This week I had the honour of completing the purchase of a Spanish property on behalf of a client. The interesting thing about this completion, which as you may know needs to take place physically at the office of a Notary Public in Spain, is that my client was a UK company buying a commercial property outside Alicante.

The above brings us to the first important point: yes, a UK company can buy property in Spain without any problems. It would be necessary to obtain a Spanish tax number (CIF) for the company and open a Spanish bank account in its name but once the above has been done, the company either through its director or through its lawyer, with power of attorney, can purchase the property in Spain.

David, my client and the man behind the company, was a British citizen who to my most admiration, moved to Spain at 81 years of age and since then has bought two properties in the Alicante area. His tax advisors in the UK recommended him to buy the Spanish properties through a UK company to avoid having to pay a tone of tax for raising dividends from his UK company and he followed their advice. Whether this is a good idea or not, I cannot say as each client´s circumstances are different. In some cases, it would make perfect sense to buy a property in Spain through your UK company and in others would not. This is where dual tax advice from a Spanish and English perspective can help, something that my firm can offer do to the dual nature of our work and expertise.

When it comes to my client, this seemed to make business sense and he instructed me to buy the property in the name of his limited company. However, my client preferred that I signed the deed of purchase on behalf of the company and granted a Spanish power of attorney in my favour so I could travel to a town called Sax where completion would take place a few days before the famous “moros and cristianos” festivities. Nothing to do with his age. My client, now pushing 83, is fit as a butcher´s dog and his mind works quicker than mine at 52. He trusted me and wanted that I represent the company at the notary´s office, check the deeds and sign on behalf of his company.

To my delight this meant having to fly to Alicante airport and make my way to the town of Sax. A small town of barely 10,000 inhabitants crowned by an impressive castle at the top of the village (see picture above).

Completion took place without any problems, specially since I provided the Spanish Notary with the necessary documents to register the deeds in the name of a company:

• Certificate of good standing from the Companies House translated into Spanish and legalised with the apostille of the Hague Convention
• The company´s Spanish CIF number
• A Spanish power of attorney granted in my favour by the company

This is the second purchase of my impressive client who rather than retiring by the fire place in a cozy little village in the midlands, he has the courage and the kudos to keep buying small investments in Spain.

David, you are an example to follow!