How to buy a business in Portugal from abroad

Is it worth catching a flight to visit this business? Before booking the trip, seek answers to three questions. What is included in the price? Who will ensure the operation if the owner leaves? And what do you really need to observe on-site? A well-prepared initial conversation helps decide whether to visit, request more information, or move on to the next opportunity.

Compare two or three listings with the same criteria

For each opportunity, note the asking price, location, opening hours, the owner's role, and what you will need to pay immediately after the purchase. Leave blank what you do not know. A laundry with recent machines and another with equipment needing replacement may have the same asking price but require different amounts to start operating. Start with the businesses for sale.

Also choose your role. If you intend to keep your job abroad, prioritise businesses with someone capable of managing the team in Portugal. If you plan to move, confirm whether the seller's departure date aligns with your arrival.

How much does it cost to get each business up and running? Imagine two workshops advertised for 100,000 euros each. In the first, the seller includes the tools and agrees to accompany the team for a month. In the second, they take the diagnostic equipment with them and leave on the day of the sale. Before choosing which to visit, request the inventory for both and a quote to replace what is missing. The difference may justify the trip to the workshop that is further away.

The first video call with the seller

Start with a specific question: "When was the last time you were on holiday, who took care of orders, customers, and payments?" Ask for an example of a problem the team solved that week. The answer says more about the business's autonomy than an estimate of working hours.

If the seller is comfortable, ask them to show you the space live. In a workshop, for example, you can follow the journey of an order from reception to delivery. After the call, send a short list of what you understood to be included and the questions you still have. It is easier to correct a misunderstanding here than during a paid visit.

What to confirm before buying the trip

• Price and scope. Did the seller clarify whether the price includes stock, equipment, brand, or property? Are there rented goods or items belonging to third parties?

• Activity. Have you seen a summary of monthly sales that allows you to distinguish strong months from weak ones? What numbers are available for later analysis?

• Team. Do you know who opens the space, prepares quotes, and resolves complaints? Will any of these tasks be left without a responsible person?

• Schedule. Do you have a date, contact person, and agreed access to the premises? What specific question can you resolve in person?

If you are still waiting for an answer that could eliminate the business from your list, ask for it before booking. If the remaining questions require seeing the premises or shadowing a day of work, you already have a concrete reason to travel.

Do you live in Brazil and want to buy a business in Portugal?

When you find the word "business transfer", ask the advertiser to explain exactly what they mean. Ask separately about the establishment, the space where it operates, and the company that runs it. In a café, for example, confirm who owns the machines, what the rent for the space is, and whether the stock is included in the price. A photo of the counter does not answer any of these questions.

Prepare the budget in euros, including travel, accommodation, and money available for the first weeks. If your savings are in reais, ask for a simulation of the net amount that would arrive in euros. Before crossing the Atlantic, try to combine the visit during opening hours with a meeting to clarify the accounts.

If you can only come once, send the seller an agenda before buying the ticket. Reserve one shift to observe the business and another morning to review the numbers with the person who prepared them. Leave some leeway between the two meetings. A drop in sales you saw on the spreadsheet may gain another explanation after seeing the space and understanding it was closed for renovations.

Do you live in France, Switzerland, or Luxembourg and are considering returning?

If the purchase is part of a return to Portugal, start with the calendar. Imagine the seller wants to leave in March and you can only settle in June. Who will manage the business during those three months? Agree on when you can shadow a shift, meet suppliers, and make the first decisions.

If you intend to continue living abroad, ask the local manager to show you how they would manage a week from a distance. What information would you receive about sales, available balance, and overdue orders? Who could authorise an urgent repair? If all the answers point to the current owner, include the cost of replacing that work in your comparison.

How to follow the purchase from the UK or the United States?

If you live in the UK and can come to Portugal for a weekend, first confirm on which days the business is active. A visit on Saturday may show the peak time of a restaurant. In a factory that closes on Friday, you will find the machines idle and will not know how long it takes the team to switch from one order to another.

If you live in the United States, try the timing you would need to manage the business after the purchase. Ask the seller to choose a real decision from the last week that required a response before lunch in Portugal. At that time, would you be available? If the decision can be left to someone on the team, agree on who decides, up to what amount, and in what situations they should call you. This conversation helps to understand if you can manage the operation from your time zone.

What to do during the visit

Choose a period that represents normal activity. Observe who serves customers, how work is distributed, and where delays accumulate. Bring notes from the video call and confirm the equipment that weighs most in your decision. End the visit with three columns: what you confirmed, what still needs to be demonstrated, and who can answer you. Use this list to decide whether to proceed to a more in-depth analysis. To prepare this analysis, consult the due diligence checklist.

To frame the next steps, consult the business buying guide in Portugal.