The surge of tourists coming to Spain this year has provided many tourism-based businesses owned by expats to boom. High-profile, international events like Marbella's film festival or the various charity galas and concerts staged at the Costa del Sol draw huge numbers of visitors to Spain, even when the summer season is already drawing to a close. And while holidaymakers are still enjoying the giant water slide in the Calle Europa at Torremolinos's Ferio of San Miguel, expats are counting the big splash this year's summer boom has brought to their profit and loss accounts.
One of the Costa del Sol's oldest English language publications, The Olive Press, reported on 13th September how a trio of local expat-run business had raked in record-breaking amounts.
Benalmadena's Sunset Beach Club, Marbella's La Sala's restaurant and Ronda-based Hotel Molino del Santo are very happy indeed at what summer season 2015 has brought them.
Compared to last year, Sala Group's clubs and restaurants in Marbella have bagged a 20% growth in turnover this year. Not a bad achievement, given the Group only opened their businesses in 2008, when Spain was plunging into the deepest economic crisis the country had seen since The Great Depression in 1929.
Ian Radford, founder and Chairman of Sala Group, said: "I believe our growth it is due to a combination of increased tourism numbers, more people choosing to relocate again in this amazing place, and of course our brand and reputation should be more established now."
Expat-owned Sunset Beach Club Hotel Benalmadena confirmed in an interview with The Olive Press that their occupancy rates rose by 17% in the first 6 months of 2015. The hotel had a very busy July and August, according to general manager Mark Wardell. "We now expect to break records in both September and October – fantastic result!" He enthused.
Further inland in Ronda, the rustic, but scenic setting of the Hotel del Santo has also attracted far better business this year than in previous years. The hotel's advanced bookings for next year are up by an amazing 500% on 2015 bookings.
Owner Andy Chapell is delighted. "We are seeing a significant upturn in business for 2016, particularly with lots of family groups booking now for big celebrations or get-togethers. There has also been an important improvement in numbers of enquiries and we are expecting a bumper season in 2016," he said.
Company Formation up by 1.4% across Spain in July
Property portal Kyero.com reported that the number of new companies formed in July this year was up by 1.4%, compared to the same month last year. A total of 8,074 new companies were created. By contrast, the number of company dissolutions dipped by 8.7% with the closure of 1,432 businesses this July. Kyero based their report on the Mercantile companies Statistics which are published by the National Statistics Institute of Spain. This means, for the second consecutive month, new company formation has increased on a year-on-year basis.
Perhaps not surprisingly, given the three expat-success stories above, Andalucía was among the three highest scoring locations for new company formations this July. The National Statistics' report shows that 1,773 companies were created in Madrid, 1,703 in Catalonia and 1,359 in Andalucía.
Although Andalucía came third in the category "highest number of company dissolutions" for July 2015, this equated to just 170 businesses folding for a variety of reasons, such as retirement, mergers or bankruptcy. By comparison Madrid, in leading position, saw 368 businesses close, followed by Catalonia with 174.
Making a Big Business Splash in 2016
Expats hoping to relocate to Andalucía with a view to starting their own business in Marbella or further inland will be cheered by this positive news. Now is the time to buy a permanent home in the Malaga Province and start looking around for business opportunities, before property prices shoot up again.
And while the large expat community of Torremolinos is making a big splash on the 50-metre-long chute in Calle Europe this week, there will be plenty of local expat-owned businesses rubbing their hands in delighted glee - at least those selling bikinis, swimming trunks, rubber rings and goggles! This year's success on the impromptu water-park front may well spell a big business splash at the end of next year's season.