Buying a company in Slovenia/EU – open a new company instead!
Many foreign citizens choose Slovenia when they want to start a business in Europe. In the past months, we have been receiving inquiries from people who wanted to buy a company. They think that this will make the start of their business in Slovenia easier. But is it really the case? In this article we will explain why we recommend to open a new company instead of buying a company in Slovenia.
The downsides of buying a company in Slovenia/EU
One of the main reasons why people want to buy a company in Slovenia is to avoid depositing the initial capital. The initial capital to register a LTD company is 7500 EUR. But when buying a company in Slovenia, you would buy it without the 7500 EUR capital. The previous owner would withdraw the money and leave you with an empty company. This will also mean that you would owe the money to the company. In order to avoid problems with the authorities and the banks, you would have to deposit the money again. So you would not profit from buying a company in Slovenia.
The other reason why people decide to buy a company is to avoid the process of opening the bank account for the company. But when the owners change, the bank will see that there is a new owner. This will enable the bank to close the account without any explanations. So again, you would be left with a company without a bank account.
Another aspect where people who are buying a company in Slovenia are not aware of is taking over the debt of the previous owner. You can only check a company to a certain extent. There are some parts of the company which you cannot check before you become the owner. This is because not all data is posted publically. This is the data if the company has any debt to the suppliers. It means that if you buy such a company, you can also take over the debt of the previous owner.
Do you also want to learn about the salary in Slovenia? Use our free calculator!
Employing non-EU citizens
A big reason why some people are buying a company in Slovenia is employing non-EU staff. They think that by buying the company they can immediately employ non-EU staff. But this is not the case. Any company, old or new, has to fulfill one of the conditions of active business conduct if they want to employ people from outside the EU. This is either 50.000€ investment in Slovenia, employing an EU citizen for 6 months or 10.000 EUR monthly revenue for 6 months. The companies that are for sale mostly do not fulfill them. Which means that even if you buy the company, you would need to start from the beginning when it comes to employing the non-EU staff. We post the updates on the laws also on our Facebook and Instagram.
And another important part – when you are employing foreigners, the institutions will also check your company. They will check if the company paid all taxes and that it has no previous penalties for violating labor legislation. These are two elements which you cannot check before becomming the company owner. Which means that it can happen that you buy a company but then cannot hire non-EU citizens.
Who can get pension in Slovenia/EU?
Avoid the risks and open a new company in Slovenia instead!
In order to avoid risks when buying a company in Slovenia, you can set up your own new business. This way you can be sure that your Slovenian company has no debt and previous violations. This will enable you to safely do business in Slovenia and worldwide. For any types of support in the process, our legal experts will be happy to help you.
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