London Evening Standard – 16 May 2005
Why Not Take Your Aspirations Abroad?
By David Spittles
More and more Londoners are searching out businesses overseas, particularly in France and Spain, where they can live “over the shop” and enjoy the best of what the country has to offer.
It can be a painless way of escaping the daily commuter grind, especially for writers, designers and consultants who are able to use the phone and the internet to keep in touch with clients worldwide.
Estate agents also report a sharp rise in the number of people buying property that generates an income from tourists – anything from an imposing chateau hotel or guest house to a restaurant or bar.
Christie & Co, a leading UK agent which has opened offices in Paris, Berlin and Barcelona in response to this trend, says it is possible to buy thriving businesses on a leasehold basis for under £250,000.
Competing with locals in the restaurant and hotel trade is likely to present challenges for English buyers. Over and above this, getting independent legal and accountancy advice is crucial.
Acquiring business premises can be complicated, and there are tax and employment issues. In Spain, for example, the purchaser of a business takes on any tax debts of the former owner and is also liable for past social security obligations to its workers.
Frequently in France, commercial property transactions involve the purchase of shares in a holding company. This is because transfer duties (4.8 per cent) for the sale of shares are much lower than transfer taxes levied on property.
Often the best way to finance a business is to remortgage your UK home or use the proceeds from the sale of the property. British banks are not keen to lend against commercial property in France. French banks offer loans, and Christie and Co. has a finance subsidiary company called Christie First.
Website BusinessesForSale.com offers all sorts of going concerns throughout Europe, Africa and North America.
This company says enterprising Britons are spreading their wings much wider than the second-home hotspots of mainland Europe and the Mediterranean – to places such as North America, Australia and the Caribbean.
“There is something remarkably global about people’s relocation aspirations,” according to a spokesman.
“The world seems so much smaller and people are willing to jump thousands of miles to start a completely new life. To be honest, it’s Brits who are leading the way. Sometimes they have to go to the most bizarre places. One Londoner recently bought a car wash in Hawaii, and we have had quite a bit of interest in a 50,000-acre safari ranch in Kenya.”
Most people who decide to take the plunge and buy a concern overseas are novices: more than 70 per cent have never bought a business before.
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