Portugal to see an influx of Spanish and English Bar Owners from the Costal del Sol and the Costa Blanca

Previous Spanish and English Bar Owners from the Costal del Sol and the Costa Blanca fed up with the delays to reopen in Spain have started to move to Portugal in their numbers.

Frustrated with Spanish bureaucracy, and with the need to survive, a large number of bar and chiringuito owners are starting to look to Portugal to set up their next business.

One bar owner from Fuengirola said: “I can’t see a future for a long time yet in Fuengirola bar wise but I love the industry and the lifestyle in the sun, for that reason I’m going to buy in Portugal on the Algarve – it’s more to do with Brexit but the crisis hasn’t helped – less red tape in Portugal and better tax breaks as well as the market reopening quicker.”

And that reply was typical of many I spoke to, they simply cannot afford to wait any longer, they have rent, electricity, rates, etc to pay and nothing is coming in.

The Spanish government recently announced that it looks like bars and restaurants will open later on in the year, indeed some hotels on the Costa del Sol and the Costa Blanca have already said they will open next year and write this off as a tax loss.

When holidaymakers read this news they immediately start to look elsewhere and Portugal is looking good at the moment. There are some cracking deals coming up from Portugal and that’s why it’s so important for the lockdown measures to be sensibly relaxed as soon as possible.

There is a very real danger that it may already be too late, it’s just so easy to relocate over there, many people compare Portugal to Spain as it was 15 years ago, a fact that the bar owners who are considering moving take on board.

To them, the bar owners, it means Portugal is less crowded, there will be less red tape, and less hassle from the police, and they will be able to make a fresh start and use all the knowledge they gained in Spain to good use.

Let’s just hope that Spain can pull out of this dire situation we are all in before there is nothing left.