreign' bars, one has just shut up shop a second the owner is retiring shortly, no mention of anyone else taking over, and the third was just let down at the very last minute by a (foreign) buyer having wanted to sell for ages. The Spanish bars are getting by, but everyone to a man acknowledges that things are a struggle.

I don't think it's fair to say everyone on here is 'damned hostile', people are giving advice as you asked; you've relatively recently in the thread said you were looking for more specific legal type advice ... however the other what you consider to be negative comments are said with the best of intentions. Anyone would think the forum was populated by bar owners desperate to prevent competitors from setting up and taking their goldmine customers away from them. Not the case.
As for autonomo, it's my understanding that is the equivalent of self employed national insurance payments which true do have a threshold in the UK, but I've never heard anyone on here say anything about an easily negotiated threshold in Spain, and certainly not a million!

Your main concern seems to be that you are well qualified and experienced in what you do. All well and good but ask yourself if you would be as keen to sell your home, shift your family and take over a business in a sink estate in some city in the UK somewhere. OK Calahonda isn't a sink estate but the ready cash to spend in bars is just not there in the way it used to be and the only real upside if you're going to be working all the hours catering requires, is the weather.

Lestatiger

according to information on the website http://www.spainexpat.com/spain/info...axes_in_spain/

fionamw

This site http://www.advoco.es/hot-topics/43-g...system.html#A7 which is obviously slightly out of date since Autonomo is quoted as 250€, I think it's now 260 or something, says that no-one earning more than about 641€ a month can avoid paying. And there are only minor offsets.
As to setting up a SA to get better tax benefits, that's a whole different ballgame. But I'm WAAY out of my depth here, I was just intrigued by the million reference.