Buying a bar in pdc

[darkmagi]

My wife & i have visited lanzarote almost every year on holiday over the last 7 years & every year we come home it gets harder & harder to leave and after this years hols in June it was even harder infact we have decided we are wanting to move out before the end of the year,Our house is up for sale & We would like to buy the lease on a bar, we will be coming back over before the end of september to look at a few bars & some flats to rent, What we need to know is can we make a living, We both have experiance in working in bars as my wifes parents have always had bars, infact they now run there own bar in murcia, We know it will be hard work but we both work hard here so its not that which is causing us to worry we just need to know if we sell everything here & spend about 40k euros on a bar we hopefully will be able to make a living, I think what i need to know is, is there enough holiday makers still going to lanzarote so we can make a living, we dont want to be millionaires but we do want be able eventually with hard work buy a flat or house and put money away so we can retire & enjoy or retirement in Lanzarote, I have checked a few other sites & a lot of them seem to be doom & gloom i need to hear from some people who have taken the plunge and made a life for themselves in Lanzarote.

Any advice would be great.

oh p.s we are both learning a little spanish or somos ambos que aprenden un poco español.

God i hope thats correct but knowing my luck i have just insulted someones mother :-)

[trev1865]

even if you work a 16 hr day it dosent guarantee getting punters into your bar.
in the current climate the last thing i would advise you to do is to get involved with a bar here at the moment.
sorry for the negative reply but it might save you a lot of grief and money in the long run.

[LBS Phil]

IT'S NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM!

Seriously there are many happy bar owners very happy with the way their business is running and that have not been affected or are afraid of the current economic climate. I can even pass names of bar owners that are in their best year yet (and have been trading for over 5 years).
Trev is right though do take your time and don't rush in to anything over here, there are some good bargains due to the economic climate there are also others that are being forced to consider selling - take care to decide the difference when looking at the bars for sale.
Very importantly ensure that you ask for help from experts with legal advice such as Gestoria to find out exactly what position the licence is in and whether you will be required to complete any projects or finish a licence in application (this can come with high costs up to €25,000 if new electrical installation is required) use all of these facts as negotiation points on the final sales price.
Those that have lived on the island for many years appreciate that the the trade can come in waves and so if you can buy at the low point you are in the best position to take advantage of the growth on the other side.
Choose carefully, take your time and if you want any advice at all then please feel free to get in contact with me. I am an ex-bar owner of a very successful (consistently) bar in Playa Blanca and have also opened another successful cafe/bar as well on the island (my partner's business) and so can give you real insight in to the pros and cons and areas you might want to look at. My new company was set up this year for all of the reasons that you have put in your thread - we can help as much as you want us to!
Phil

[hayley2008]

Hi

If your buying a bar will you have any work. im moving to lanzarote in feb 2009, please get in contact if you do or will

many thanks

hayley

hayley_white97@hotmail.com

[darkmagi]

Thanks for the replys to my question, My wife & i have now sold our house subject to the missives being signed & we will be coming over mid march, We are going to be staying in a rented flat for the first 6 - 12 months so we will not be commiting ourselves fully & it gives us time to find the bar we want, we have our eyes on a few that are up for sale in the PDC area but we want to spend at least a month visiting the bars at different times of the day to see how the business is doing ( it may sound bad but i dont trust anyone ) not least of all because this is a massive step for myself & my wife & i dont want to blow it so we will be making sure the bar we buy is the one we want.

Sorry haley2008 but the bar's we will be looking at we will hopefully be working in ourselves for the first few months, but if we do need anyone we will let you know.

Thanks again & i hope you all have a great new year & see you on the Island soon ........ Tom

[trev1865]

sounds like you have the right idea but prepare yourselfs to do something else when you see how slow a lot of the bars are.

[darkmagi]

Originally Posted by trev1865

sounds like you have the right idea but prepare yourselfs to do something else when you see how slow a lot of the bars are.

We were across in September & noticed how a lot of the bars were a lot quiter than they had been in previous years but a few of the bars we have been too over the last 8 years ( the one's we visit every year ) still seem to be holding there own, I am a trucker to trade but im also a computer engineer but i can & will turn my hand to almost anything to make a buck, I am just so sick of living in this country paying taxes for service's that are below par & the weather is rubbish and getting worse every year, Someone really has to let me know what happened to global warming as i think it may have missed Scotland. :)

Anyway rant over im off to bed, Im sick of this cold weather. ba humbug...

[LBS Phil]

Hi Darkmagi

Glad to hear you are taking your time that way you can be sure that the "rose tinted glasses" are in their specsavers case and you can make a careful investment.
I'd totally agree in being cautious when looking around at businesses for sale and if you want to talk to us at any stage for just some advice then please do get in touch. We are interested in helping people to find or create their business out here and do take a different approach to the traditional way bars have been sold here for the last years. If you want to speak to anyone we have helped in the last year or are helping currently then I can always forward you their details as well.
As I said before it really isn't doom and gloom and we have seen some businesses going well below their market price because of the economic situation and euro rate and unless this island is finished (which I am sure it isn't) then with the right investment bars can be picked up and ridden in to the busier times!
Feel free to get in touch before or when you are here if you want some help (having owned and run bars and cafes both here and in the UK we can answer questions in a way no-one else can - with experience).
Hope the cold snap isn't too hard wherever you are!

Phil

[darkmagi]

Hi LBS Phil & thanks for the replys to my post, We are looking at a few bars in the PDC area & when we were across in September we went out with an agent from estupendo, He showed us a couple of bars & long let apartments but as we were not in the position to buy at the time we could only look, Do you have contact details of some of the bars you have help set up in last year just to get an idea from the owners themselves as to how they have faired over the last year, We are really looking for something along the lines of a small bar with about seating for 40 people something that serves food & drink but something that my wife & i can run by ourselves or with an extra pair of hands to help.

Any help would be great.

Cheers..........Tom.

[LBS Phil]

Hi DarkMagi

Apologies but we have been crazy busy so far this year and so getting time on all of the forums is not where my focus has been!
We strongly believe that as newcomers to the island you should speak to anyone that has dealt with a company to get previous customer feedback.
I'm sure if you have been watching that the prices are at some of the lowest they have been on the island for over 5 years - this means it is going to be a tough year BUT importantly means that certain legal businesses can be bought as good investments.
Once again sorry for the late reply but hope it helps!

Phil