Portugal Compare projects
Starting or acquiring a business in Portugal
Formation and acquisition raise different questions. Define what you would buy, then examine contracts, staff, equipment and trading history before comparing the full budgets.
Let’s discuss your project
A few details to understand your business and the next step.
Bertrand Jayol receives your enquiry for an initial assessment. Referral to the partner is considered with your agreement. Privacy
Define the acquisition object
A restaurant advertised for sale might involve company shares, selected assets or another transfer arrangement. These are not interchangeable transactions. Buying shares means entering an entity with an existing history; buying assets requires identifying what transfers and how trading can continue. Have the structure examined before final negotiations, including the identity of the seller and the obligations attached to the proposed transaction.
Compare a fresh start with continuity
Starting lets you choose staff, offer and systems but takes time to establish customers. Acquisition may provide existing resources without guaranteeing their quality or continued availability. Examine the lease, equipment condition, inventory, dependence on the seller and essential contracts. Do not value customers as guaranteed if contracts or buying habits could change after handover, or assume the seller's daily work will disappear without replacement.
Cross-check the documentary history
Official services provide access to filed annual accounts and registry information depending on the certificate selected. Add recent seller records covering debts, collections, commitments, personnel and disclosed disputes. Historical accounts alone do not prove future profitability. Identify matters requiring legal, accounting or technical review and record missing information rather than filling gaps with optimistic assumptions or relying on a turnover figure without supporting records.
Prepare a conditional decision
Gather inventory, contracts, accounts, premises evidence and a transition budget. Model interrupted revenue and replacement of the seller's work. Your next step is target review followed by a proposal whose scope and conditions are examined by your advisers. Compare the complete cost with starting independently instead of reducing the choice to the seller's advertised asking price.
Portugal
Before you incorporate
Registering as self-employed and incorporating a company are different routes. The choice depends on how your business actually operates. A Portuguese company alone does not determine your tax residence or the treatment of every source of income.
Information to gather
- Your country of residence and where you actually work.
- A description of the services or products you sell.
- Whether your customers are businesses or individuals, and their countries.
- Any shareholders, existing business structure and your planned timing.
Sources and references
Content reviewed on