Homes and estates
Buying a restaurant or a hotel in France.
Burgundy lives from food, wine and tourism. Buying a business here follows French rules that surprise many foreign buyers. Here they are.
Contents
I sell businesses as well as homes: restaurants, hotels, bars and shops in Dijon and Burgundy. The first thing to understand is what you are actually buying.
The business and the premises
In France, the business, the fonds de commerce, is sold separately from the building. The fonds includes the name, the customers, the right to the lease, the equipment and sometimes the licences. The building, the murs, belongs to a landlord, or can be bought too. Businesses for sale and commercial property (in French).
The commercial lease
Most businesses occupy their premises under a commercial lease, usually for nine years, which the tenant can end every three years and has the right to renew. Read the lease first: the rent, the activities allowed, the remaining term, who pays for the works.
The accounts and the licence
Ask for the accounts of the last three years, the turnover month by month, and the staff costs. To sell alcohol, a licence is needed, and the operator must follow a compulsory training, the permis d'exploitation. A hotel can be classified from one to five stars.
The staff
The employees' contracts transfer automatically to the buyer of the business, under the French Labour Code. Know them before you sign: their number, their seniority and their contracts.
Your right to work in France
European citizens can run a business freely. Others need a residence permit allowing them to run a business, such as the « entrepreneur » card or a talent passport, applied for at the French consulate. Plan it before the purchase.
The process
The sale is signed before a notaire or a lawyer, then published; the price is held in escrow for a while to protect the seller's creditors. I accompany buyers from the first visit to the signing. Buying a business in Dijon (in French). I work in English and French every day. I also speak Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi fluently, Persian (Farsi) very well, and good Greek and Arabic.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreigner buy a restaurant in France?
Yes. Non-Europeans also need a residence permit allowing them to run a business.
What is a fonds de commerce?
The business itself: name, customers, right to the lease, equipment and licences, sold separately from the building.
Do the employees stay with the business?
Yes, their contracts transfer automatically to the buyer.
Do I need a licence to serve alcohol?
Yes, and the operator must follow the compulsory permis d'exploitation training.