Business sales and acquisitions in La Safor (Valencia)

Not necessarily. A large municipality has more potential buyers, but also more competition. In small towns a well-established business can have loyal customers and few competitors, and that has value. What counts is that sales are stable and can be demonstrated with the accounts.

With month-by-month figures for several financial years, so that the buyer sees the whole pattern and not just the best summer. Explain how you adjust staff and purchasing each season and which fixed costs remain all year round. Known, well-managed seasonality is far less off-putting than annual accounts with no detail.

It depends on the contract and on how the transaction is structured. If you sell the shares (participaciones) of a company, the lease stays with the same tenant company, unless it includes change-of-control clauses; if you sell the business, the lease may need to be assigned (Article 32 of the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, the Spanish Urban Leases Act, if the contract does not prohibit it) or a new one signed with the landlord. It is advisable to review this with a legal adviser before negotiating.

Interest usually comes from companies in the same trade that want to grow in the area, foremen or employees who know the trade, and professionals looking for an established business. They will value the order book, relationships with repeat customers, a qualified workforce and the absence of pending claims.

The sooner, the better. Putting the accounts in order, separating personal expenses from business ones, writing down how the work is done and delegating key tasks are changes that show in the valuation, but they need time to be reflected in the accounts of at least one full financial year.