Starting a business in Spain/Balaerics

J

Jacko

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Hi

Does anybody have any knowledge of how to start a yachting business in Spain? I am thinking in particular of doing skippered day trips for around 8 people. What qualifications will I need and what if any licenses will I need from the Spanish authorities. Thanks
 
I don't know about licenses, but in Spain as soon as you register as self employed you'll need to pay national insurance etc which comes in at about €200 - €250 per month. That's before tax or any indication of earnings, and you need to file accounts every 3 months - there's no let up for new/small businesses!

In that essence, if you can register your business in the UK somehow you'd be a lot better off.
 
Not easy, but not impossible, "Sun coast" a contributor to these fora, mainly on motor boat part, would be able to advise, point you in the right direction.
 
We have started a yacht charter business in Lanzarote, and have set up a SL Spanish company, similar to a Ltd UK company.
We would recommend finding a good lawyer and accountant.
We have done everything to comply with Spanish regulations including tourist licences, yacht inspections, marina approval, insurances and more.
It can be done but it is not inexpensive.
I think there are companies who do not always set themselves up in such a way that we have, but for us we wanted everything done correctly.
If you want any more advice or have any queries plaese contact us.
 
Hiya
having been here for a good few years, a couple of things to bear in mind.
As moonchild said, do everything legally, do not try and work around the rules. The last couple of years and in particular this year "black working" has been cracked down on. Probably due to high unemployment.
I would also thoroughly check out your target market there are a lot of charter boats still sat on the quays, there are charterers out there but they are "demanding" high discounts...
Double check all costings. the running cost for yachts here in mallorca are exhorbitant, 10m = 8,000euros 12m = 17000 euros, never had the bottle to ask about 15m+
Parts are 2x price in uk, decent "experts" charge 40-50 euros an hour.
Sorry don't want to sound pessimistic, it is hard to get started. sustainability is the problem we see new companies start every year...for 1 year only..
but if you can get it going you will have a fantastic life.
hope this helps, and doesn't put you off.
regards
Roy
O and for gawds sake don't on any condition buy a bar :-( hehheh
 
Sadly, even though we are in the EU and in therory we can trade where ever we like, it's not quite as simple as that! The ease of obtaining charter licences depends on the local region, and the flag of the vessel you intend using. We ran a charter motor yacht on a UK flag using an established Spanish yacht charter & management company to get the paperwork and operate the yacht & it took almost 18 months to get the full licences (Alicante region) - this would have been a lot quicker on the Islands and even quicker if the yacht had been Spanish flagged!! If your going to skipper the yacht yourself you will need Yachtmaster with a commercial endorsement. We know a guy who was based in Benalmadena who did day charter on a motor yacht - he had to re flag the yacht and set up a full Spanish business to run it and it cost him a lot of cash to get the Spanish registration, and took about 8 months to do.
The advice of using a good accountant and lawer is VERY important, and you will need a Spanish NIE before you can even lift a pen (Spaninsh NI) and you have (in therory) to be in Spain to obtain one - this process can take up to six weeks!
It's worth considering buying an established business (but check it out carefully) which could save you an huge amount of time and bother - if you want a boat based business I've seen several paracending business's for sale over the past few years which don't cost an arm & a leg! - but don't buy a bar!
 
Thanks for all the useful replies.

I thought i'd already posted a reply but it seems to have gone astray.

I have a pretty definite idea of what i'd like to do and where and I think i'm a couple of years away yet.

I guess i'll have to aim for a yachtmaster commercial then. Does anybody have any idea how dificult this is? I've got a day skipper's ticket and I lived on a yacht in the Med for 5 years but since the sailing down there is mostly tide free and easy navigation I doubt i'd even be up to that level at the moment and I was mostly single handed.

About the only thing i'd be confident of would be boat handling after all of that single handed bows to mooring!

I may contact a couple of you that have generously offered me some advice, thanks again.

The truth is after 5 years afloat coming back to work in an office is making me incredibly unhappy and I long for something like the lifestyle I had before.
 
I would expect that the yacht will need to be Spanish registered and flagged. You will then need the appropiate Spanish yachting qualification (a Spanish equivalent of a YM Commercial). AFAIK it is technically easier - but doing the exam in Spanish might make it harder.

Of course you will need to set up a Spanish company or work as self employed - get the advice of a local accountant of the benefits and disadvantages of each one. As with any business venture anywhere carefully research your costs, get advice, and when you do start make sure you find a good accountant who can help with all the admin stuff. A good accountant can really make life miuch easier - help with resident permits, work permits, personal income tax declarations, VAT etc etc.


Be aware that you will be counted as resident and the immatriculation tax of 12% will have to be paid on the boat.
 
A friend of mine, a Brit, resident (officially and legally) in Spain has recently started a charter business using his British Registered yacht and his British quals. He took proper legal advice from a local firm of Spanish Lawyers and it is all legally OK. I don't know the details, though....suspect it is run via a UK Limited company? Don't know for sure but it is do-able.

Most of the charter boats in the Balearics are British flagged and you seldom find anyone on board who can string more than three words of English together!
 
As I understand it if you are a ' Spanish Resident', that is to say have lived for more than six months in Spain you have to take a Spanish qualification and this, obviously, must be in Spanish. I have been told that you need to learn 600 Spanish nautical words and sit 200 Questions!
 
[ QUOTE ]

If he is taking money from punters on the dock, then it will have to be a Spanish business.

[/ QUOTE ]Ryan Air isn't a Spanish business.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

If he is taking money from punters on the dock, then it will have to be a Spanish business.

[/ QUOTE ]Ryan Air isn't a Spanish business.

[/ QUOTE ]

Probably not - but they have a branch in Spain. And a branch of a foreign company is probably even more complex from a legal point of view than a "native" Spanish company.

A foreign company cannot be physically present in Spain taking money without being registered in some way. And probably being registered only once (i.e. forming a company in Spain) is a lot easier than registering a branch in Spain and creating a company in the UK.
 
This friend took proper legal advice. He also uses a firm of local accountants rather than the local gestor. I don't know how they have treated this but he certainly does not have a Spanish qual, he flies the British flag and he and his partner are legal residents of Spain. It can be done but since I was not really interested in the details I did not ask him exactly how they did it.
 
I was fairly certain I wouldn't need Spanish qualifications, although I don't mind Spanish registration if that's what it will take. It can't be that hard can it? I knew English people out there that were doing it without too many problems.

Thanks for all the helpful advice, even if some of it is a bit contradictory. Perhaps the place to start is to get some proper legal advice in this country first, I assume i'll be able to given the popularity of Spain with expats.
 
I think that's right. If you are going to start a serious business it needs to be on a sound legal basis. You would perhaps be better off talking to Spanish lawyers, though. After all, having taken their advice and you end up with a problem you will need a local firm to help you sort it out. It won't cost you any more to deal with Spanish lawyers than it will to deal with Brits. You might find a recommended firm with a Spanish office, though, employing Spanish lawyers, via the Law Society?
 
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