We wanted to explain in a detail and using examples how we can help to really make a difference when you are looking for businesses for sale in Mallorca.

If you approach a business estate agency they will only show you businesses for sale that they themselves have listed, they may have a choice of one or two that match your requirements but that will probably be all.

There is, of course, no way that they will recommend another agency to you, why would they? It may happen that another agency has just the business for sale that you are looking for but unless you have also spoken to that agency then you will never know. They don’t share information. They would prefer you bought a business from them, of course.

Now the other side of your business search should be the local residential real estate agents, many of which also sell businesses. To get the benefit of the businesses they list you would need to know the area that you want to buy your business in and visit them, believe it or not many do not have websites and where they do are invariably in Spanish so searching for “business for sale majorca” won’t get you any of them.

If you don’t go down this route then you could be looking at a bar for sale through a business agent, that doesn’t quite meet your needs, however the one across the road would be ideal but neither your business estate agent nor you knows that its even for sale.

Lets also look at the third area where you should be concentrating your efforts, local knowledge, local newspapers and bars!

This is probably the hardest of all for you to achieve success in, many businesses that are for sale in Mallorca never even get to the business agents or even the local estate agents, the owners preferring to deal either with a recommendation from a friend, through the local newspapers or even by word of mouth.

It is virtually impossible for you to cover this market unless you are prepared to spend a very long time getting to know an area and who to speak to.

So continuing the business agency scenario, you have no been to see the bar that doesnt quite meet your requirements, remember the one over the road does, but you don’t yet know about it and believe it or not just around the corner is another at half the price, sadly you will drive right by it.

The final area is harder still. It’s the bars that are not officially up for sale, but would be if someone offered the right money! This is one that unless you know the areas, the businesses and the owners, will never ever be considered and yet it should. You will get told the best bars, restaurants etc never get sold, it’s not true, they are not actively marketed for sale but if someone came along at the right time with the right offer a negotiation could be made.

So you can attempt to cover those areas yourself or you could let us handle all the business agents, the local estate agents, the newspapers, the word of mouth and come back to you with all the answers.

Remember our business finder service comes at no cost to you. So why not try and allow us to make a difference.

If you still decide just to head down the business agency or the do it yourself route and not work with us then don’t look in that bar over the road you may just see someone making an offer on your dream!

You may read more about what we do in Our Services page or if you have read enough and what to talk in more details then please go to the Registration Form

Freehold businesses for sale, are seldom seen in the open market as many Mallorcans keep the freehold business as an investment for their families. As if they rent this or Traspas it then the money is a source of income.
For this reason they are few and far between, so if this is what you are looking for and you find a suitable one make sure you close the deal as soon as possible.

Remember that if you then become the freehold owner you can then rent out the business property and receive an income yourself.

With a freehold sale there will usually be an additional 8% to 10% cost on top of the freehold price for notary fees, legal charges and transfer taxes and expenses.

Freehold businesses can usually be financed up to about 60% of the building valuation.

Leasehold Business – Traspaso

Here in Mallorca this is known as Traspaso, The majority of bars, restaurants, cafés etc over here are Leasehold Businesses.

The building shell being owned by the landlord, the buyer owns everything else that forms a part of this business.

The lease term for leasehold business can be for any fixed period with five years being the minimum normal tenure. It is quite normal for this five year period to be automatically renewed for additional periods of five years.
During the contract period you agree to pay a rent to the landlord or freehold owner “Propetario” sometimes this rent is paid annually in advance, sometimes twice yearly and sometimes even monthly is allowed. As long as you pay your rent then everything will be fine with your landlord. Most of them are just looking for a quite life!

During the contract period, the rent either remains fixed or it can be increased only on the basis of the annual ‘cost of living index’ published by the Spanish Government. Currently this is between 2 to 3 per cent.

All this will be checked with us and by your Gestoria before you sign any contract.

These Traspaso agreements are by far the most common forms of business transfer in the whole of Spain and give you an option to be able to sell on the Traspaso at a later date. So if after a few years, if you take a decision to sell or Traspas the property, the landlord would usually agree to a new lease term as per the original contract for the new buyer.
However they do have the option of asking for a rent increase at this time.
So this would be a new lease period and not the remaining years in the old contract. The landlord has the power to terminate the lease only in case of non-payment of rent but this has to be done legally through the court system which is quiet slow in Mallorca.

So in summary, a Traspaso is the most common form of business contract, you buy the Traspaso from the current owner and you pay a rent to the Propetario. You can sell this Traspaso on, if and when you decide to.

Rental Business – Alquiler

Rental businesses or as they are known over here Alquiler are basically what it says. Its a rental of the business premises, they are not very common in the Mallorca bar and restaurant market.

They are more usually for either empty shop or office units. However we do sometimes have bars and restaurants that we can negotiate on a rental contract or some that the owners only want to rent out.

This may have two benefits. If the business is also available with a Traspaso or Freehold option then it may give you a chance to “try before you buy”.
If the business for rent is just a rental contract only, then it could give you an insight into life and work in Mallorca before you make a long term financial commitment.

These contracts can be renewed every year or for a longer fixed period. You don’t make a payment for a Traspaso but would normally be asked for a deposit to cover any equipment and initial bills such as electricity and water.

Any deposit paid would be refundable as long as the business was returned in its original condition and all bills have been paid.

Normally you would be required to pay the first year rental in advance along with the deposit and ingoing legal and administrative fees, then the second year would be just the rental cost only.

Occasionaly you may be able to get agreement from a landlord to turn a Rental into a Traspaso. This would mean you could take an empty unit or a business that is not working well or fitted out properly, invest some time and money into it, turn it into a working business and have the right to sell the Traspaso at a later date.