Olive Press Newspaper - Issue 319 by Olive Press Newspaper Spain

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Vol. 13 Issue 319 www.theolivepress.es June 5th - June 18th 2019

Outrage as millions of protected birds are killed and secretly served up in restaurants across Andalucia PALS: Fans in Madrid

Walk in the park THE largest police operation in Spanish sporting history has ended successfully in Madrid. A combination of restrained policing and good-natured fans turned a potential Champions League final nightmare into a game of cricket in the capital. The statistics are nothing short of amazing. As the huge clear up operation got underway on Monday morning, it emerged that only 11 arrests were made out of an estimated 100,000-plus British fans who descended on the capital at the weekend. The 4,700 cops tasked with the job of policing the all-British final generally behaved admirably, in comparison to their counterparts in Sevilla and Barcelona over recent years.

Hooliganism

Continues on Page 3

A SHOCKING two-and-a-half million birds are killed in Andalucia every year during the olive harvest. Millions more songbirds get vacuumed into machinery during intensive night-time harvesting across Spain and Portugal. Birds including goldfinches, greenfinches and wagtails are among the worst affected during the harvest season between October and January. At least 17 species are affected by the practice, which was brought to light by an Ecologistas en Accion study in January 2018. The green group estimated that 100 birds were being killed per hectare of farmed land, leading to around 2.6 million dead birds per season, just in Andalucia.

for Spanish residents www.globelink.co.uk 96 626 5000 +44 (0) 1353 699082

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pad

E might be getting nudged out of Real Madrid, but Gareth EXCLUSIVE Bale is strengthening his ties to along the famous Golden Mile, which southern Spain. features other celebrity homeowners, The much-maligned Welsh wizard including ex-England midfielder Tim has spent a small fortune on a new Sherwood. property on the Costa del Sol, despite The penthouse is just a 20-minute drive expectation of his return to the UK this from Finca Cortesin, the luxury golf summer. resort in Casares where Bale, 29, loves The Olive Press can reveal the striker, to tee up and has stayed at several times who signed for Los Blancos for €100 over the last few years. million six years ago from Tottenham, He knows La Trinidad well as he has has snapped up a stunning three-bestayed at his agent Jonathan Barnett’s droom apartment in Marbella for just home in the urbanisation a number under €2 million. of times. The purchase comes after Bale The Welshman managed to knock threatened to ‘stay and play golf’ if around 10% off the price of the properthe remainder of his Real contract is not ty, which was on the market for around paid. The father-of-three said: “I’ve got €2.2 million. three years left on my contract. If they According to sources closely linked to want me to go, they’ll need to pay me the deal, the modern pad is situated in €17 million per season. If not, I’ll stay the exclusive La Trinidad urbanisation here. And if I have to play golf, I will.”

VICTORY LOOMS

AROUND 300,000 owners of illegal homes Andalucia need no longer fear the Junta’s in happened several times before. Meanwhile, a secbull- ond proposal aims to toughen dozers thanks to plans to speed up the legalisa- inspection once the royal decree sanctioning and tion process. is in place illegal homes are less likely to built in the so that While a royal decree addressing property future. ularities is still being drafted, these new irreg- The objective of the fast track scheme is to sures allow homeowners more stability. mea- continue ‘without as many obstacles as before’, according to Marifran Carazo, Andalucia’s The main aim is to grant more properties new - Minister of Public Works. many of them expat-owned - AFO status (asim- It comes after the President ilado fuera de ordenacion). of Spain’s most southerly region, Juanma Moreno, This gives houses ‘semi-legality’, saving outlined from being demolished by the Junta whichthem modifications to the Andalucia planning law has (LOUA), giving owners of illegal homes a ‘sec- HELP: Graffiti for homeowners

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ond chance’. “We can’t have 300,000 illegal homes in Andalucia,” the PP leader said, adding that around of illegal properties would be regularised. 90% Maura Hillen, president of illegal homes group AUAN, also told the Olive Press action believed a ‘precedent’ had been set in thethat she case of a British couple. Expat pensioners Noel and Christine emerged victorious after a 16-year legal Payne over their illegal home in Albox, which battle described as a ‘positive’ sign of the future.Hillen

CRUSHED: (Left) Greenfinches and (far right) Wagtails are being slaughtered by olive farming The shocking statistics confirmed by the Guardia Civil’s environmental arm Seprona, are now being probed

Robbie’s return

IT will go down as the greatest reunion of the year. Robbie Williams is set to rejoin Take That at a headline show in Gibraltar this summer, the Olive Press can reveal. He will be reunited with his former bandmates at Gibraltar Calling Festival in September. Organiser Richard Coram revealed to the Olive Press this week that ‘Robbie Williams is definitely involved’. He added: “I can give you the heads up that he will be involved in one way or another.” The former frontman left the band in 2016, so it would be a timely return. Half of the tickets to the festival have already been sold, with many more acts to be added to the bill, that already includes Liam Gallagher and Mel C.

by the Junta. The Sevilla-based body is now under pressure to outlaw the practice of night harvesting, since publishing a report on the problem in October. Worse still, tens of thousands of the birds are being sold to restaurants as a dish, long popular in inland Andalucia. The dish - known as pajarito frito has been outlawed for many years, especially when the birds in question are endangered species. “This practice is illegal and highly condemned due to a lack of sufficient health guarantees for public health,” said a Junta spokesman this week. No charges have yet been brought against any farmers or hotels, however the Junta confirmed it was looking at banning ‘super-intensive’ harvesting at night. “It will prevent migratory birds from being caught by the machine’s spotlights,” he added.

"It is a real problem, with pressing and serious environmental repercussions, which transcend the national and geographical limits of Andalucia.” Pressure has grown on Spain, after a number of British supermarkets confirmed they are also probing the practice with an eye on banning olives or olive oil produced in this way. Tesco confirmed it was investigating how olives are collected for its oils after many buyers expressed concerns, following the publication of the report in journal Nature last week. "We're currently looking into how we pick these olives so, by the time it comes to harvest them, all the necessary changes will have been made," said a spokesman. Numerous olive oil firms in Spain the world’s biggest producer of what is termed ‘liquid gold’ - harvest at night as the cooler temperatures better preserve the aroma of the olives. The issue is the bright lights of the tractors, which dazzle the sleeping birds leading to many being sucked into the machinery and crushed. The issue is not a problem during the day. Global olive oil brand Filippo Berio, which offers oil from Spain and Italy among many other countries, confirmed it would be checking its produce. “We will keep consumers upwww.mosquitonick.ws dated as and when we have nick@mosquitonick.ws more information."

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Their aim was to contain the big groups of rival fans from Liverpool and Tottenham, the vast majority who arrived without tickets and many without accomodation. Far from the feared predictions of widespread ‘hooliganism’ in the Spanish press, the weekend, passed off almost entirely without incident. “The fear of hooliganism has been just that; fear, as the British fans behaved with enthusiasm and cordiality,” reported El Confidencial. With the exception of a few idiots, the

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NEWS IN BRIEF Knife on the edge POLICE in Malaga have arrested two men, 47 and 51, for robbing a pharmacy with a huge knife and nicking €750.

Health risk A PLOT to sell stolen state-of-the-art mobile phones to health workers at a Malaga hospital has been dismantled by police.

Suicide murder A MAN in Cordoba, 53, has murdered his wife, 51, with his hunting shotgun, before killing himself and leaving a suicide note.

Legged it A YOUNG man, 25, has been shot in the leg in a suspected gangland warning attack in Benalmadena.

Conman finally nabbed after ten years on the run from the UK A BRITISH conman on the run for 15 years has been cuffed on the Costa del Sol. Christopher Woodhead (pictured right), 66, from Huddersfield, preyed on the vulnerable and elderly in construction scams totalling €1.6 million. After being detained by police in San Pedro de Alcantara, Marbella, the Yorkshireman now faces a sixyear prison sentence for

CRIME

June 5th - June 18th 2019

Nabbed By Charlie Smith

the Leeds-based crimes. The judge in the case labelled him an ‘amoral fraudster’ as he was found guilty of swindling a dozen clients by taking on building jobs, which he didn’t carry out. Woodhead was thought to have moved to Canada or Spain, after first disappea-

Judged correctly? A JUDGE has let a convicted UK criminal come to Spain on holiday before he is sentenced over possession of a stun gun and class A drugs. Colin Watson, 51, was spared an immediate prison sentence so he could enjoy a pre-booked holiday to the Canary Islands. Judge Jenkins agreed to postpone the crook’s sentencing as ‘an act of mercy’ but campaigners have said it is risky and sends mixed messages to crime victims. “It is quite extraordinary and virtually unprecedented in my experience for a judge to adjourn sentencing of a convicted serious offender to allow them to go and enjoy a holiday,” said victim’s rights campaigner Harry Fletcher. “It's also a bizarre message to send to victims of all crime who are concerned about sentencing in this country.” Watson, from Pontypool, has pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon and drugs and faces a ten-year jail sentence. Judge Jenkins told Watson: “You have pleaded guilty to a number of very serious matters. I am trusting you. Don't let me down.”

ring in 2004 with the money he had extracted from firms.

Playground creep A MAN has been arrested after exposing himself at a children’s playground on the Costa del Sol. The 63-year-old Spaniard was held on charges of exhibitionism after showing his genitals to children. Police were alerted by a mother at the Parque Infantil playground on Calle Argentea in Malaga. Police have now handed the man a restraining order, banning him from being near minors or the park where the incident took place.

EXCLUSIVE

A BRITISH expat has become the victim of a homophobic attack ahead of pride celebrations on the Costa del Sol this month. Lee Roberts, from Manchester, was walking home from work in Torremolinos when he claims a Moroccan man began accosting him. “He started spitting at me and calling me maricon (faggot),” he told the Olive Press. “Then he started attacking me, pushing and punching me.” It comes just over a month after a well-known local drag queen was also attacked by a homophobic mob in the resort town, which is known as a LGBT destination. The attack comes just days before the town’s annual Pride week.

That’s bananas

POLICE in Sevilla have seized a tonne of cocaine hidden in bananas, the city’s largest ever haul of the drug. Boxes of the fruit, in a lorry, were used to smuggle the narcotic, and are now being kept at the police headquarters.

ATTACKED: Roberts

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A Policia Nacional spokesperson said: “He was officially made a wanted man in 2008 and is said to have committed a dozen crimes of fraud in the UK while he was in charge of several firms which sold products to other construction companies. “The fraud consisted of charging for labour and not carrying out jobs. “He also diverted cash to another company through the fictitious supply of materials and creation of fraudulent invoices. “He used the income he obtained for his own benefit, on holidays and maintenance payments to his ex-wife.”

Lack of pride

www.theolivepress.es From front page

mood was extremely friendly with fans mixing well and the police generally playing their part admirably. There was only one report of brutality where, allegedly, 50 Spurs fans got ‘battered’ outside a bar near Puerto del Sol. The only recorded offences were for drug possession, as-

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SPECIAL

Brits threw pints - not punches - in Champions League party worth €60 million to Madrid sault, flying a drone and public indecency. And one British woman was arrested for selling fake tickets. The 32-year-old apparently told two fans she could get them into the game at the Wanda Metro-

politano stadium for €8,400, before the pair notified police. Another Liverpool fan, who had been reported ‘missing’ by his family, is now known to have been arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The British consul in Andalucia Charmaine Arbouin praised the good behaviour of the fans and organisers. She told the Olive Press: “All in all it went incredibly well and was almost trouble free. A real credit to the fans and the organisational abilities of the authorities.” Arbouin, who was on duty until 3am at Madrid airport on Sunday morning, helped to ensure that a record 60 charter flights left in a three-hour window without incident. “The Spanish were a bit worried and there were lots of lost passports,” she added. “I felt sorry for the Spurs fans… all of that money to see their team lose and then having to fork out for an emergency passport on top of it.”

TOP SPURS: Steve Nash, Clive Owen and Alan Sugar

TROUPE of famous faces were spotted partying in Madrid on Champions League final weekend. Aside from the usual round of politicians, including Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez, there were union bosses like Len McCluskey and British ambassador Simon Manley, who ended up offering former Liverpool star Steven Gerrard a space on his sofa. Spurs’ most famous supporter, Lord Alan Sugar bagged himself a ticket for the game, while fellow fan NBA legend Steve Nash was also in attendance. Famous Tottenham supporting actors including Jude Law, Clive Owen and Kenneth Branagh are also thought to have been in town. Meanwhile actors Daniel Craig and Damian Lewis, both Reds fans, plus Scouse comic John Bishop, saw their side lift the trophy at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium. Players’ WAGs joined the post-match party too, including Little Mix singer Perrie Edwards, the girlfriend of

ONE of the most unusual sightings of Saturday night, was Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, 20, wandering around the centre of Madrid well after midnight. Wearing a beige tracksuit he was seen by the Olive Press team walking towards Puerto del Sol with a pal. When we pointed him out and said hello, he smiled back and wondered off fast, after putting up a hood.

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nabbed by plain-clothes officers on Saturday after they stole another fan’s ticket and attempted to rob a TV camera from Spanish channel La Sexta. Aside from mountains of empty beer cans - and the odd hour

Dozens of celebrities and famous ex-players made the trip to Madrid for the weekend

Hoodie to the Reddie! SPOTTED BY THE OLIVE PRESS

Macauley Negus, 23, from Plymouth was found by police lying ‘semi-naked on Calle de Goya at around 2am, before he attacked them and was arrested. A trio of British fans were also

Stardust 11

SEEING RED: John Bishop, Daniel Craig and Damien Lewis

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Liverpool’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Spurs ace Dele Alli used the final to send a message to ex-squeeze Ruby Mae, who he flew out on a private jet, calling her his ‘lucky charm’. The Tottenham midfielder split with the stunning swimwear model in January after two-and-a-half years together. Liverpool hero John Barnes was also in attendance, treating the Liverpool fan zone to a rendition of his Anfield Rap, before rapping the Sugarhill Gang's hit Rapper's Delight. The ex-Celtic boss slept rough on the floor of Barcelona train station for three hours after a ‘journey from hell’ to Madrid. Former Spurs legends Ossie Ardiles joined ex-England defender Ledley King during interviews at the fan zone. Rafael Benitez - the last manager to win Liverpool the Champions League - was himself spotted in Plaza Mayor, along with Brazilian footie legends Cafu and Roberto Carlos. Politics were also present at the party, as Madrid’s Plaza Margaret Thatcher was renamed with signs reading, ‘Jeremy Corbyn Square’. In a bizarre twist, the rather dull match was livened up by a female streaker, US model, Kinsey Wolanski, 22 (left), who invaded the pitch in a PR stunt thought to be worth €3 million. The blonde ran on in a black swimsuit printed with ‘Vitaly Uncensored’, the name of her boyfriend’s X-rated porn and pranks website.

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 

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By Olive Press reporting team in Madrid (Charlie Smith, Tim McNulty, Joshua Parfitt & Jon Clarke)

of lost sleep, which they are famous for anyway - Madrilenos will be feeling the Champions League benefits for some time to come. Over the weekend an incredible €60 million was said to have landed on the city, with the average supporter spending €150 a day on top of travel, accomodation and tickets. And it’s easy to see why, with some bars charging €15 a pint and hotel prices increasing their prices by 200% more than the average rises at previous finals. Around 95% of the city centre’s hotels were occupied on Friday and Saturday night, according to the Hotel Business Association of Madrid (AEHM). The average price of a city centre room soared to €5,000, while the cheapest hostel bunk beds rose to €500. As the Olive Press reported last issue, a luxury two-night stay at the Santo Mauro Hotel, where David Beckham once lived, was €26,000. Food outlets surrounding the respective fan zones of Plaza de Colon and Felipe II also cashed in, with the city’s catering sector netting a total of €18 million.

24-hour

Local entrepreneurs also cashed in bringing in trolley-loads of cold beers at just €4 a throw. UK flights to Spain spiralled out of control too, as both teams reached the final in dramatic late semi final wins. Almost all trains out of the city were full, including those to the Portuguese cities of Lisbon and Porto, where many fans flew to. One female fan had to take a combination of three flights and two trains to reach Madrid, while many drove 24 hours straight from the UK. One Tottenham fan told the Olive Press about his 24-hour journey from Australia to Madrid, costing him €10,000. Darren Ashley, 48, whose dad lives in Manilva, near Malaga, flew from Sydney to Melbourne, then Abu Dhabi and on to Madrid, and also bagged himself a match ticket for €5,000. The father-of-one, who travelled with his girlfriend Emma, said: “It was a blur, 90 minutes went by in 15 seconds. The Spanish stewards were amazing and our end was a sea of a thousand white flags, kids, dads all together. “To be there gave me memories of my dad Alan taking me to White Hart Lane as a kid.”

NEWS

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Going downhill A BRITISH dad has been left unable to recognise loved ones after stumbling onto a motorway in Spain and being struck by a car. 39-year-old Hadyn Atwood has remained in critical care at a Malaga hospital after the horrific crash and is said to be suffering memory loss. The carer from Wales was jogging down a hill with teenage son Ashley when he fell in front of an oncoming car.

Summer boost A RECORD 604,000 jobs are set to be created in Spain this summer, experts have predicted. According to research company Randstad, some 140,000 of those will be converted into full time jobs (around 23%) at the end. Andalucia will benefit the most, with the influx of tourists creating 28,420 permanent posts, followed by Catalunya with 20,040, Valencia with 14,950 and Madrid with 14,810.

Newly-elected Brit councillor hopeful of attempts to move past the long entrenched rivalries of Spanish politics A BRITISH expat councillor has suggested long held political rivalries may be ignored at local level in a bid to ensure stronger governance. It comes after Ciudadanos continues to rule out any form of pacts with the PSOE on a national level, while the PSOE refuses to work with the Partido Popular. Hopefully though, this is set to change (in Mijas at least) where newly-elected councillor Bill Anderson (pictured right) is

June 5th - June 18th 2019

We must work together EXCLUSIVE By Timothy McNulty

representing the PP party that won the election gaining nine seats but without a majority. “In order to take power we need to gain the support of the PSOE,” Anderson, an Olive Press columnist, told the paper this week.

“Our leader Angel Nozal is open to negotiations to break the deadlock, but PSOE are supposedly banned from working with us in Madrid.” He continued: “There are talks at National level about which parties everyone can pact with. Both PP and Ciudadanos are refusing to work with Vox. “PP and PSOE are arch enemies

Feeling the sneeze? IF your hayfever is particularly bad this year - or you’ve developed the sniffles for the first time - don’t fear, you’re not the only one. Experts have warned that pollen levels have shot up around Spain with May and June being the worst months. It comes after heavy April rains and humidity, were coupled with the rise in temperatures and higher winds. And this year it has been worsened due to olive trees, which tend to produce more pollen in odd-numbered years and whose pollen spreads much fur-

ther. “The pollen is terrible and levels are high,” warned head of allergies at Ciudad Real Hospital Francisco Feo. “Olive pollen is particularly bad as it can travel up to 400 km from its place of origin.” It means the thousands of olive trees spread across Andalucia, in the likes of Cordoba, Malaga and Sevilla, mean the whole region is awash with its pollen, aided by the strong winds. The high levels will remain until the end of June.

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and I think they are passing this down the line, “However Angel is focused solely on what Mijas needs which is four years of efficient and stable government,” he added. Former mayor Nozal has appealed to both Podemos and PSOE in Mijas to ‘reflect’ and insisted on opening up dialogue with both groups. The PP meanwhile, won the election in Fuengirola, Estepona, Malaga and Marbella by absolute majorities. They also have the majority of councillors in Ronda and Torremolinos.

Must do better! SPAIN is one of Europe’s worst culprits when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, figures have revealed. The country has seen the biggest increase in emissions on the continent, with a 51.7 million tonne rise between 1990 and 2017. Emissions grew by 17.9% during that time, while the EU collectively REDUCED its emissions by 23.5% during the same period. Austria, Cyprus, Ireland, Malta and Portugal also failed to reduce emissions effectively. Climate leaders however, are optimistic as Pedro Sanchez’s PSOE government plans to boost renewable energy production. Not only will clean energy become cheaper, but there will also be more electric vehicles on the road.

Diving disaster AN investigation has been launched after the body of a British diver was found 170 ft underwater off the coast of Murcia. Phillip Evans, 69, got separated from his diving group in the Islas Hormigas marine reserve.

www.theolivepress.es

June 5th - June 18th 2019

www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain

A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than one million people a month.

OPINION Ecstasy, agony and relief From Olive Press editor Jon Clarke in Madrid IT was with some apprehension that I headed up by train to Madrid on Friday afternoon. I didn’t know what to expect in the capital for the Champions League final. I just knew tens of thousands of English fans were set to descend for the biggest game of the year, watched globally by an estimated 400 million viewers. A Spurs fan since the age of six I had never been more excited, GOOD MIX: Jon (left) with Liverpool fan although I knew that getting a ticket was going to be extremely unlikely. My contacts in Fleet Street and the establishment, including consul Charmaine Arbouin, came to nothing and with prices soaring up to €9,000 each and reports of fakes, I decided to save my shekels, to coin a north London phrase. What I hadn’t expected to find was so many fans, with an estimated 100,000 in Madrid, at least 10,000 of those expatriates, I would wager. What was clear was how much fun and revelry was part of the deal. I met Spurs fans from as far away as Australia and Mexico, as well as German and Norwegian fans, who arrived from Oslo and Frankfurt. And, best of all, there was almost zero trouble. Late on both Friday and Saturday night, thousands of rival fans full of booze showed that English hooliganism is hopefully a thing of the past. Sure, the result wasn’t ideal, nor the suspect penalty at the start. But just being part of this great stream of humanity will be something I’ll never forget. Maybe I am, after all, just like them.

FEATURE

Repainting history Satanism, male lovers and family abandonment? Heather Galloway delves into the lesser known side of Spanish maestro Francisco Goya

HE last of the Old Masters and the first of the new, Goya may be one of the most celebrated artists in the world with a hallowed place in Madrid’s Prado Museum. But when British actor Jeremy Irons spoke of his eagerness to portray the painter in a biopic at the Barcelona Film Festival last month, he mentioned aspects of his life you (mostly) don’t read about in the history books. The Dead Ringers star suggested that Goya’s interest in ‘satanism’ and an apparent dabbling in ‘homosexual relationships’ along with the abandonment of his family - could go a long way to explaining his famous Black Paintings. Painted between 1819 and 1823 as murals at the Quinta del Sordo villa, which he shared towards the end of his life with his housekeeper/companion Leocadia Weiss in Carabanchel, Madrid, they are among the most impactful artworks ever created. So who knew about this previously unknown side of one of Spain’s most famous painters? Not many people, as it turns out, though

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LOVERS?: Portrait of Goya (left) and (right) his childhood and ‘intimate’ friend Zapater Manuela Mena, who recently retired from her position as head of conservation for Goya at the Prado, came forward with a theory that he was gay last year. She suggested the idea after spending five years of research based on the artist’s 1775-1799 correspondence with his childhood friend, Martín Zapater, which she maintains was unusually intimate. Goya was not keen on the pen in general,

she argued, so these 147 letters provide a unique insight into his life, though the content is largely considered mundane. Mostly staying on the subject of hunting, music and food, they are however, far from cast iron evidence that he was gay, insists British historian and Goya expert Stephen Drake-Jones. “I think the claims are absurd,” says the President of Madrid’s Wellington Society,

What have the Brits done fo After 100,000 footie fans descended upon Madrid, Laurence Dollimore counts the ways

E’VE all read the headlines… ‘drunk Brits kicked off plane’… ‘Britons arrested for drug dealing’... ‘Brits start brawl outside Marbella club’. You’d be forgiven for thinking we’re a bunch of knuckle-dragging morons who spend all of our time drinking, laying about and starting trouble. While we do we have many a moron - as does every country - Spain knows that we, too, have something to offer - just look how well we behaved at the weekend in Madrid. On top of that, there are tonnes of cultural, business and personal ties between our two countries and the Brits have contributed to Spain more than you may know. Below we have rounded up a few things the Brits have done for Spain.

Publisher / Editor Jon Clarke jon@theolivepress.es

June 5th - June 18th 2019

Football Did you know the great game was brought to Spain by some the UK’s earliest group of expats? If you ask where and when the first recorded football game took place on the Iberian Peninsula, the answer is right here in Andalucia. In 1873, amidst the instability and financial bankruptcy of the Spanish state, the Rio Tinto mines near Huelva were purchased by British entrepreneurs. Over the next few years an influx of British miners, garrison soldiers and railroad workers arrived. In 1887, on the feast day of San Roque (the patron saint of the sick and disabled) locals and Brits gathered to celebrate. This two-day fiesta had a reputation as a drunken melee which included (when the men were sober enough to stand upright) climbing a greasy pole, donkey races, a tug-of-war, etc. The Brits celebrated by forming two teams that were picked exclusively from among non-Spaniards in the first recorded ‘foot-ball’ match on the Iberian Peninsula.

Local business

The 296,000 Britons officially living in Spain (the real figure is believed to be MUCH higher) are thought to be the largest single group of UK citizens living in other European countries followed by France and Ireland. Some town populations, particularly in Andalucia and on the Costa Blanca, are up to 50% British. It means these areas rely largely on UK locals to fill the municipal coffers and create and maintain viable businesses. In expat hotspots like Sabinillas, where the Olive Press is headquartered, local cafes like Nenit depend heavily on Brits spending their money. Around 50 or more visit the cafe every single day and are more likely than other nationalities to buy food and several rounds of drinks, providing a vital stream of income.

Comedy

Tourism

Known around the world for our self-deprecating comedy and dark sense of humour, several British shows have proven a hit in Spain. Mr Bean is huge in the country and is watched by millions. Back in 2010, Spain’s then prime minister Mariano Rajoy was briefly ousted from the country’s official website after hackers replaced his likeness with that of bumbling slapstick character not unlike Rowan Atkinson’s alter ego. Little Britain, meanwhile, is also a hugely popular show, especially among those wanting to learn English.

The truth is that the Brits have been the biggest supporters of Spain’s tourism industry for decades. Last year the sector grew by 2.4% and contributed a whopping €178 billion to the economy – or 14.6% of the country’s GDP. The Brits were by far the biggest foreign group with 18.5 million visiting the holiday hotspot, contributing more than any other nation to the €89.9 billion spent by tourists. And this year they are set to remain the biggest group, despite the ongoing Brexit saga. In fact they helped the Costa del Sol break its all-time winter record for 2018-2019, accounting for up to 60% of the 3.2 million tourists during that period.

Property market The Brits have consistently been the largest foreign purchasers of property in Spain for eons now. There is such a love for Spain that this hasn’t changed for the past 12 years, despite the 2008 meltdown and the more recent Brexit uncertainty. In fact in 2018, Brits beat pre-Brexit refe-

Animal shelters rendum records in terms of property purchases. Sales to buyers from the UK rose 12% yearon-year in 2018 to 10,178 – beating the 2016 record of 10,156.It means the UK’s share of the foreign market has been steadily increasing from a low of 14% in the first quarter of 2017 to 17% at the end of 2018.

While Brits might get a bad rep sometimes, there’s no denying that many expats have dedicated their lives to saving hundreds of thousands of abandoned dogs, cats and more after moving to Spain. From the ADANA shelter in Estepona, to the Last Chance Animal Rescue in Cartama, Malaga, there are dozens of British residents giving their time to neutering and rehoming abandoned animals.

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FEATURE

June 5th - June 18th 2019

olive press online

that’s the

Spain and Gibraltar’s best English daily news website

Million march on THE Olive Press website has done it again. After pulling in a million hits in April, we were hoping to break the barrier once more, and boy did we do it, and then some! It was indeed a merry month of May as we smashed our record, raking in more than 1.3 million views. We also, for the first time, surpassed the 1 million sessions mark. Readers poured in to read our original election coverage and scores of exclusive stories and original features. See the most read stories below, and here’s hoping we continue our reign in June. BIG FAN: Jeremy Irons peruses over Goya at Prado while (right) Saturn Devouring His Son, one of the maestro’s most famous works who lectured on Goya at the University of Syracuse, Madrid, for six years and has just published Letters Home from the Basque Country. “In all the years I have studied Goya, it has never once been mentioned,” he told the Olive Press this week. Born into a lower-middle class family in the small Aragonese town of Fuendetodos, Francesco de Goya y Lucientes moved with

or Spain?

Sherry First shipped to England in 1340, sherry has been a British favourite for hundreds of years. As it began to soar in popularity at the beginning of the 16th century, the Spanish spotted an opportunity to make sherry the leading wine import in the UK. The Spanish abolished export tax for wine in Sanlúcar and gave English merchants preferential treatment. But when the Eighty Years’ War began in the same century, exports were cut off. Brits were so thirsty for the tipple that when Sir Francis Drake attacked the port of Cadiz in 1587 he seized 2,900 butts of sherry and took them back to the UK, reigniting the love affair with the fortified wine. Sherry was soon being made to satisfy the English who, in the following centuries, were the only people drinking the stuff in any volume. The Brits’ love for a sweeter sherry continued into the 20th century as brands such as Croft Original and Harveys Bristol Cream came to prominence in the 60s and 70s. Following a dip at the end of the 20th century, the wine - which must now only be made in the ‘sherry triangle’ between Jerez de la Frontera and Cadiz - has made a great comeback. Large supermarkets like Marks & Spencer doubled their sherry varieties while London is drowning in a wave of pop-up sherry bars.

his aspiring parents and three older siblings with you, oh, how could my soul believe that to Zaragoza at the age of three, where he friendship could reach these heights.” would subsequently hang out on the dusty While Goya’s exact closeness with Zapater streets with the other children and forge a (and he painted two portraits of his friend) lifelong friendship with Zapater. may still be shrouded in mystery it was wiAt the age of 14, his artistic abilities were thout a doubt a close relationship. spotted by a priest from a picture he had But Goya also painted his wife twice, as well done of a pig on a wall. as the Duchess of Alba, whom he was ruBut though the boys’ lives would then take moured to have seduced, though another different directions, with Goya studying art biographer Robert Hughes believes their in the city under Baroque painter Jose Lu- relationship only ever amounted to a close zan, they remained close. friendship. Goya had a chequered start to his career as A woman of her age and lineage would not an artist. While he worked under Luzan, he have fallen for the charms of a man 20 was allegedly also the ring leader of a local years her senior who was far from her social gang and when he returned to Luzan’s stu- equal, Hughes maintains. dio with a knife in his back, he was urged by He added that his celebrated painting ‘Maja his mentor to leave Zaragoza and apply to Desnuda’, on which much of the speculathe Royal Academy of Fine Arts, in Madrid. tion is based, is not the Duchess at all. His application was not successful though, Whether or not Goya had homosexual feeand he went to Italy for several years ins- lings towards Zapater is open to interpretatead. tion as is almost everything about Goya, and But he finally found favour with Charles III in the Prado Museum remains non-committal the Spanish capital, thanks on the issue. “This ‘percepto fellow artist and mentor tion’ is personal to Manuel Francisco Bayeu, and beca- When he returned Mena,” a spokeswoman told me chief painter at court. the Olive Press. “My Martín,” he wrote to his With regard to Goya dabbling to the studio friend. “I’m now the King’s in Satanism, Drake-Jones is with a knife in Painter on 15 reales a year!” unequivocal. Goya had by then married His paintings may have at his back he was Bayeu’s sister Josefa. He was times been ghoulish and urged to leave 27 when they tied the knot disturbing with themes of and, though there are few insanity (Yard with Lunatics), details of the relationship, nakedness, witchcraft (Witwe do know that numerous ches’ Sabbath) and religion pregnancies led to only one of their children running through them, but he maintains: “It surviving past infancy, which must have would have been too dangerous for Goya to been heartbreaking. be involved in devil worship.” But, according to historian Drake-Jones, He continues: “He was a court painter. Goya in no sense abandoned his wife or his Everybody knew him and he could have lost son, as actor Irons has claimed. In fact, her his job or his life. He could have been gadeath in 1812 could have contributed to his rrotted – a form of strangulation, though at descent into depression. least you’re sitting down! But 17 years after his wedding, his letters “You were allowed to paint mythology and in to Zapater are certainly more ambiguous. his black period you have Saturn Devouring In November, 1790, one missive is embla- His Son, but that was the norm.” zoned with a heart laced with engorged ar- According to Drake Jones, there is no mysteries instead of the mandatory cross which tery about Goya’s black period either. the Inquisition demanded. “He had gone stone deaf,” he says, refeIn the same month, another is adorned with rring to the illness that left Goya with a a sketch of a penis. And in December that constant ringing in his ears at the age of same year, he writes, “Yes, yes, you bring my 47. senses to life with your discreet and friend- “The absolutist king Ferdinand VII comes ly productions, with your portrait in front of back to the throne and plunges Spain me it seems I have the sweetness of being into darkness and persecutes him. And he shuts himself away.” As Jeremy Irons says in his documentary tour, Painters and Kings of the Prado, ‘Art ASK ABOUT OUR LONG washes away from TERM RETALS the soul the dust NO HIDDEN SURPRISES of everyday life’, allowing us the OR EXTRA COSTS AT freedom perhaps MALAGA AIRPORT to interpret it as we choose. A new exhibition of Goya’s sketches opens at the Prado on November 19.

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NEWS

June 5th - June 18th 2019

Hide and seek AN African migrant has been found stowed away in the glove compartment of a car heading to Spain. The young man, in his 20s, was discovered hiding in a hollowed out dashboard trying to enter Melilla. Three other vehicles hiding a total of four migrants were stopped in the space of just three hours. One was hiding behind some back seats, one was in an engine compartment and another in a refuse lorry.

Lie back and (don’t) think of England FOREIGNERS retiring in Spain with a €1.1m nest egg can live for OVER four decades without running out of money. Spain is the fourth most economical place to retire out of 14 countries studied in a poll. In two set of results - based on basic or luxury budgets Spain fared well, with pensioners able to live for 43 years on moving here. Only Poland (at 64 years) and Portugal and Greece (at 48 years) offered better value, when taking into account average property prices, food and general living costs. The calculation was based

By Charlie Smith

on the purchase of a 90 sqm apartment outside a city centre at the start of your retirement, according to fashion brand WITT. And, if you wanted to opt for a luxury lifestyle, you would still get 29 years of bliss in Spain, as compared to just 17 years on a luxury budget in Denmark. France proved the next most expensive place to live on a budget at just 28 years, followed by the UK, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands all on 29 years.

Pride of place

REHOMED: Oscar

Not just for xmas By Laurence Dollimore

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A RECORD 60,000 people are thought to have attended Torremolinos Pride, just four years after its ban was lifted. Former mayor Pedro Fernandez Montes had stopped the annual LGBT festival, but it returned again this year with a historic turnout. Young and old flooded the streets of the Costa del Sol town for the colourful party, in what is the 50th anniversary for the gay rights movement. The next local town to celebrate pride in this special anniversary year will be Manilva from June 14-16, which is expected to attract thousands and will be its biggest party yet.

No smoke on water SMOKING could be banned on hundreds of Andalucian beaches this summer. It comes after the Junta launched the plan on World No Tobacco Day encouraging local town halls to forbid the habit on public sands. The Beach without Smoke plan aims to raise

awareness of the negative health and environmental aspects of smoking. Motril was the first to join in the initiative last year and many other town halls are expected to follow. Each will take responsibility of signage and enforcement of the no-smoking plan.

A BRITISH expat has called on residents to think before buying a dog after revealed the heartbreaking moment a puppy was dumped and tied to the gate of her home. Sarah Kay, 52, was forced to take in the brown Labrador after finding it yelping on her property in Cadiz with a note attached to its collar. “Please take care of my dog,” the note reads, “he is two and a half months old and has all the injections apart from for rabies and he has a chip. “I know that you have a dog and I see you walking it all the time…I don’t have time to look after him and I can’t afford to put it in a refuge.” Sarah, who has lived in a small town near Cadiz for more than 10 years, immediately took in the pup and luckily was able to rehome it the next day.

Settled

She does not want to reveal her exact location for fear of having more animals dumped on her. “Oscar is now totally settled in with his new family and is living the life of Riley. “But if you are thinking of getting a dog, really sit down and make sure you can afford it and that you have the time to look after it and give it a loving home.”

Do you have a what’s on?

LA CULTURA www.theolivepress.es

June 5th - June 18th 2019

Send your informa newsdesk@theolive tion to press.es

Andalucian firm behind Game of Thrones confirms new projects with HBO, Netflix and AMC

WINNER: Banderas

Cannes you believe it?! SPAIN has triumphed at Cannes as Antonio Banderas was crowned best actor for his role in a new Pedro Almodovar film. The 58-year-old Malagueño plays a film director in Dolor y Gloria, a role loosely based on the film’s own director and godfather of Spanish cinema. An emotional Banderas recognised his friend and mentor in his acceptance speech at the 72nd edition of the festival. He said: “I respect Pedro, I admire him, I love him. He is my mentor. And he has given me so much in life that I have no choice but to dedicate this prize to him.”

THE Malaga film company behind Game of Thrones has revealed how it dealt with spoilers and its future projects with HBO. Fresco Films owner Peter Welter Soler said his firm brought the whole cast, including Kit Harington and Emilia Clark, for filming in Sevilla. The German-born producer added that this included those ‘whose characters were already dead or missing, to mislead people and

what’s on Hoop you can make it

Global appeal

avoid so-called ‘spoilers’. “I've been biting my tongue for a year,” Soler said, after

it emerged that he was one of the only people who knew the controversial ending to

Minted

A TREASURE trove of 19 Roman jugs filled with coins has been valued in Andalucia. The impressive find was found to be worth €468,230 following a technical study in Sevilla. The discovery of the bronze coins which according to experts have ‘incalculable’ value was made in 2016. A total of 53,208

pieces were found after being stumbled across by olive grove workers at the city’s El Zaudin park. The archeological find is the largest in modern times in Sevilla, and is thought to date back to AD 293, when the Roman Empire began to recover.

the hit series. A record 19.3 million viewers tuned in for the final episode of the show, which contained the only scene of this series filmed in Spain, where Bran Stark is made king. He also revealed that his production company is working on new projects with AMC, Netflix and HBO, the broadcaster behind Game of Thrones. Fresco Films is currently producing Netflix series Warrior Nun, which shoots exclusively in Malaga, and recently shut down a whole church in Antequera for filming. Although keeping quiet about the TV projects, Soler has confirmed that Fresco Films worked on new films Spider-Man: Far From Home and Terminator 6, which stars Arnold Schwarzenegger. Drawing a close on Game of Thrones, Soler said he had a sense of ‘melancholy’, and that the ‘work would not have been possible without the team’.

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MARBELLA Feria takes place in honour of the City's Patron saint San Bernabe from June 5 to June 11 with celebrations and events taking place across the city.

Time travel A PENINSULAR War reenactment will be held in the town of Yunquera by townspeople in historically accurate costumes June 7 through to June 9.

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JACKIE McNamara and Simon Donnelly are among the Celtic legends in a meet and greet at Lewis’s Irish Pub in Torremolinos on July 15 from 6pm to 1am.

GOT IT: Peter Soler while (right) scene shot in southern Spain

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10 www.theolivepress.es 10 June 5th - June 18th 2019

Hoard to take Paper Avalanche by Lisa Williamson

RO Snow is 14 and lives with her mother Bonnie (never Mum) who is a hoarder. Their home is dangerously overstuffed with the items Bonnie obsessively collects, mainly paper items like cards, catalogues, tv guides and endless special offers from the supermarket. The only clean room in the house is Ro’s bedroom which she must keep locked to stop Bonnie filling it with junk. The mother-daughter relationship has been reversed with Ro stressing about money, cleanliness and that Bonnie will end up suffocating under a collapsed pile of her rubbish if Ro isn’t there to keep an eye on her. As a result, Ro’s existence is one of loneliness. She tries to avoid friendships and relationships with others in case they find out about her home life and tell social services. That is until she meets Tanvi Shah, the girl who nearly died from cancer who has returned to school, full of life, positivity and determination to be friends with Ro. As the story unfolds it is Tanvi’s positivity and desire to be a normal teenager that really makes Ro see what she is missing. €14.50, Available from The Bookshop San Pedro www.thebookshop.es

SINGLE IMPLANT

June 5th - June 18th 2019

Return of Franco

Franco reburial underway

THE process of burying former dictator of Spain General Francisco Franco has begun. Madrid’s El Pardo cemetery, where his wife Carmen Polo is also buried, was chosen as the new location for the fascist leader’s remains. Workmen at the site have begun preparing the crypt where Franco’s grave will now be housed once he is exhumed on June 10. His body is currently buried 50km away at Madrid’s Valley of the Fallen, which has caused controversy, as it is also the resting place for many war heroes. THE hottest rock festival on the Costa del Sol returns as an amazing line-up has just been announced. Pink Purple Productions is presenting The Pink Purple Zep Fest II (Estepona Rocks), which takes place from June 28-29. Hosted at Estepona Bullring, the event is a ‘celebration’ of some of the leading names in rock from some of

IMPLANT BRIDGE

DUG UP: Franco’s remains to be finally relocated The decision to finally exhume Franco’s remains was taken by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his PSOE administration. On September 18 last year, Spain’s Congress of Deputies approved the Government’s planned exhumation

Rock on

the UK’s best tribute bands. The music of Foo Fighters, Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin will all be heard across the weekend. Tickets start from just €20 for a seat, €30 for a standing arena ticket or €50 for a weekend pass.

- a move vehemently opposed by Franco’s family. His descendants have raised their fears over security at the new burial site and blasted the Government over what they call ‘very serious violations’ of the rights afforded to previous leaders. They have called for Spain’s former leader to be buried instead in the crypt of the Cathedral of Almudena, where they claim the ‘level of risks are significantly lower’. It comes as Franco is set to be exhumed just a day before the final episode airs of a new colour documentary about his rise to power and Spain’s return to democracy. Episode four of Spain after the war: the Francoism in color, will be broadcast on Spanish channel DMAX on June 11 at 22:30.

IMPLANT DENTURE

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June 5th - June 18th 2019

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BREXIT WILL REALLY HURT

Lib Dem leader jets into Gib to issue stark warning and an optimistic possibility EXCLUSIVE By John Culatto

played games with Gibraltar in the past and it was the intercession of the European Union that brought them back into line.

Pressures

“Now if we walk away without deal - which is what Nigel Faragea and Boris Johnson among others are arguing for - they’re totally vulnerable.” He believes that the UK needs to stay in the European Union to ‘fight these damaging pressures’. The leader believes the process of STABLE: Lib Dem leader Cable issues Brexit message in Gib Brexit is not going well even though He there is currently ‘an anti-Brexit thatbelieves optimistically, however, “Brexit is going badly,” he continthe decision could still be re- ued. majority in the House of Commons’. versed. “The only way to resolve it is to go back to the people with the option to remain. “We now have a good prospect of remaining in the EU which is what people in Gibraltar want.” He also insisted he had no reEURO MP hopeful Rachel Johnson grets about the coalition that reverse Brexit as her brother Boris has met Fabian Picardo (pictured left) in a bid to brought the Tories Johnson and David seeks to become UK Prime Minister. On a visit to the Rock, the Change Cameron to power in 2011. braltar, said that to ‘revoke Brexit isUK MEP candidate for South West England and Gi“It was the right thing to do “I want Gibraltar to have the same a very good idea’. in the circumstances,” said “I hope Spain is generous and not ease as it had before,” the former journalist insisted. punitive with Gibraltar as negotiations Cable. “We had a very good It comes as her brother, former Foreign continue.” coalition government that Secretary, Boris Johnson threw his ring to replace Theresa May as UK hat into the provided strong and stable “Of course I'm going to go for it,” Prime Minister. leading Brexiteer Johnson said when government. wanted the top job. asked if he “Nowadays, Britain is sadly The former London mayor is favourite a very divided country and supporting him, according to YouGov. to succeed May with 39% of the Tory grassroots we need to get past Brexit His closest rival, fellow Leave campaigner, Dominic Raab has just 13%, while to get back to the things that cabinet ministers Jeremy Hunt, Michael other really matter.” cock and Rory Stewart are all on single Gove, Sajid Javid, Andrea Leadsom, Matt Hanfigures.

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May 24nd - June 6th 2019 Vol. 3 Issue 55 www.theolivepress.es

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DOZENS of expats are joining gypsies and Down syndrome candidates in in the most diverse local elections Spanish history. Across the Balearics and peninsular, Brits, Scandinavians and other northern Europeans have thrown their hats in the ring in the hope of representing the important international community at a local level. inHundreds of foreigners have been cluded on the various political party lists in a bid to become councillors. In a country - where up to 50% of many coastal towns and the islands comprise

Expats fill up the ballot lists for FINALLY foreigners count! expats - local elections are vital. the The poll this Sunday (May 26) is ONLY vote, apart from the European can elections, in which expat residents take part. The expat vote has proved key in prein vious Balearic elections, especially Calvia, where expat voters are well into their thousands. In total, 56,000 foreigners are registered to vote in Mallorca this weekend

M D TH ISS ON IS IN ’T IS SID SU E E

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WHY ARE BEES BUZZING OFF? Find out on page 16

After a rare Velazquez was discovered in New York, the Olive Press explores Spain’s most pricey paintings

10 See Painting by numbers, page

Untitled-1.pdf WHAT’S SPAIN’S RITZIEST RESORT? Holiday special, page 18

15:36

16/06/2017

Britain 27 years ago, while Candida Wright is running for the PP in Denia and two British women, Dawn Watkins and Linda Gimeno, are running the with Ciudadanos, in Moraira.year inthe Foreigner´s Department for Other expats running this past four years. clude Elizabeth Morrison and Paul Sedella, The PSOE councillor said this week: to Knight for Izquierda Unida in in “Remember how important it is Chris Cluderay for Ciudadanos in make the effort to go and vote on SunAlcaucin and Darren Sands, day, 26th May. Marbella. “The future of our municiIn what is believed to be pality for the next four the most diverse elections years depends on it!” in Spanish history, four Bill columnist Press Olive young adults with Down Anderson, who is runsyndrome are standing ning for the PP party, in in Valencia, ExtremaduMijas, in Malaga, agreed. ra, Sevilla and Murcia. “Foreigners can actually “I want my city to be a make a difference in this pioneer in working with election,” he insisted this people with disabilities week. and for us to truly have a “You mustn’t waste your voice and a vote,” Sevilla role.” candidate Lopez-Saez de The former UK governRiba explained. ment advisor is running The employee at the Barin a campaign to restore celó Renacimiento Hotel cleanliness to the town’s says ‘people like him’ can streets, as well as encouroffer ‘so much more than age transparency. people think, including a Running against him is fresh outlook and a differBrit Anne Hernandez, a ent point of view’. well known figure through It comes after four gypsies her group Brexpats in were elected to congress Spain, who will stand for in April’s general electhe Movimiento Vecinal tions in a Spain first. Mijeño party. The PP, PSOE, Cs and In Manilva, where nearly Podemos each brought 50% of the population is one gypsy to the country’s foreign, it is no surprise to house of representatives find a Belgian Kaat Buelens from Sevilla, Madrid and Tarbattling against British expat ragona. at Dean Tyler Shelton. They have all vowed to chip away In Alicante meanwhile, Brit Terence and systemic discrimxenophobia the in Curran, who is standing for the PP ination affecting gypsies across Spain. in Javea, said: “If we leave the EU, this Many other gypsies are standing election will be our last chance to have the local elections around the country. a say in our futures.” is Opinion, pg 6 Podemos Running against him with Vote for change Andrew Shaw, who moved over from

vital local elections - in which

with key areas for expats including Deia, Santanyi and Pollenca. the Some 14,700 British voters can hit ballot box, joined by 18,000 German voters, which is a shocking drop from 33,200 registered in the last election. Italians make up the biggest number to of expat voters, rising from 14,100 18,000 in just four years. Expat candidate Dolina Reynolds, from Glasgow, has successfully run

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THE law is catching up with the bosses of a dodgy expat-run financial advisory firm whose clients lost millions through risky pension investments. Criminal proceedings are By Joshua Parfitt now underway against the forDOZENS of expats are joining mer directors gypsies and Down syndrome canof Continental didates in the most diverse local Wealth Manaelections in Spanish history. gement (CWM), All around the Costa Blanca, Brits, which was baScandinavians and other northern sed at the MaEuropeans have thrown their hats rriott Hotel, in in the ring in the hope of repreDenia. senting the important internatioThe proceedings against boss Da- nal community at a rren Kirby (above) and associates local level. involves 15 former clients, repre- Dozens of foreigners have been sented by a well-respected law firm based in Moraira and Denia. The Olive Press can reveal that Madrid tribunal gave the green lighta for legal claims back in January. The judicial probe was ‘damning and comprehensive’ and opened the door to various criminal cases against the former directors. According to our source - a British victim, based on the Costa Blanca the tribunal ruled that the company‘acted illegally in Spain’, “It also confirmed CWM was not sured and not properly regulatedinto manage clients’ pension funds,” said the expat, who lost €200,000. “Now we can see a glimmer of light,” added the father-of-two, who asked to remain anonymous, at this stage. The source is part of a wider group of 150 disaffected investors who collectively lost €15.3 million through a total of 308 risky investments. As CWM failed to reply to the Madrid tribunal’s verdict within a 15day window, former clients are able to seek criminal prosecution through the Spanish courts. The boss of the legal firm currently taking action in Denia told the Olive Press this week, it was just a ‘matter of weeks’ before a trial is scheduled. “We have filed a comprehensive case See Painting by numbers, page 14 and we expect it to be accepted by the court this month,” he said.

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Watkins and Linda Gimeno, with passions ranging from animal welfare to helping expats communicate better with the town hall. In what is believed to be the most diverse elections in Spanish hisropean elections, in which expat tory, four young adults with Down residents can take part. syndrome candidates are also “If we leave the EU, this election standing in Valencia, Extremawould be our last chance dura, Sevilla and Murcia. to have a say in our fu“I want my city to be a tures,” explained Bripioneer in working tish expat Terence with people Curran, who is a canwith disabilities and for didate with the PP in us to truly have a Javea. voice and a vote,” The commander of a Sevilla local firefighting unit candidate Lopez-Saez de Riba is running under maexplained. yoral candidate Rosa The employee at the Cardona in a camBarceló Renacimienpaign focusing on to Hotel says ‘people young people, seculike him’ can offer rity and integration. ‘so much more than Meanwhile Andrew people think, incluShaw, who moved ding a fresh outlook over from Britain 27 and a different point years ago, is running of view’. with Podemos in JaIt comes after four gypvea. sies were elected to He hopes to make congress in April’s public transport general elections in more eco-friendly, a Spain first. introduce more biThe PP, PSOE, Cs cycle lanes, as well and Podemos each as curb emigration brought one gypsy to inland by controlling the country’s house of rent prices. representatives from In the nearby village Sevilla, Madrid and of Ondara, CandiTarragona. da Wright is runThey have all vowed ning for the PP after to chip away at the spending four years xenophobia as the head of HELP and systemic discriminaDenia. tion affecting gypsies “Over these years, I across Spain. have seen that more assisMany other gypsies are tance is required from within standing in the local elections local government for expats,” she around the country. explains. Ciudadanos in Moraira are also fielding two British women, Dawn We promise change, page 6

Dear Olive Press, I’d like to wish you well done. Your newspaper is a breath of intelligent fresh air amongst the current batch of English-speaking expat papers. Your ‘competitors’ mostly ignore anything happening in Spain that does not have a direct effect on the British expats. They have more than their fair share of letters from people complaining about the Spanish people, systems, local town halls etc. How refreshing to read an article on the value of Spanish artists (Painting by numbers, Issue 319, pg 12). Your election coverage was excellent (We’ve got the power, Issue 319, pg 1), it was great to see how many expats are prepared to enter into the Spanish political system, albeit on a local level. I found the elections very interesting overall. Your newspaper is a vast improvement on the other tabloid expat trash. Please keep up the good work. Paul Irwin, Malaga

included on the various political party lists in a bid to become councillors. In a country - where up to 50% many coastal towns comprise of pats - local elections are vital. exThe poll this Sunday (May 26) is the ONLY vote, apart from the Eu-

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A TOWN hall has finally removed a statue dedicated to a nazi after pressure from residents and expats. Workers in Ojen dismantled the monument which bore the name of Juan Hoffman, a German consul in Malaga, who was later revealed to have been a member of Adolf Hitler’s SS and Gestapo.

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Arab summer MARBELLA is preparing to host a string of Arab royal families this summer, it has been revealed. According to the town hall, several consulates have reached out to inform the hotspot that high profile members of different monarchies will be dropping in after Ramadan ends on June 4.

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HOMEOWNERS in Granada were shocked to discover that a buzzing sound that was keeEXCLUSIVE ping them up at night had been By Charlie Smith caused by 80,000 bees in their bedroom wall. The pair from Granada had A LEADING airline has been bothered by the low hum- agreed to dump any towns ming sound for two years. that allow raw sewage into Eventually a local beekeeper the sea. worked out what the problem British holiday firm Jet2 has was and stepped in to help. confirmed to the Olive “It was an unbearable noise and that this will start with Press Nerja, I don’t know how they managed which previously listed the to put up with it at all,” explai- town’s Burriana beach as a ned beekeeper Sergio Guerrero. great place to visit. The professional has been ge- It comes after fecal tting more callouts this year was found at both bacteria Burriana than ever before and believes and nearby Torrecilla beach, Andalucia's bee population is in which the travel giant had better health than a decade ago. listed on its website as among It comes as conservationists its ‘things to do’ in Nerja. around the globe mark World “We will not be promoting’ Bee Day amid a decline in the the beaches until the problem global population. is resolved,” said a spokesSee the buzz on bees, page 40

Your firs plan is fl

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Leading UK airline stops promoting polluted beaches after Olive Press probe

Cable is right about Brexit, but criminally wrong about the Lib-Dem Tory coalition (Lib Dem leader Vince Cable issues stark Brexit Mobile service, tailor-m warning for Gibraltar, online, May 20). The effects of that treacherous tie-up are still bringing folk to foodbanks by the million, causing the deaths of disabled people, hollowing out the police service, promoting ignorance in the education system (university fees), zero-hour contracts with lousy pay and conditions Start and any plan and pay abso-flipp opportunities for filthy racists to parade their in-lutely noth hate (the ‘hostile environment’). Sorry Gibraltar, you should not have been dragged into this Brexit mess. Nor should Scotland.

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No wonder you’ve got hives, dear!

Linda Radmore, Malaga

It's unfortunate that EU expats living in the UK were not given the same opportunity in the European elections, as many were turned away.

Burriana Beach three times a day on his summer holidays for 27 years. “It’s a ridiculous situation and shows a total arrogance for the people who go on holiday in Nerja,” added the dadof-three who first visited the area in 1992. A sewage treatment plant was under construction in 2014, but stalled due to financial difficulties. Nerja Town Hall declined to comment on the situation or update us on current sewage treatment plans. Other package holiday firms TUI and Thomas Cook were asked to comment on the situation, but did not reply before we went to print.

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CONVICTIONS for driving under the influence of drink or drugs have surged in Spain by 10%. Official figures show that convictions increased to 56,173, in 2018, compared to 51,085, in 2017. The convictions represent 21% of all crimes in Spain, while 40% of drivers who died in road accidents were intoxicated. Pere Navarro, head of the DGT national traffic authority had said: “It’s not clear to me that the solution lies in higher penalties.”

MISSING father Daniel Poole who vanished from the Costa del Sol two months ago has a ‘substantial’ criminal past, it has been revealed. According to Olive Press sources, the garage owner, 46, who vanished alongside his son Liam in Estepona, on April 1, spent time in prison for drug-related offences, mostly to do with hashish and cocaine. The revelation came after Daniel’s daughter Lauryn Poole told the Olive Press this week that her father’s history needs to be looked into if cops want to crack the case. “As far as I’m concerned the police haven’t even touched the sides,” she told this paper. “I don’t know what’s happened...I think every route from car accidents in a rural area, to exploring my dad’s past and the people he was last seen with need to be looked into.” The hairdresser, from Sussex, added that she and her other brother were ‘really struggling to carry on’. Have you seen Daniel or Liam? Contact newsdesk@ theolivepress.es

Having arrived back in Nerja in Mobile March the for first time this service,for tailor-made Brits… year and seen the new operator’s signs at the as yet inoperative plant I decided to get in Your first mont h’s touch with Lantania in March to ask about the flippi n’ free! general situationplan (You’reis dumped, Issue 318, Start any plan and pay pg 4). They told me: “Theelyworks are currently abso-flippin-lut nothing!* on hold due to formal authorisations regarding the electric line that connects the plant with the grid and the submarine pipeline.” I am aghast at the collective incompetence of the authorities and lack of concern for the health and well being of residents and visitors alike. I suggest the the mayor report each week the progress on the plant, expected commissioning date and the number of tonnes of sewage discharged into the sea. Barry Fox, Nerja

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VINCE Cable has warned that Brexit will ‘really hurt’ Gibraltar. The leader of the Liberal Democrats made the warning during a visit to the frontier. During the whistle-stop visit, he insisted the UK’s departure from the EU was ‘not a good option’ for the Rock. “It’s very clear that Brexit is not good option for Gibraltar,” Cable,a 76, told the Olive Press. “The overwhelming majority of people here voted against it. “They’re more British than the British and more European than the Europeans. They want to keep those two identities and that is absolutely right. “Brexit will potentially cause serious disruption.” He continued: “The Spanish have

MARBELLA is preparing to host a string of Arab royal families this summer, it has been revealed. According to the town hall, several consulates have reached out to inform the hotspot that high profile members of different monarchies will be dropping in after Ramadan ends on June 4.

POLLUTED: Jet2 abandons beaches over sewage

the Olive Press he will ‘not return’ to the area over fears he may contract ‘hepatitis’. Neil Robson, 72, from Yorkshire, had been swimming at

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man for Jet2 this week. “Thank you for bringing this to our attention, we have removed any recommendation of the affected beaches from our website.” We got in touch with leading UK operators and airlines after the Guardia Civil uncovered outflow pipes pumping untreated human waste into the ocean just 40m deep. Sewage clumps containing faeces, wet wipes, sanitary towels and plastic and measuring metres in length have also been spotted on the ocean floor. One British holidaymaker told

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June 2019

BALE-ING IN Gareth Bale scores exclusive Marbella pad

E might be getting nudged out of Real Madrid, but Gareth Bale is strengthening his ties to southern Spain. The much-maligned Welsh wizard has spent a small fortune on a new property on the Costa del Sol, despite expectation of his return to the UK this summer. The Olive Press can reveal the striker, who signed for Los Blancos for €100 million six years ago from Tottenham, has snapped up a stunning three-bedroom apartment in Marbella for just under €2 million. The Welshman managed to knock around 10% off the price of the property, which was on the market for around €2.2 million. According to sources closely linked to the deal, the modern pad is situated in the exclusive La Trinidad urbanisation

EXCLUSIVE along the famous Golden Mile, which features other celebrity homeowners, including ex-England midfielder Tim Sherwood. The penthouse is just a 20-minute drive from Finca Cortesin, the luxury golf resort in Casares where Bale, 29, loves to tee up and has stayed at several times over the last few years. He knows La Trinidad well as he has stayed at his agent Jonathan Barnett’s home in the urbanisation a number of times. The purchase comes after Bale threatened to ‘stay and play golf’ if the remainder of his Real contract is not paid. The father-of-three said: “I’ve got three years left on my contract. If they want me to go, they’ll need to pay me €17 million per season. If not, I’ll stay here. And if I have to play golf, I will.”

Victory looms

AROUND 300,000 owners of illegal homes in Andalucia need no longer fear the Junta’s bulldozers thanks to plans to speed up the legalisation process. While a royal decree addressing property irregularities is still being drafted, these new measures allow homeowners more stability. The main aim is to grant more properties many of them expat-owned - AFO status (asimilado fuera de ordenacion). This gives houses ‘semi-legality’, saving them from being demolished by the Junta which has

happened several times before. Meanwhile, a second proposal aims to toughen sanctioning and inspection once the royal decree is in place so that illegal homes are less likely to built in the future. The objective of the fast track scheme is to continue ‘without as many obstacles as before’, according to Marifran Carazo, Andalucia’s new Minister of Public Works. It comes after the President of Spain’s most southerly region, Juanma Moreno, outlined modifications to the Andalucia planning law (LOUA), giving owners of illegal homes a ‘sec-

HELP: Graffiti for homeowners

ond chance’. “We can’t have 300,000 illegal homes in Andalucia,” the PP leader said, adding that around 90% of illegal properties would be regularised. Maura Hillen, president of illegal homes action group AUAN, also told the Olive Press that she believed a ‘precedent’ had been set in the case of a British couple. Expat pensioners Noel and Christine Payne emerged victorious after a 16-year legal battle over their illegal home in Albox, which Hillen described as a ‘positive’ sign of the future.

June 2019

PROPERTY

Brits to the rescue Mark Stucklin

www.spanishpropertyinsight.com

Sales to British buyers propped up Spain’s property market in the latter half of last year, writes Mark Stucklin

HE number of Spanish homes acquired by foreign buyers increased in the second half of last year at the slowest rate since the second half of 2010, and growth would have been even lower had the the British not continued their love affair with property in Spain. Foreign buyers acquired 50,249 homes in Spain in the last six months of 2018, up 1.4% compared to the same period a year before, reveals a report just published by Spain’s General Council of Notaries. Notaries witness the vast majority of property sales that take place in Spain, and according to their figures, foreign buyers made up 18.2% of the market, down from a high of 20.3% in the second half of 2015. Although the number of sales involving a foreign buyer increased in the period, the notaries point out

that, “in comparison to the previous FOREIGN PUSH: Charts clearly show how foreigners dominate the market year, the increases registered in the two halves of 2018 were a long in the period, after a decline of ce the base period of the first half way from the results of 2017, when 0.7% in the first half of the year, of 2007, whilst comparing it to logrowth was above 10%.” Foreign whilst expat demand rose by 6.9%, cal demand. In the first two years demand looks like it might be run- down from 11.3% in the first half. both local and foreign demand The notaries point out collapsed by around 60%, but then ning out of momenthat both segments foreign demand started to recover, tum. now retreating whilst local demand (bright blue) The notaries break If you are selling a are from the high levels continued in the doldrums until the down the figures into resident and non-re- property in Spain of growth common start of 2014, and is still 40% below recent years. Refe- its peak after four years of recovery. sident purchases by you better hope in rring to expat demand Non-resident foreign demand – priforeigners, showing it will interest a the notraries say “It marily Western Europeans buying that non-residents appears that the trend holiday homes (dashed line) – recopurchased 22,111 foreign buyer towards growth in vered by 2012 and is now around second homes in the purchases of real 70% higher than it was at the height Spain between Auestate by foreign re- of the boom, whilst expat demand gust and December last year, compared to 28,138 pur- sidents, which had been growing – primarily economic migrants but chases by foreigners living in Spain. by more than 10% every semester also some Western Europeans moving to Spain (solid blue line) – recoSo non-residents accounted for 44% since 2014, has been interrupted.” of foreign demand, and expats li- The left hand chart above (blue) vered by 2015 and ended last year illustrates how foreign demand for 40% higher than in 2007. In both ving in Spain 56%. Non-resident demand fell by 4.9% Spanish property has changed sin- cases you can see how demand

showed signs of turning down in 2018, though the same could also be said of local demand. The chart on the right (yellow) shows how spending by locals and foreigners (non-resident and expat) has changed over the same period. Local budgets (red line) declined until the end of 2014, and have barely recovered since, with the amount spent on property in terms of €/m2 still around 35% lower than it was in 2007, whilst non-resident foreign spending has recovered to 95% of what it was, and expat spending is around 85% of what it was. If you need to sell a property in Spain you better hope it will interest a foreign buyer. www.spanishpropertyinsight.com

III

June 2019

Foreign retreats

Do it for dean

THE halcyon days of the foreign home buyer market in Spain could be coming to an end. The number of properties bought by foreigners, while still up, has shrunk to the slowest rate of increase since the second half of 2010. Figures for the last six months of 2018 show a 1.4% rise on the same period a year before but although it looks positive on paper, Spain’s General Council of Notaries has pointed to a slow down in demand.

Interrupted “In comparison to the previous year, the increases registered in the two halves of 2018 were a long way from the results of 2017, when growth was above 10%,” the council stated. Non-residents accounted for 44% of foreign demand, and expats living in Spain 56%, between August and December last year. In this period, non-resident demand fell by 4.9%, whilst expat demand was also down by 11.3% in the first half of 2019. The council added:“It appears that the trend towards growth in the purchases of real estate by foreign residents, which had been growing by more than 10% every semester since 2014, has been interrupted.” See Brits to the rescue, pg 2

HOPEFUL: Francisco Sarabia Nieto

Football ace’s restaurant finally gets green light after 12 month construction ban LIONEL Messi’s latest restaurant venture has finally been put back on track after being blocked by the town hall for a YEAR. The Argentine football star will now resume constructing his beachfront restaurant in Barcelona after the local government shut him down when it discovered part of the building was not included in the original planning of the works. Construction has been on hold for 12 months in the upmarket Castelldefels, with Messi desperate to have it finished for this summer season. Situated in the Lluminetes neighbourhood, the Argentine restaurant will be run by his wife Antonella Roccuzzo and will have capacity for 100 people.

Green and tidy

RECOGNITION: Spanish hotels overwhelming winners in awards

Rent reform

OFFICIALS in Barcelona have moved to introduce Spain’s most aggressive rent controls after seeing rates rocket by more than 50% in the last five years. Under the decree, landlords in desirable neighbourhoods will have to negotiate leases based on set prices for their property. The regulations come after a national law implemented in March capped annual rent hikes at the rate of inflation, currently 1.5 per cent. The combined rental listings of Airbnb and HomeAway in the Mediterranean city have soared to over 20,000, based on last month’s figures, according to Denver-based researcher Airdna.

MALAGA is set for yet another election as the candidates for Dean of its College of Architects are announced. Four contenders, all male, have thrown their hat in the ring for the top job which will be voted on by the 1,288 architects of the college on June 27. Current dean Francisco Sarabia Nieto will be battling at the ballot box to retain his position against three rivals: Juan Jose García Montesinos, Jose Luis Alonso de Diego and Alberto Campo Urbay. The ballot takes place at El Limonar school from 10am to 5pm.

Messi start

TWO iconic hotels on the Costa del Sol are among a string of seven in coastal Spain earmarked for a €30 million revamp by the new owners. The Pez Espada in Torremolinos and the Riviera Hotel in Benalmadena are part of the new chain purchased by the Azora group, which also includes five sister hotels in Benidorm. All will get a share of the €30 million facelift fund.

Failed attraction

UNBLOCKED: Messi restaurant

Built in the 1960s but now in ruin, the property is an old farm and is just a 60 second walk from the

Investment bonanza

beach. Using his real estate company Edificio Rostower SL, the five-time

SPAIN is leading the way in hotel sustainability with 26 ‘green stays’ in the country being awarded by TripAdvisor. The Barcelo Hotel Group has had 32 of its hotels recognised for their sustainability in total , including three in Mexico, two in the Dominican Republic and one in Portugal. The ‘TripAdvisor Ecolider certificate’ aims to recognise hotels for sustainable practices and allows ‘eco-friendly’ travellers to see which ones best share their values. Sustainability is incorporated into the design of hotels like Menorca’s Barcelo Hamilton, which has solar-heated hot tubs. The green efforts of hotels are also paying off in other ways, for example the Barcelo Cabo de Gata in Almeria is helping to maintain the nearby natural park from which it takes its name.

Ballon d’Or winner has already lost around €150,000 on the project, but will hope to turn it around now he has been given the green light once again. It comes after the father-of-three’s previous foray into the restaurant world ended in abject failure some three years ago, when his Bellavista del Jardin del Norte eatery in the centre of Barcelona closed after two years following a drop in profits. The Lluminetes barrio has been on the up in recent years thanks to an influx of Barcelona FC stars moving into the area, including Messi. It has seen the arrival of pricey restaurants and boutique hotels while the value of many homes has far surpassed the €1 million mark.

LEADING man Michael Douglas has put his 250-acre Mallorca estate back on the market for nearly half the original asking price. The two-times Academy Award winner has even done a voiceover for a special video to drum up buyers for the stunning €29 million property. The historic S’Estaca estate offers expansive views of the sea and has five apartments, a loft, two cottages, home cinema and spa. Douglas, who is married to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, brought the estate in 1990 with his former wife Diandra Luker. The Fatal Attraction star originally put the property up for sale in 2014 for a cool €50 million.

Sotogrande Costa - Independent villa Bedrooms

bathrooms

Garden

1.100 m2

Built

320 m2

pools

Terrace

280 m2

Villa with stunning panoramic sea views over the Mediterranean Gibraltar and Africa, 5 minutes from the beach,water sports, prestigious golf courses, polo, international schools. Set in a mature mediterranean 1.100sq.m garden with beautiful sun bed area and swimming pool, the villa was recently fully renovated to the highest standards with prime materials (including beige marble flooring, granite, air conditioning, heating, double glazing,solar panels). With 320 sq.m built and 280sq.m terrace, the two-story villa is south facing with uninterrupted sea view from East to West comprises a spacious living-dining room (fireplace) giving onto a fantastic covered terrace and solarium, a fully equipped modern open plan kitchen, a guest toilet, 6 bedrooms, 5 bath shower rooms, dressing, laundry, cellar with parking for 5 vehicles. Energy class B 15 minutes from Marbella - 56 minutes from Malaga airport -15 minutes from Gibraltar airport

965.300 Euros

Owner: +34 605 847 498 - Fax: +34 956 616 843 - NO AGENTS CALLS PLEASE

PROPERTY

June 2019

HAVEN: New centre for cancer charity helps patients rehabilitate in clean, comfortable surroundings

Shelter from the storm Barcelona Unesco treasure hosts Scottish cancer charity’s first care centre on the continent

NEW haven for cancer patients - the first of its kind to be built in mainland Europe - has opened in the stunning grounds of Barcelona’s Sant Pau Hospital, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Spain. The Kalida Sant Pau Centre is part of the Maggie Centres network, a Scottish charity that creates uplifting spaces to help anyone affected by cancer.

Adorned with honeycomb-shaped ceramic tiles, the centre’s red-brick facade complements the decorative, art nouveau hospital. “The whole project has been inspired by the richness of materials, textures, colours, geometries, drawings and greenery of the original hospital complex,”explains architect Benedetta Tagliabue. A garden lined with patios, trees and pergolas offers patients an es-

cape from a medical environment while maintaining direct access to the hospital’s oncology department. Alongside counselling rooms and communal spaces, the centre contains a kitchen area, small library and dining area. Tagliabue adds: “The building scale, the design of the facades and the garden establish a respectful dialogue with this outstanding environment.”

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June 2019

PROPERTY

Making a splash Rule-breaking Madrid design firm gives grungy office block some colour therapy

HOTEL/RESTAURANT FOR SALE IN ARACENA (HUELVA)

4 Hectares 16 Rooms 3 Apartments 150km Views 10m Walk to Aracena Professional Kitchen Pool and Solarium

Price: 977.642 euros (official 2018 appraisal) Conditions negotiable, Running perfectly well, Owner lives in USA, Accepts partial payment with Property in Costa Sol/similar CONTACT:

jrivera@leadingamerica.us www.hotelaracena.com

TAKE an austere concrete shell, lob some paint at it, and what have you got? The ominously-titled building, LH135. This is the latest ambitious project of Mariano, the award-winning Madrid design studio, famed for its non-conformist style and ‘a certain sense of humour’. Headed by Mariano Martin, the firm has just completed transformation of a drab office block into a wash of eye-catching colour in a bid to restore ‘joy’ to the workplace. Bright pink, yellow, orange and blue are all at play here to create an office space which, according to Martin, is ‘trying to look back with affection but without nostalgia’. He adds that with the colours, ‘time will gradually return to the building the joy it used to have’. In this renovation of the 3000 m2 space, colour is boldly employed to highlight the block’s formerly bleak elements, including air ventilation shafts, stylish terrazzo floor tiles, concrete pillars and limestone facade. Martin champions the original features: “The beauty of a terrazzo floor, like the ones used in the impressive Venetian palaces, the nobility of the concrete pillars, as the Romans taught us, a limestone facade and a granite hall...can you ask for more?”

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the historic old town pile, even though I had absolutely no intention of buying it. The beautiful stone portico and heavy wooden Ronda doors opened onto a porch the width of the entire hallway with a beautiful wrought iron decorative arch above them. Very much the Andalucian vernacular, this was the way centuries of owners used to bring their animals in from the fields at night. And off we went through a warren of rooms entered via ornate ochre-painted wooden doors. Some of the rooms were tall and grand with ceiling rosettes and romantic vaulted ceilings. All the windows onto the street were arched and crowned with solid metal rejas in the classic Ronda style. A narrow stairway climbed into a cavernous loft space where the metal roof beams still bore the hooks used for hanging and curing hams,

T started as a search for a modest bolthole in Ronda to live in during the holiday season when our country house is rented out. Then I stumbled across an enormous old school and it was love at first sight. It was not even on the list of properties I was being shown and it certainly didn’t fit my criteria, but I could not walk past without taking a peek inside. I persuaded the agent to show me

In the first part of a new series on historic home renovation, designer Gabriella Chidgey reveals how a plan to buy a flat in Andalucia became a project to turn the listed 18th-century home of one of Spain’s most celebrated bullfighter into an idyllic aparthotel

My romance in Ronda

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a string of garlic still dangling from Apart from a new roof, this proone of them. Strewn around were tected 315-metre-square building boxes full of rags, as well as a had remained untouched for about 20 years… and needed a complete 1980s National police uniform! renovation. Like much of the house it had lovely teI rang my husband rracotta barro floors, immediately and told I rang my alarmingly bowed in him I had fallen in love husband a number of places. … but thankfully for Doors from the interhim, only with bricks straight away nal courtyard led to and mortar … and inand told him I sisted he came to see a large external yard, it the next day. chicken and pig sheds, was in love On closer inspection a back kitchen and it turned out to be a even a small stable. Every space detailed the lives of former home of the legendary 18th those who had once inhabited the Century bullfighter Pedro Romehouse, set in the ancient Barrio ro, the very man who constructed de San Francisco - dusty furnitu- Ronda’s nearby bullring - Spain’s re, baskets, pots, pans, tea sets, rush chairs, beds, framed prints of Saints and ancient family photos. And all around were views across the rooftops of Ronda’s casco historico to the fabled Serrania de Ronda mountains.

oldest. Painted by Goya, the ‘godfather of modern bullfighting’ was born in the same street and the torero’s crest is indeed carved into the stone portal, as with a number of other buildings around the town. Dating from the 1780s, it was later bought by a local aristocrat who later generously gifted it to one of his trusted labourers and, from that point on, it became a home to farming families. At some point, part of the building became a local school and later a bar, while during the civil war it served as a temporary hospital. Continues overleaf

GRAND DESIGNS: The 250-year old home, near Ronda’s arabic Almocobar gate (far left) has been converted into stylish holiday apartments

June 2019

HISTORIC: The 315-metre property was a warren of different rooms, some with vaulted ceilings (above) and full of old doors and windows, original terracotta tile floors and perfect to divide255mm into five apartments, most with private Cantueso x 170mm_Layout 1 30/05/2019 11:40 Page 1 terraces

FORMER OWNER: Torero Pedro Romero, who built Ronda bullring

• Beautiful holiday location • 10 air-conditioned cottages • Well known on-site restaurant • Rural location with spectacular views • Landscaped gardens

Cost of the freehold and business: 2,500,000€

Holiday Complex FOR SALE An unusual commercial opportunity to buy the freehold and business of a well established family friendly holiday complex in Andalucía, comprising ten self catering cottages, a restaurant (rated number one in area) with 50 covers inside and 50 outside, and owner’s apartment. The whole site is tastefully landscaped with an area of over 18,000 m² and is surrounded by olive groves. There are wonderful views to the south over Lake Viñuela and mountain ranges on other aspects.

In first instance enquiries to: info@cantueso.net www.cantueso.net www.cantuesoblog.es Also see us on Facebook

Cantueso Periana SL, Periana, Málaga 29710

Fairway L AW Y E R S

June 2019

PROPERTY

LITTLE CHANGE: Some parts of the house, like this outdoor kitchen, were little touched to keep a sense of the building’s past

ARE YOU OWED THOUSANDS FROM YOUR BANK? Did you have an illegal floor clause inserted in your Spanish mortgage? Millions of homeowners were wrongly charged thousands of euros due to underhand tactics, now outlawed after being exposed by the courts. Let us take a look at your documents and help you through the complicated process of claiming it back, PLUS damages. Our bilingual team of Marbella-based lawyers understand the situation well and can move quickly and efficiently.

NO WIN, NO FEE. Get in touch and we will check your mortgage deeds for free and let you know if you have a claim against your bank.

Contact Diego at Fairway Lawyers Tel: 952 77 11 50 diego@fairwaylawyers.com

www.fairwaylawyers.com

C/Nuestra Señora de Gracia 28, 1C 29602, Marbella (Malaga)

From Page VIII

The rest of the house was owned by Dolores, along with her nine siblings. Sadly it was entirely unsuitable for us and so I continued to see other properties, smaller but a better fit, and even made offers on two. But nothing worked out. Meanwhile, my mind kept returning to the old school

GIVING NEW LIFE house, besotted (as was my Double the investment - and husband) with the romance a far greater risk, since it of its past, mulling over its would involve re-mortgaging our own potential. home - it would And finally, I If the walls however, reap saw how it might actually far greater were sound work for us… rewards. they should being divided And I don’t into five apartmean just fistay even if ments, each nancial. It is uneven with their own a privilege to private terrawork with such ces, with scope a historic builfor a communal garden and ding. And inspiring to bring it back to life. even a swimming pool.

So after a year (yes, a year!) of bank negotiations, and another year waiting for licenses, we are nearing the end of a very exciting build. Although we have renewed the plumbing and electricity completely, installing air conditioning and heating, insulating the house against the elements and noise, and fitting double glazed windows, the intervention has been as gentle as possible. We took the view that if the walls were sound, they should stay, even if the surface was uneven. For that would be its charm.

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RE-APPOINTING: One of the key issues was how to divide the huge loft space, while keeping its charming old terracotta barro floors and metal beams once used for curing hams and drying onions and garlic

June 2019

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GREAT OUTDOORS: Creating a nice garden with a pool was vital to allow holidaymakers a place to unwind and relax after a busy day of sight-seeing

rt men

Only where the structure was dangerous, the beams rotten or the plaster cracked and broken did we strip back to start again. And what a series of unexpected treasures we found. RESEARCH: Local agent Thorwald Bodensiek of Serrania Services shows Gabriella around the property

More about that in the July issue of the OP Property Magazine when we reveal how to find the best builder to

work with you, how to get planning permission and how to enhance and protect old Andalucian buildings. Visit www.alcantarilla.co.uk or hashtag Ronda Romantica to find out more or to book at this wonderful new apart-hotel in Andalucia’s most charming inland town. Or call 654152122

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PROPERTY

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M re ar portke t

June 2019

VARIETY: From Nueva Andalucia to Madronal

After a five-year period of sustained growth, there is a change in the air in Marbella, reports Diana Morales Properties

Looking ahead – what’s in store for the market? LAST year was yet another in a growth cycle that started in 2013 in Marbella. It began after the market finally bottomed out in 2012 and by 2015 there began a strong demand for new modern villas and apartments being built in the area. This shift of focus from cheaper distressed buys to wanting off-plan lifestyle properties, with the latest mod cons, started first in Marbella, as well as Mallorca and Ibiza, before being followed along the Costa del Sol and in the key cities of Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia. In a country the size of Spain with such a diverse market, some regions are only now beginning to feel the effects of recovery, just as others fear their property sector might be peaking. Across Spain, sales rose 11,3% in 2018 compared with 2017, while in Andalucía the increase was 13,8% and in the province of Málaga 7,4%. There was a widely reported drop-off in enquiries and sales in the second half of last year, albeit with a rallying of activity towards the end of the year. And this appears to also apply to Marbella and the Costa del Sol, which drive much of the growth in Málaga province – itself one of the most dynamic property markets in Spain.

The factors at play It is tempting to blame Brexit, but before we do let’s analyse things closer to home. More specifically, let’s look at supply, demand, price, cost and planning. We can all agree that there has been a ‘white revolution’ of modern properties going up since the construction machine cranked back into life around 2012. The first new projects sold so well that it became clear there was a shortage of such homes relative to an eager demand, but now we seem to be approaching a situation where supply has caught up with demand and is in danger of surpassing it. This is nothing new, as we’ve experienced it before, and it seems to be confirmed by a record number of new projects in Málaga province being signed off by the Colegio de Arquitectos (Institute of Chartered Architects) in 2017, and then again in 2018, when it increased by 57%.

‘

Marbella real estate market report, 2019

‘

Whether there has been a cyclical shift, a result of Brexit or something more local, Marbella needs to pause, take stock and better understand the prevailing conditions Pia Arrieta, Partner

AMAZING LOCATION: The Sierra Blanca hills are difficult to beat anywhere in Spain

Reasons to be optimistic

Property sales in ‘The Golden Triangle’ show a 56% increase from 2012 to 2018* *Provisional, unconfirmed figures for the fourth quarter 2018 Source: Ministerio de Fomento

Source: DM Properties Knight Frank

Growth levelling off - but demand still solid

Golden Triangle

Estate agents reported a pick-up in enquiries at the end of the year, but by and large the stabilisation has continued into 2019. What does this mean? Not necessarily anything too ominous, as it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if we were to hold on to the present level of sales activity, but in reality, a slowdown in growth is usually followed by a drop, not an extended period of level activity. It’s therefore important to look at the possible causes behind the latest trend. Marbella’s tourist and property segments were among the early lights leading the Spanish economy back to growth levels hovering between 2.5 to 3% for some years now. The unemployment rate and debt have gradually declined, and the overall outlook for the country is reasonably good. Marbella is a bit of a national indicator, as it tends to be ahead of the curve economically, and it’s in part due to the fact that it is so dependent upon and in tune with the broader European economies. Demand from these sources has been solid for some time now, driven primarily by new-build modern homes and – in spite of the fact that banks are lending again and interest rates are at historic lows – predominantly by cash buyers. And yet, just lately there has been a tailing off of demand, which seems to indicate something is afoot.

Sales for the so-called Golden Triangle (Marbella, Estepona and Benahavís) had been rising since 2011, with the exception of a small dip in 2016 caused by the after-shock of the Brexit referendum. The number of transactions registered rebounded in 2017, with strong international demand and a resurgent British market, yet in 2018 it stabilised due to a relatively poor showing in the second half of the year. While Marbella solves its planning issues, Benahavís, Estepona, Ojén and Mijas have stepped in to absorb much of the recent growth in what can generally be described as a broadly beneficial spreading of development and investment. It has levelled the playing field a little and given developer and buyer alike a broader range of options than before. For now, however, we’re witnessing a cooling off of demand in the new areas, as they too see prices rise perhaps more quickly than the market can carry right now.

Is this an over-supply? This translates into a record number of new projects entering the market and, while they are smaller in scale than during the boom of the 2000s, there is a worrying lack of variety, as many seem to focus on the same mix of design, amenities and price range. The greatest drop in sales has been seen in the lower-to-mid range, which appears to be

suffering from a degree of oversupply and over-competition. The top-end of the market looks to be more robust, and those brave enough to veer away from the lowest common denominator are finding rewarding niche segments in the market, though in Marbella, where there is a shortage of new projects, the scenario is different.

Price and cost It is clear that a combination of oversupply and high prices are beginning to have an adverse impact on the market. Earlier projects saw developers buy the best plots Continues on Page XIII

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June 2019 From Page XII

of land cheaply, build at a lower cost and sell faster, yet now land values have risen faster than the properties built on them. Construction costs meanwhile, are also putting pressure on investors’ margins, and the rising house and square metre prices are beginning to put buyers off – especially in a market with so much choice and the best locations taken.

Diana Morales, Founding Partner and Pia Arrieta, Partner and Managing Director

Value

Product trends

High prices are not sexy unless you’re in an upwardly mobile economy, and while top-end buyers are willing to pay a premium for well-located properties, the recent rise in popularity of cheaper areas, such as Manilva, indicates that the lower half of the market is coming back.

The fashion continues to be for open-plan living, as well as terrace pools and/or jacuzzis, as well as entertainment areas, home automation systems, fast WiFi and 24-hour security. Also gaining in popularity are concierge services, sophisticated spas and even lagoon-style communal pools, clubhouses and private residents-only parks. Environmental credentials and energy-efficient homes are also more important than before, with indigenous Mediterranean landscaping winning out over subtropical gardens. Some developments are even incorporating organic vegetable plots into an overall philosophy of wellbeing. This is a growth area along with more eco-friendly construction.

Modernising existing stock The market for renovating and modernising older properties is one that remains solid and is gaining in popularity again. A number of specialised businesses have had success updating existing villas shows that buyers are happy to consider a resale property as long as it’s appealing. Furthermore we have noticed a little fatigue with modern, white minimalist styles, with buyers flocking back to a more classic-contemporary blend.

Value-added locations Location is still king, and whi-

Top 10 nationalities searching for property in Marbella in 2018 Source: DM Properties|Knight Frank le we’ve not yet seen the cross-branded luxury residence that is taking foot in luxury markets elsewhere (think Armani villas or Cartier apartments), a property that carries the signature of a ‘starchitect’ carries more allure and a higher price tag. This is also true of sea views, which can fetch up to 25% more, while golf and country club locations can add 15% to the value. The Kempinski resort in Estepona was the pioneer in the area back in 1999 and it will be joined by the Costa del Sol Princess in Estepona, while Marbella will soon see the opening of Club Med as well as Four Seasons and the W Hotel, both offering branded residences.

New versus established areas Limited supply combined with a frontline beach location makes the Golden Mile a prime address with prices per square metre reaching over €20,000. Other

Power to the people A new law on community votes to ban holiday rentals now only requires a majority, writes Adam Neale

UMMER is coming, a time Owners who purchased a property when many urbanisation dwe- before the law was passed, will, llers suffer from holiday let however, be able to argue that overload as tourists take over when they bought into the comtheir pools and gardens. munity the law did not exist and But not any more. Under a new law therefore they should be allowed passed in December 2018 (Real De- to rent the property out if they so creto Ley 21/2018), voting by com- choose - a point that is likely to munity owners no longer requires cause much controversy in court. unanimity, but merely a majority, to Also, this status cannot be inheban holiday rentals within a commu- rited. So while the law is pragmanity. tic about those who Prior to this, the vote are already actively indeed had to be unaand legally renting Changes do not out their homes, any nimous. According to local affect properties new owners who purlawyer, Adolfo Martos chase the property Gross, ‘a favourable that are already from them will not vote of three fifths of automatically be the total of the owners being rented out able to continue renwho, in turn, represent ting out the house, as short term three fifths of the partiand any community cipation quotas’ is neerules against it will ded to approve a ban henceforth apply to on holiday rentals, regulated by the the home’s new owners. Andalucian Touristic Rentals Decree. However, it is also possible for the However, as he points out, the ruling community to change course if a will not apply retroactively. majority of homeowners vote to reIn other words, the changes do not instate the practice of holiday renaffect those properties that are al- tals within an urbanisation - and ready being rented out as short term vice versa. lets and have a holiday rental licence Again, instead of an absolutely in place. unanimous vote, it will require the

same three-fifths majority. A majority vote decides The community of owners also has the power to set conditions on holiday rental activities, such as obligating the owners to pay higher community fees or a surcharge (not exceeding 20%). Adolfo also points out that while this reform was long awaited by those communities that had complained of excessive occupation by tourists disrupting community life, caution is needed as this is a restrictive measure in terms of property rights. It is also important to note that the 3/5 rule is not applicable to

rentals falling outside the scope of the Andalucian regulation. This means any owner may still rent his apartment out as long as it is for a period of more than two months, or it is not offered on the market through the usual channels (real estate agencies, Airbnb etc.) Ambiguities and questions There are, however, a number of serious questions surrounding the new law that the legislators have not yet answered in detail. For example, does the prohibition relate to the purchaser of a home that was already registered as a holiday rental property before the purchase?

Terra Meridiana, 77 Calle Caridad, 29680 Estepona • Tel: +34 951 318480 Office Mob: +34 678 452109 • Email: info@terrameridiana.com • Website: www.terrameridiana.com

established areas are similarly still much in demand, and while much of the recent growth has been in up-and-coming zones such as the New Golden Mile, Estepona West, Marbella East and La Cala, they still have some catching up to do in terms of intrinsic appeal.

External factors In the end, an area as dependent upon the international market as Marbella cannot ignore the macro movements at play, be they economic, political or a combination thereof. Brexit has clearly had an effect with a drop in British buyers, while the Catalan situation doesn’t cast a positive spell over Spain in general and Catalunya in particular, but it has driven some investment to these shores. The recent oscillations in rentals legislation and lack of tax reform have done the market no favours, but even the virtual abolition of inheritance tax within the Autonomous Region of Andalucía has had a positive knock-on effect.

The bottom line Conclusion While market conditions have got a little tougher in the past few months we haven’t officially entered anything near a recession or downturn. If anything, construction, sales and rising prices will continue moderately for some time to come, but if we’re to avoid choppy waters it pays to look potential threats in the eye and be prepared for them. Not doing this in the past cost us dearly, so Marbella needs to work at being creative, offering quality and value, and hope price levels even out in the near future. With further infrastructural improvements, as well as new prestigious hotels, a new dynamism is coming to the Marbella area, and let’s not forget that homeowners can still get 3 to 4% net return on shortterm holiday lets, while the long-term rentals market is similarly strong. All in all, once Brexit is behind us there are more than enough reasons to remain optimistic.

For more information and sales, please visit: www.dmproperties.com or call +34 952 765 138

June 2019

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lutions, only to be bombarded with false information. There are also influential so-called ‘help’ websites out there purporting to aid consumers in sorting the good guys from the bad. However, looking into the deep background of such websites reveals quite a different story. One such example is www. kwikchex.com Not only is it funded by the timeshare in-

dustry, it blocks reports of wrongdoings committed by the resorts and targets companies representing consumers who are claiming retribution and the annulment of their timeshare contract. One of the largest under threat is European Consumer Claims (ECC) who have referred nearly 2,000 claimants to lawyers in Spain and the UK. Is it any wonder that consumers do not know who to trust anymore?

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PROPERTY

Out of this world ‘Green Spaceship’ to dock in Madrid

T’S not a UFO but it certainly looks like it’s flying. Dubbed the Green Spaceship, innovative design studio 3Gatti is pushing architecture to its outer limits with its galactic plans for a new municipal library in Madrid’s Villaverde district. The group of architects, builders and designers, aim to, ‘create a recognizable landmark’ for Spain’s capital. Two floors separate the structure into a ‘noisy’ lobby area on the ground floor, and a ‘quiet’ upstairs section of study zones. 3Gatti describes the upper floor as the ‘real spaceship’ of the project, with the out-of-this world effect achieved through angular red tubing and black netting, designed to

retain heat during the winter. The design studio, based in London, Rome and Shanghai, has created a building that changes with the season. The dark structure turns green in the summer, as Virginia creeper plants are allowed to grow through the upper level, protecting those studying from sunlight. A concrete and brick structure comprises the core of the library, while the top floor is sprayed in dark plaster, and the lower facade is all glass, helping create the stylish ‘floating’ effect. Angular alcoves protruding from the building’s exterior, which house ‘private desks’ and ‘cozy lounge’ areas, complete the ‘spaceship’ aesthetic. JUNGLE: A mass profusion of greenery is to create an exciting new landmark for Madrid suburb

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XVIII

June 2019

PROPERTY

Pure theatre Spanish architects take centre stage with their dramatic conversion of a historic playhouse

CURTAIN-RAISING design has transformed a 19th-century Barcelona theatre into a stylish contemporary home guaranteed to get rave reviews from buyers. Aged brick walls and ceiling beams set the scene, hinting at the dramatic history of The Theatre House a short walk from iconic Avinguda Diagonal, one of the city’s main thoroughfares. Barcelona studio Cadaval & Sola-Morales are the whodunnits taking curtain calls for this theatrical thriller, which has seen the playhouse transformed into two individual work studios with lofty living spaces. “The project aims to recover and capitalise on the constructive values of the old theatre, expose its essence and exploit the amplitude that gives great height to its large diaphanous central space,” explains architect Eduardo Cadaval. The studios flank an indoor car parking space, allowing the owner to display a classic car ‘like a sculpture.’ “It’s a piece of art in direct relationship with the central space of the house,” he adds. Adjacent to the studios lies a huge open-plan living area where an oversized orange daybed and contemporary prints play leading roles. Sleeping quarters are at the back of the house, with two bedrooms on the first floor and a third bedroom on the second, with its own terrace. Cadaval said: “The idea was to build without affecting the existing; understanding that, over time, the theatre will surely have another use and another life.”

Architects Cadaval and Sola-Morales (above) and their open plan garage (left)

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PROPERTY

June 2019

Carrera del Darro, Granada Carrera del Darro is one of the most scenic walks in Granada, along the river Darro (which means ¨gold¨ in Latin). It is located at the edge of the Albaicín, the old Arab quarter that is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The street has remained practically the same since the 17th century, with many interesting buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries and remains of old Moorish houses.

Streets ahead! Spain has published a list of its of its dozen prettiest postcodes

Calle San Agustín, San Cristobal de la Laguna, Tenerife

PAIN is one of the most visited countries in the world, attracting travellers from all four corners of the globe. They come here for the food, the culture, and of course, the stunning local architecture. If Spain’s streets could talk, they would tell incredible stories, with the Moors, Christian conquerors and Romans and beyond having created and lived among them. They are so steeped in history and architectural splendour that Spain’s tourist board has listed the most beautiful streets in the country. Here we present a whistle-stop tour of this year’s winners.

La Laguna is the second city of Tenerife and home to its first University. Calle San Agustín is located in the city's historic centre, which is declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. You can gaze at the many colourful houses and visit historic buildings such as the Casa Salazar and the Convento San Agustín.

tel: +34 952 741 525

PROPERT Y OF THE WEEK

Passeig del Born, Palma de Mallorca In the heart of Palma, Paseo del Borne is an outstanding example of the city’s European-like modernisation at the beginning of the 19th century. It was built on the old channel Torrente de la Riera, that used to cross the city, and connects the famous Plaza Juan Carlos I and Plaza de la Reina. The boulevard was designed by Madrid architect Isidro González Velázquez, who shaped it in a way reminiscent of the Paseo del Prado in his home city. Two pairs of majestic sphinx guard the street at its beginning and end.

Calle del Angel de Toledo Walking through painter El Greco's adopted home is like travelling back in time. Historically known as the ‘Western Jerusalem’, Toledo was once the home of Jews, Christians and Muslims who famously lived in peaceful co-existence. Calle de Angel, in the old Jewish quarter, is an example of the city’s cross-cultural heritage. The figure of an angel gives its name to the street. An Islamic-style gate, separated two parts of the judería.

Passeig de Gràcia, Barcelona

TH4068

29.000€

Castillo de Locubin, Jaen

This 4 bedroom 122m2 built townhouse boasts a private terrace and a patio. In need of updating and reform the property has electricity and town water connections but is priced to sell, offering a good size family home and the possibility to create a separate apartment.

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With its fascinating buildings and impressive range of luxury boutiques, Paseo de Gracia is one of the most famous streets of Barcelona, and is often compared to the Champs-Elysées in Paris. It was originally built to connect the Catalan capital to the town of Graciá. Today, Graciá is a neighbourhood of Bar-

celona, but it has kept its independent and vibrant spirit. The boulevard is representative of the modernist era that ruled the city throughout the 19th century. You can admire Art Nouveau buildings such as the Casa Batló and Casa Milá, designed by Antonio Gaudí.

XXI

June 2019

Calle Betis, Sevilla LOCATED in the Triana district, Calle Betis has become an emblematic spot of Sevilla. The street’s patchwork façade of colourful and asymmetrical houses make it typical of the Andalucian capital. It follows the course of the river Guadalquivir, which the Romans called Baetis (hence the name of the street).

Calle Marques de Larios, Malaga Calle Larios, in Málaga’s city centre and next to the port, is the epicentre of Málaga’s social life and shopping scene. It is currently the most expensive street to live in Andalucia for rental values. It was named after the Larios, a wealthy malagueña family, who bought most of the shares when the street was built. It was

opened to the public on August 27 1891. The harmoniously constructed street is the home of big retail chains and luxury stores such as the jeweler Swarovski. Calle Larios also hosts many major events, including Málaga Fashion Week. In the early 2000’s it was renovated and became pedestrian.

Calle de las Flores de Cordoba (Calle Velazquez)

Calleja de las Flores, in the old Jewish quarter of Córdoba, regularly makes it in rankings of the world's most beautiful streets. In fact, much of the city’s historic centre has been declared a World heritage Site by UNESCO. The narrow dead end street comes off Calle Velázquez-Bosco and ends in a little patio with a fountain in the middle. The stone pavement, arcs and white walls create the typical look of a Mediterranean town street that makes it so popular with tourists. Between the tile roofs you can see the bell tower of the Mezquita-Cathedral. Perhaps the street’s best known trait is the the coloured pots of carnations and geraniums hanging from the walls and balconies.

Calle Alcala, Madrid

Calle Alcalá is one of the oldest and longest streets in Madrid, at 10,5 km. Starting from the Puerta del Sol, it was the road to Alcalá de Henares and eventually on to Aragón. At the intersection of Alcalá and Gran Vía stands the emblematic Metropolis building, topped with a statue of the goddess of Victory. Metropolis was designed in the turn of the 20th century by French architects Jules and Raymond Février. Its classic Beaux-Arts style was unusual in Spain at the time.

XXII

June 2019

PROPERTY Rúa do Franco Santiago de Compostela, Galicia

Located in Santiago’s old town, Rúa do Franco is known for two reasons. Firstly, it leads pilgrims and visitors to Plaza del Obradoiro and the famous Cathedral. The street actually takes its name from French pilgrims (the Franks) who came from the other side of the Pyrenees. Nowadays, souvenir shops pave the way to the holy shrine. Rúa do Franco is also the city’s epicentre for delicious Galician gastronomy, thus maintaining the tradition of medieval innkeepers who catered for pilgrims.

Calle de la Companía, Salamanca

Calle Balborraz, Zamora Calle Balborraz links Zamora’s old town with the ‘judería (Jewish quarter); it starts off from Zamora’s Plaza Mayor and slopes down to the river Duero. Its name originates from the Arab bab al ras, which means door of the head. There used to be a door at the entrance of the street with a sculpture of the head of Ahmed-ben-Moavia (also known as Abul Kassin - the city's

Arab leader before the reconquest). The door was destroyed in 1555 because it was threatening to collapse. Calle Balborraz is one of the oldest streets of Zamora, and as such some of the most important processions go through it during Semana Santa. Nowadays most of the street’s houses date from the 19th and 20th century, with a few examples of modernist architecture.

Located in the historical centre of the Golden City’, the Calle de la Compañía amazes with its abundance of architectural gems made with the blond sandstone characteristic to the city. It is named after the Compañía de Jesús that resided there in the 17th century. In the street you can find the renowned Casa de las Conchas that takes its name from the 300 shells adorning its façade (concha means ‘shell’ in Spanish).

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XXIV

June 2019

PROPERTY

Easy as ABC

From buying to aftercare, finding your perfect home is a dream with ABC Property Experts

OVERING the entire Costa del Sol, ABC Property Experts have all the tools you need to find your ‘dream home’ and turn it into reality. The Scandinavian-owned firm - now in its second year in Sotogrande - is having a fantastic year. Its co-owner Anders Christensen, from Norway, has eight years of real estate experience under his belt already, and is looking forward to helping more clients this summer. What puts ABC ahead of its rivals is the specialist legal help Anders’ company provides. “We help clients with everything from finding a property through to aftercare,” he says, “we have our own resident lawyer to provide legal expertise.” ABC’s listing system and the step-by-step service offered by its helpful team, make it easier than ever to find your perfect property in southern Spain. “Clients want really specific things and we can help them find what they are looking for,” Anders says. “We help people from all over the world find their dream homes here.” Whether you are after a holiday home, a luxury villa, or a high return investment, finding what you want with this property company is as easy as ABC.

Flowing in Famous British businessman and Premier League football star flock to new Benahavis development

HE first building project in Benahavis village for more than a decade has proven a hit with more than half of its units already sold. The Riverside complex, marketed by local agent Propertiespain, features 75 luxury eco-friendly apartments just a stone’s throw away from the vibrant village. And it’s made an impression on one very famous British businessman. “I can’t reveal who but he is very well known in the UK,” revealed Propertiespain CEO Scott Marshall. It comes after the Olive Press revealed a Premier League football star had also bought into the complex last year. “It's no secret that there has long been a high demand in Benahavis,” added Marshall, “And these homes are perfect to live in all year round but can also make a great investment as rentals.” They have attracted buyers from around the world, but one nationality continues to lead the way. “The Brits remain the main buyers but we have sold to Swedish, Norwegians, Russians, Belgians, Dutch and even Estonians,” said Marshall. "These are high-spec apartments with open plan kitchens, underfloor heating in bathrooms and huge double-glazed windows." Dragados, the firm building the homes, is one of the most popular and well-respected in the country, while Quabit, behind the construction, is a stock exchange-listed company and one of Spain's most trusted developers. The 75 apartments all come with parking and storage space included in the price and there is a communal pool for residents. Construction will be completed between the end of 2019 and January 2020.

For more information give ABC Property Experts a call on +34 952 001 100 or email info@abcpropertyexperts.com

Anyone interested should call 952 85 54 89 or visit www.propertiespain.com

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69.000€ AP192

134.950€ CH152

Alameda, Malaga 3 bed, 1 bath Build: 82m2

Lora de Estepa, Sevilla 4 bed, 3 bath Build: 143m2 This beautiful chalet sits within a gated community of 3 three properties which share a fantastic swimming pool surrounded by established gardens. This chalet has the added bonus of a private garage with a stairwell to a guest room with en suite shower room, ideal for guests.

This second floor apartment is centrally located in the beautiful town of Alameda renowned for it fiestas and celebrations. A central hallway leads to a newly installed kitchen with plenty of storage and room to dine and access out on to a sun room and private terrace which has a storage and utility room.

52.000€ CJ498

120.000€ CH143

Aguilar de la Frontera, Cordoba 4 bed, 1 bath Build: 139m2 This lovely property is set just a short drive from has a private gated entrance which leads into a front courtyard garden and on to a walkway that runs down the side of the property giving easy access to the rear garden which has a private swimming pool a spacious patio area with summer kitchen and bar.

Priego de Cordoba, Cordoba 3 bed, 1 bath Build: 158m2 This rural detached 3 double bedroom Spanish Cortijo is situated in Los Villares within the Sierras Subbeticas Natural Park and boasts spectacular mountain views. The countryside home comes with a generous 805m2 plot and has mains electricity and town water connections, in need of updating.

69.995€ TH4005

44.000€ CJ381

Montefrio, Granada 4 bed, 1 bath Build: 142m2

La Carrasca, Martos, Jaen 3 bed, 1 bath Build: 135m2

REDUCED TO SELL. Situated a short distance from Montefrio, Casa Rita stands in an elevated position nestled in the lee of the Parapandas. This deceptively spacious, 142m2 build semi-detached Spanish house has a charm of its own with exposed wooden beams that add to the traditional Andalucian feel.

This townhouse boasts a generous plot size of 250m2 with private swimming pool, patio and garden. Located on a wide street with on road parking right outside the house you enter the property into a good size lounge diner, a ground floor double bedroom, storage room, kitchen diner and utility room.

128.000€ CJ473

149.000€ CJ488

Alcaucin, Malaga 2 bed, 1 bath Build: 87m2 A delightful Spanish chalet constructed on one level in Rio Seco, with views over Lake Vinuela. It has recently had major improvements and is offered for sale in excellent decorative order. The accommodation consists of a large fully fitted kitchen and dining area. The master bedroom has a walk-in wardrobe.

Malaga Office 952 74 15 25

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Calle de la Villa 14, 29532 Molina, Malaga

Periana, Malaga 3 bed, 2 bath Build: 151m2 Situated just outside Mondron village this Spanish farmhouse has its own orchard and outbuildings on a generous 1,000m2 plot. The main property has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, lounge, dining room, modern fully fitted kitchen, private swimming pool and extensive gardens.

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XXVI

June 2019

PROPERTY

BBQ King Ingenious pellet stove barbecues are a dream come true for cooking outdoors

INDING the balance between providing the perfect BBQ, while also getting to spend quality times with your guests, is an age old dilemma. So much is in the timing, preparation and location of your barbecue, and even then, it can so easily go wrong. That is until now. An ingenious new to Spain barbecue range is being fired by wood pellets and allows you to set the temperature from an easy-to-use app. Launched by the US company Traeger - which has been a wood-fire barbecue specialist since the 1980s. The pellets are fed to the stove via a hopper at the side,

RANGE: Employee at Furniture World

BIG MIX: Nine types of pellets

i n s t a l a c i o n e s info@instalacionesemasur.com www.instalacionesemasur.com

VARIETY: The Traeger range includes eight models on display which slowly feeds them into the barbecue by a corkscrew (auger) method. You simply set it to the temperature you want and in 15 minutes it is ready to cook. You can bake, barbecue, grill, smoke, braise and roast, six cooking methods all in one grill. There are so many settings and the app even gives you recipes and tells you the e x a c t cooking times. It makes the job so

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easy you can spend time talking to your friends.. There are 9 different types of wood pellets available, each with their unique flavour. The smoke they produce will infuse your food with a delicious flavour and aroma and a bag will give you around 20 hours of slow cooking time. You can slow cook a joint of meat (brisket, leg of lamb, chicken etc) or fast cook your steak or chops to perfection. You can even bake cookies, bread or pizza. This is all thanks to a temperature probe that is placed into the meat and ensures that you get to the exact required temperature as per your recipe. Every Saturday morning, 10.30am until 1.30pm, this June, Furniture World in Estepona is demonstrating how

to use the Traeger barbecue grill and is giving you the chance to taste food that has been freshly cooked on it. At Furniture World they have 8 different models from the Traeger collection on display for you to look at, and a wide range of accessories and wood pellets. Also you can go to the web page www.barbecueworld.es or call us on 687940966 The Traeger Barbecues come with free shipping around Spain and Portugal and also carry a three-year warranty. Furniture World is situated in the Estepona Poligono, Calle Juan de Mena and they look forward to your visit. Visit www.barbecueworld. es for more information.

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Beware the Ides of March?

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A recent slowdown in growth does not mean doom and gloom for Spain’s property market, writes Tancrede de Pola

ALES figures from March have led some analysts to suggest that Spain’s property market is slowing down. It comes after the third month of this year showed an 8% year-on-year rise in purchases, according to INE figures. While it does show growth, it is not as robust as it has been in the majority of months since the recovery began in 2014. And if you rely on figures from the Association of Spanish Notaries, the outlook might seem more bleak, with sales allegedly down 2.9% year-on-year in March. However it is not all gloom and doom. For starters, figures from the notaries are often volatile and significantly revised months later, so they are not always 100% reliable. Secondly, a slowdown at this time of year can be expected to be somewhat reversed once the dust settles from the barrage of local, regional and international elections. The confident victory by the PSOE in Spain’s general election in April will certainly help

HOLDING COURT: Tancrede de Pola is not worried about Spain’s property market undo feelings of uncertainty, as will their vernment has been formed in Spain and the mostly victorious night in the local elections. next four years are more clear. The EU elections are also now over and did Regardless of outside forces, and as we not return a disastrous result i.e. a swing to have seen before, March could easily be a extremism, hopefully bringing a return of lull before the country’s property market resome confidence. turns to double digit growth in the summer Two of the main lenders have reduced their months. loan-to-values (LTV’S) since the beginning The good news is that sales were most up of the year on the back of Brexit worries but in areas traditionally favoured by foreign buwe expect banks to begin lending more to yers, with Andalucia enjoying a 20% year-onwould-be homebuyers after being more year rise in purchases and the Costa del Sol cautious recently, especially now that a go- a 12% boost.

To contact Tancrede for all your mortgaging needs call: 666 709 743 or for insurance queries call: 951 203 540 Email: tdp@thefinanacebureau.com The Finance Bureau Centro Commercial Guadalmina, 2nOffice No. 7 Guadalmina, 29670

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31/05/2019 10:43

XXVIII June 2019

PROPERTY

Garden city by the sea

AMBITIOUS: New reclamation project Victoria Keys

HE latest mega-development for Gibraltar has all the signs of being a big hit with investors. Victoria Keys, which will be built at Coaling Island inside the historic har-

bour, is set to raise the profile of Rock to rival the likes of Monaco. Luxury flats, new shopping areas and offices are set to be built in partnership with the government.

Gibraltar

A lineup as bedazzling as the backdrop.

Chief Minister Fabian Picardo explains that the development will ‘showcase our benefits to our widest ever worldwide audience’. “Our international prominence appears to have had a positive influence on the high net worth individuals that we strive to attract to Gibraltar,” he said. With current Brexit concerns in Europe, Gibraltar is seen as a stronger investment than owning a Spanish property. A total of 60,000 square metres of land are to be created for the project by a massive sea reclamation scheme. The complicated scheme is to be undertaken by a government-owned company, guaranteeing safety in the investment, while the £300 million cost will be returned to government coffers once the land has been created. “It is precisely projects like these that ensure that new businesses wanting to relocate are able to secure accommodation for themselves and their workers,” added the Chief Minister. “With the continued requests for commercial space, and its knock-on demand for residential accommodation, it is essential that we exploit this opportunity to its fullest.”

Environment But he promised that there would be no reclamation outside of port waters before the end of the current transition period under the EU Withdrawal Agreement. And he added that the scheme would be ‘in keeping with all environmental protection rules’. “Victoria Keys will have an extensive landscaped public promenade, solely for pedestrians and cyclists, along the entire waterfront perimeter,” he continued. “There will also be wide tree-lined avenues running east to west retaining the historical views across the bay. “It will become our very own garden city by the sea.” This will be the second time that the current government carried out a project of this magnitude. The Westside reclamation of the late 1990s arguably created the foundations for the modern Gibraltar economy that we now know.

Make this your year to celebrate the rich, diverse and fascinating world of Gibraltar

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The Mews, Town Range – a rare opportunity Within metres of the Governor’s Residence, The Mews is an enclave of 7 boutique houses and apartments each meticulously designed and built to a flawless standard, drawing on its unique gated location in the heart of the old town. Four contemporary mews-style houses will be built on the foundations of the 19th-century stables, at the rear of the original, grand Victorian house, which will itself be refurbished to provide 2 thoughtfully designed apartments and a stunning duplex penthouse, commanding spectacular views. Mews houses are, by their nature, located in the very best parts of town. Providing a safe, traffic free environment that is both practical, and hugely charming.

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XXX

June 2019

PROPERTY

Don’t trust experts

AVING lived in six different Spanish resorts over the course of six weeks, my wife and I Susie created a dossier on each. Listing what we did and didn’t like about each place we drew up a short list with Nerja, in the Axarquia, and Denia, on the Costa Blanca, at the top. When we returned to the UK in the middle of June, last year, we decided to advance our plans immediately and put our house on the market. Life, as it so often does then threw us a bit of a curve ball, as three days after our return my son, 19, had a serious wakeboarding accident, and following a mistake by the hospital, was in danger of losing his leg. There were a million other reasons to stay – for one, Susie’s daughter was expecting her first baby, to add to our other two granddaughters. But, equally, there were other good

In his second column, chartered financial planner Jonathan Holdaway FPFS ACSI, reveals where he has made the leap to Spain and why

reasons to go – our own health and sanity, just counting two. So plans were delayed, until eventually in February this year - having sold my UK financial planning business (to the safest pair of hands, rather than the highest bidder) - we piled most of our possessions into the back of my X5, roof box and trailer and started another journey with our two faithful hounds Toby and Robbie also on board. Eager to start our new life as soon as possible, we agreed to take a rented villa in Nerja from February 1 for fear of losing it to someone else. So we didn’t hang about and made the journey down to Malaga, throu-

gh France and Spain with two days of pretty much solid driving. And with the Brexit decision looming large, as soon as we arrived we leapt into action to obtain NIE numbers, a Spanish bank account and, of course, the obligatory health Insurance... all the things I had researched we needed in order to obtain residency. It soon became very apparent that everyone you meet here has a slightly different version of the truth, when it comes to the mechanics and costs of moving here. Although I found some of the various expat Facebook pages helpful, it was clear that a lot of users and so-called ‘experts’ were using this medium as a virtual soapbox, trying to ram their own opinions firmly down other’s throats and were clearly wrong! New life begins

DREAM LOCATION: Nerja in the Axarquia

And so, with a slightly faltering start, our new life in Spain has finally begun, as we both strive to establish our social life and businesses as quickly as possible. With my longterm training as a chartered financial planner (I’ll explain

SETTLING IN: With wife Susie and the dogs

what that means in later columns), I that we lived in a beautiful part of the naturally intend to continue offering UK, there is so much more to offer help and advice to clients who need, here in terms of quality of life. or who can benefit, from my advice. I look forward to what the next few While setting up has months brings – my been hampered sliin laws arrive today ghtly by the excessifor a 10-day visit, for ve bureaucracy that Spain is the land which I have included exists here, I am finally a night time tour of of paperwork’ in the position to help. the Alhambra Palace and she wasn’t in Granada. As the lady in Santander said; ‘Spain is the I hope it makes as kidding! land of paperwork’ much as an impresand she wasn’t kidsion on them in their ding! 70’s as it did to me in Our next step is to obtain residency, the ‘70’s (see my first column from and fortunately the delay to Brexit last month). has given us slightly more time to achieve this. Send your comments and Since our arrival we have had visits feedback to Jonathan at jofrom three of our kids – including nathan.holdaway@chasebuSusie’s nine-month-old granddau- chanan.com or call him on ghter, so they can also appreciate 00447723027864 the benefits of our move! Also a recent return to Bournemouth Jonathan works with Cyprus-regulated for a friend’s wedding has confir- financial advisor CHASE BUCHANAN, med our decision to move here was which has been operating in Cyprus since 2015. Visit www.chasebuchathe right one. While we were always very thankful nan.com for more information

Send your comments and feedback to Jonathan at jonathan.holdaway@chasebuchanan.com or call him on 00447723027864

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BUSINESS

Signed and delivered

AMAZON has pitched its tent in the heart of the Costa del Sol with the sudden arrival of a distribution centre in Malaga. The delivery giant has taken over land in the Los Prados area and built a pop up logistics hub featuring a giant tent and prefab offices.

Pipeline

Site owners Adif have confirmed the 345,000 square metre plot has been loaned to Amazon for a period of three years. The delivery mega-firm are expected to expand the site with an investment of close to €1 million reported to be in the pipeline.

Trapped Rato Spanish former IMF head faces fresh corruption charges as full scale of crimes come to light JAILED ex-International Monetary Fund chief Rodrigo Rato has been told he faces a fresh corruption trial in Spain. The Madrid High Court has ordered Rato to stand trial alongside 12 others for deals allegedly offered by senior Bankia figures to public relations firms in return for €2 million in suspected bribes.

MINT: New notes are more secure than ever

Olive Press readers who have attended one of our Blacktower seminars along the coast over the years may remember the introduction to our client Alan

LAN moved on a permanent basis to Spain in 2005 and walked into our office about two years ago. Alan wanted us to review his situation to assess how well organised it was or if there is some action to be taken, especially in light of the Brexit saga and any uncertainty of his position post-Brexit. This is what we established during our first meeting: – – Alan holds his credit card sized ‘residencia’ which must make him a resident, but still chooses to pay his taxes in the UK for different reasons: – – Alan understands the system there; – – Alan’s mate down the pub said taxes are much higher here. He must know because his brother-in-law in the UK is an accountant; –– Alan’s gestor told him 12 years ago that Spain does not need to know about his income in the UK;

Those charged will have to put up sureties of close to €4.5 million or face having their assets seized. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of four years’ jail time, which would double the time Rato must serve to eight-and-a-half years, and a fine of €2.5 million. Authorities have already charged Rato over his role in listing Bankia on the

THE new €100 and €200 notes have landed in Spain and the 19 other countries which have adopted the currency. This freshly minted legal tender is the latest in the ‘Europa’ series after the five, 10, 20 and 50 euro notes. Issued by the European Central Bank (ECB) the updated currency is vegan friendly, reduced in height to better fit wallets, and is harder to forge. The €200 is now the largest denomination, after the ECB decided to stop printing €500 notes. Security is at the forefront of the new notes, by German designer

ACCUSED: (Left) Rato to face another trial

stock market during his time heading up the bank from 2010 to 2012.

New money Reinhold Gerstetter. A so-called ‘satellite’ hologram with a silver band running through it, and a watermark of the goddess Europa both feature on the new notes. When turning the item in light, the hologram displays an oscillating euro symbol for extra security. A special print within the main illustration, and a small emerald insignia that shines when hit by light complete the new security measures.

Rato was head of Caja Madrid which merged with six other struggling banks to from Bankia in 2010. He was accused of falsifying Bankia accounts in order to trick investors and hide substantial losses at the height of the financial crisis. The false stock market listing drew in many smaller and unsuspecting investors but authorities were soon forced to step in and rescue the bank. Rato, who also served as Spain’s economy minister, must also await judgement on a separate tax avoidance case against him.

Meet Alan! BY Tim Govaerts

– – Alan does not want to bring all his money into the Spanish banking system. – – Alan’s mate Steve said bureaucracy is a nightmare in Spain and Alan is paying some taxes anyway, the IBI, so that should be fine; – – Alan does not speak Spanish, so the less he needs to be involved in Spanish admin, the better; –– Alan also heard that Spain will take everything he has when he ‘pops his clogs’ as Inheritance Tax is huge in Spain; –– Alan can go to the doctor, if needed, on his EHIC card; –– If Alan was questioned regarding his tax position in Spain, Alan heard once somewhere during a seminar that there is a “6 months rule”. Alan will just make sure that he remains in Spain just below 6 months by booking a holiday to Portugal for two weeks and also spend 6 months in the UK. Alan loves the idea of being a “fiscal nomad”, Alan is smarter than the system. In recent years, the objections and comments raised by Alan are what we would typically hear when we meet with

people that have either recently moved here or have been living here for some time, but never had a look at their financial situation to make sure it is correctly structured in the most efficient way. Here’s the reality.

–– Tax residency is a matter of fact, not a choice; –– Taxes are not necessarily higher here, but comparable to other countries; There is a lot Alan can do to improve his tax position and become better off as a Spanish fiscal resident; – – Alan’s IBI is a local tax on property and has nothing to do with Tax Residency; –– Recent changes to Inheritance Tax in Andalucía makes it one of the most generous autonomous regions in Spain for IHT purposes, and IHT won’t apply anymore in most cases; –– The EHIC is only meant to be used during temporary visits; –– “Fiscal Nomads” do not exist. The 6-month rule is only the starting point in determining where you are tax resident. Other criteria are considered too when it is unclear. How Blacktower Financial Advisers helped Alan: 1. Alan is a Spanish fiscal resident without any doubt. This means that Alan’s main reporting obligation

June 5th - June 18th 2019

Spy phone SPAIN’S spy chief has upset telecom companies with a warning that installing new 5G technology will affect cybersecurity. National Intelligence Center Director Felix Sanz Roldan has stressed security in Spain ‘will suffer’ if development is left in the hands of Chinese companies. Telephone operators have hit back against the claims the introduction of 5G will be any less safe than that of 4G. A Vodafone spokesperson said: “We do thousands of tests with our networks and we ensure 100% that they are safe before putting them into commercial production."

Energy rush STOCKS in an Australian mining company have soared amid hopes that plans for an open uranium mine in a Spanish village will be waved through. Berkeley Energy has risen 35% on the London stock exchange following the election of a new PP government in Retortillo near Salamanca. The village of only 200 inhabitants could become the home to one of the only open air uranium mines in Europe if the town hall opposition to the plan is lifted.

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will now be in Spain. By the end of June Alan will have to submit the Modelo100, i.e. tax declaration on which he declares his worldwide earned income, interests and gains made. By the end of March Alan will have to submit the Modelo720 on which Alan provides information on his assets outside of Spain. 2. Alan now understands that with the increased multi-jurisdictional transparency and exchange of information, such as the Common Reporting Standards (CRS), Spain freely receives tax information automatically and it is only a matter of time before Alan is asked to rectify his situation. How Blacktower Financial Advisers can help you: Do your own reality check and consider: –– Are you a (fiscal) resident? –– Are you ready for the Automatic Exchange of Information? – – Do you know your obligations (Modelos 100 and 720, Empadronamiento)? –– Are your assets structured in the most effective way? As HMRC in the UK once pointed out “Come to us before we come for you.” The same applies to Spain. Contact us now to assist you with your reality check.

Blacktower Financial Management Ltd is authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority and is registered with both the DGS and CNMV. Blacktower Financial Management (Int) Ltd is licensed in Gibraltar by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and is registered with both the DGS and CNMV in Spain

June 5th - June 18th 2019

BUSINESS

New Nest

HAPPY: Flores

EVEN the high-flying boss was on hand as the experienced lawyers at Lawbird revealed their brand new €50,000 office. Firm founder Antonio Flores was on hand to distribute the sliced ham and manchego cheese to selected guests at the packed launch in Marbella. The new look office will accommodate

30 members of staff and features a living ‘green’ wall with spacious meeting rooms. Business Development Manager Gary Newsham said “It was good to see so many faces, many of which we only normally communicate with by email or telephone. “Everyone is welcome to pass by now, have a coffee and look at the inspiring environment that we have created.” Launched more than 15 years ago, the firm’s English-speaking lawyers advise a worldwide client base around mainland Spain and its islands.

Made in pain

NGO study reveals Spain’s richest man benefits from exploitative Moroccan labour BILLIONAIRE Zara founder Amancio Ortega has been accused of exploiting workers in Morocco. The Spanish business owner reportedly pays the seamstresses who make the garments as little as €178 a month for up 65 hours

EXPOSED: Zara factory in Morocco

a week. Ortega-owned Inditex was investigated by spanish NGO ‘Clean Clothes Campaign’ that analysed the living conditions and low pay suffered by female textile workers. The NGO said the retailer ‘ope-

Royal rise Cool beans NESTLE Spain has earmarked €17 million for a boiler that uses coffee grounds to power a factory in northern Spain. The main objective is for the Girona facility to have zero landfill waste by 2025 before the multi-national expands the scheme worldwide. The boiler will be up and running by mid-2020 and will reduce the natural gas consumption of the factory by 25%.

REAL Madrid has unseated Manchester United as the ‘most valuable’ club in Europe. The report by KPMG took into account the Spanish giants popularity, profitability, broadcasting rights, stadium value and potential for future growth. Real, now valued at €34 billion has leapfrogged United who had led the way for the last three years. The Manchester club was valued at €31 billion after

failure to reach the latter stages of the Champions League has seen them lose ground. Report author Andrea Sartori said: "At league level the English Premier League has confirmed its absolute dominance, having nine clubs in the top 32 and accounting for 43% of the total aggregate value."

rates in the Moroccan market taking advantage of production costs clearly lower than those of the European Union.’ El Corte Ingles, Mango and other European firms were also named as using exploitive moroccan based suppliers. Spain has been the most important customer for Moroccan clothing exports since 2006 and 10% of all Inditex clothes are made in Morocco. The Inditex brands covers many popular high street names including Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear and Zara. The report revealed the harsh conditions Moroccan garment workers have to face including excessive hours of work with low wages and alleged physical abuse. Report author Albert Sales said: “These companies have in their hands the ability, both to generate situations of labour exploitation, and to avoid them." Younger workers are reportedly made to work without contracts and receive just 0.36 cents per hour.

GAME CHANGER

BUZZING: Pursuit team with consul Charmaine Arbouin

Scottish company so good to its staff Leonardo DiCaprio gave it an award lands on Spain’s Costa del Sol

MAGINE working a four-day week (but being paid for five), having your boss pay for your breakfast each day, getting free gym classes during your lunch breaks and all expenses paid staff holidays? That’s just some of what’s on offer at Pursuit Marketing, one of the most successful companies to come out of the UK which has now opened an office in Spain. In fact they look after their staff so well that Hollywood icon Leonardo DiCaprio even handed them an award for it. The Oscar-winner crowned the

BIG FAN: Leonardo DiCaprio

Glasgow team with the “PwC People Innovation Award” at the Scottish Business Awards, which celebrates those who ‘innovate to get the best from their people to deliver high levels of productivity, engagement and customer advocacy.’ After continued success in the UK - and many more awards - the company, which represents the largest technology companies in the world, has officially launched in Spain. Since opening its office in Torremolinos on April 1st, Pursuit has recruited over 30 staff and is on track to increase to 120 staff within the next year. Founded in 2011, the impressive company chose Malaga due to the strength of local talent, support and incentives from the local employment and innovation agencies, and the area’s potential future as a business technology hub. “There were some really encouraging incentives for coming to here as opposed to Barcelona or Madrid,” revealed Director, Robert Copeland “and with our focus on employee wellbeing we were really drawn to the relaxed way

of life and year-round climate...quite a change from Glasgow!” Director Lorraine Gray added that young local talent was also very attractive: “Malaga has the biggest output of technology graduates which can only be positive for the growth of our business, and that of our clients” The company revealed their workforce will be 50% Spanish and the rest from a varied international background. “We operate in 32 countries worldwide, so it’s really important for

us to attract employees with multiple languages” added Lorraine. British consul Charmaine Arbouin said the arrival of Pursuit is ‘great news’ for the coast. “It’s really exciting,” she said, “it shows that businesses can be attracted to Malaga and that there is an appetite for it here.” So what does the company do so well? Pursuit Marketing helps its clients to grow...winning more business, more

often. This means its award-winning team of consultants and marketeers create tailored and specific demand generation services for its clients with guaranteed results. This includes a digital marketing department which works to create demand online, and a telemarketing team that generates leads and appointments. In essence, Pursuit offers a ‘true 360-degree marketing solution’

To find out more from a client or career perspective, visit www.pursuitmarketing.co.uk

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL Two Spanish wines for under €20 are among the best in the world

PROUD: Cantini

Serving up a win THE winner of the Andalucia Gourmet Award for Best Room and Customer Service has been announced. Hotel Palacio De Santa Paula in Granada was crowned champion in the second edition of the awards, which aim to celebrate hotels in the region. Maître d El Marco Cantini, who also works alongside staff at the hotel’s El Claustro restaurant, described the award as an ‘injection of confidence’. The awards, doled out by IDEAL newspaper, take into account everything from the appearance of dining rooms and table layouts to the attitudes of staff.

EIGHT Spanish wines have been listed in the ‘top 50’ in the world, including two for just €17 a pop. The vinos were granted the prestigious accolades at the Decanter World Wine Awards, where some winners were worth over €400. Finca Azaya, from Bodegas Valduero in Castile y Leon, is one of the two bargain bottles awarded ‘Best in Show’ by British magazine Decanter. The wine from the northern region was awarded 97 points, as was fellow winner Coto de Imaz Gran Reserva

June 5th - June 18th 2019

Can’t buy taste

from El Coto de Rioja. Another highlight of the list is the 30 year-old V.O.R.S Oloroso Sherry from Andalucia’s Jerez, priced at €101.48. Despite Spain’s impressive eight ‘Best in Show’ bottles, it finished second globally to France, which had 13 of its wines in the ‘top 50’. The the list was compiled by Decanter after the tasting of 16,500 wines, of which only 50 (0.3%) were given a ‘Best

Ice ice baby! ICELAND is opening a new store in Marbella. The popular supermarket, opening as part of the Overseas group, has begun work at its newest branch in San Pedro de Alcantara. The shop is situated just off the A-7 among the row of shops and restaurants in Guadalmina Alta. The location will stock an array of British brands as well goods from UK favourite Waitrose.

LANDED: In San Pedro

The store is hoped to open in time for summer and an advert in the window says it is looking for staff.

in Show’ medal. Meanwhile, Australia and Portugal were each awarded three medals, putting the countries third globally, while fourth was taken by Italy with five. One of the more unusual ‘Best in Show’ medal-winners was the UK, which received three ‘top 50’ awards, along with Georgia, Greece and Germany, which each received one prize.

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Meanwhile we sip into Spain’s most expensive wines overleaf.

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restaurant | lunch and dinner restaurant | lunch and dinner

Top of the tipples Would you pay €1,000 for a bottle of sherry from Jerez? Check out our connoisseur’s guide to 10 of the bestscoring Spanish wines (according to the Parker Guide) and you’ll be sorely tempted, writes Claire Leibovich

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HE love affair between Spain and its wine has been turbulent but enduring. The land of Cervantes has been making wine since pre Roman times in some regions. Production slowed to a trickle under non-drinking Muslim rule, but enjoyed a relative renaissance between the Reconquest and the 20th century when two world wars and Franco’s ban on wine exports

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put the stopper on production once more. But Spain’s grape expectations rose again and 1986, when it joined the EU, was a turning point. Today the Spanish wine revolution is well underway and has almost caught up with the country's booming gastronomy. Spain is the third biggest producer of wine in the world, behind France and Italy, and the top international exporter. It’s also still the best value for money as Spanish wine prices remain comparatively low. The country is home to over 400 grape varieties, although the Famous Five - Tempranillo, Garnacha, Monastrell, Palomino and Airén - are most commonly used. But that’s changing too. Specialists and amateurs are not only rediscovering traditionally reputed wines but also experimenting new creations. Check out our connoisseurs guide to the best of the best, based on the celebrated Robert Parker Guide. Your new-found knowledge will please your palate, impress your friends and never mind the price!

Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Priorat The Big Three wine regions at the international forefront of the Spanish wine revolution need no introduction but there’s still much to learn.

Bodegas Contador, Benjamín Romeo ‘Contador’, Rioja

€247

Rioja, in northern Spain, has long been the country's most famous wine region, along with the ‘sherry triangle’ of Jerez. It produces mostly red wines, but even its whites are celebrated for their distinguishable oak aromas and flavours. However, one of the best is atypical of the region: Benjamín Romeo´s ‘Contador’ is a modern wine lacking that signature oak flavour but still obtained a score of 95 in the Parker guide (2018). Dense and complex with fruity aromas, its limited production and high Parker score explains the average price of €247.

Dominio de Pingus ‘Pingus’, Ribera del Duero One of the most expensive Spanish wines, Danish oenologist Peter Sis- €800 seck established the Pingus domain in the province of Valladolid in 1995, which remains its best vintage year, followed by 2014. Although it produces other wines, Dominio de Pingus is its flagship. Intense yet elegant, with a deep colour and balsamic and floral aromas, this cult wine averages an astronomical €800 a bottle.

Vega Sicilia Unico Gran Reserva, Ribera del Duero

€376

This wine is traditionally known as Spain's first great wine and the most sought after. The renowned winery Vega Sicilia started operating in 1864, however the first Unico cuvée dates back to 1936. Unico is produced from 80% Tempranillo, and the rest from Bordeaux varietals. It shot to international fame in the early 1990´s, and since then it has only gained in desirability, in particular because of an increasing scarcity. The average price is €376.

Alvaro Palacios L´Ermita, Priorat Over the past few decades, Priorat has gained international recognition for its exceptional wine - one of the only top-class wines in the world produced from Garnacha grapes. Alvaro Palacios was instrumental in this revival when he acquired an old plot of vines in the Catalan region in 1990. It is now considered the best spot to produce wine in Priorat. L’Ermita, a blend or Cariñena and Garnacha, is the star of Palacios’ winery, receiving a perfect 100 points from the prestigious Parker guide in 2013. L’Ermita is almost black in colour with a dense but delicate 03 texture with fruity undertones. Average €7 price €703.

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& TRAVEL

June 5th - June 18th 2019

Malaga

Although Málaga is one of the oldest wine regions in the world (vines were introduced in the region by the Greeks around 600 B.C.), it has been unfairly kept in the shadow of better-known denominations. It is also great value.

A Spanish restaurant with a twist, located on the edge of historic old Estepona Town in a converted farmhouse dating back to the 1890 with many features retained.

Jorge Ordoñez and Co., No.3 Old Vines Moscatel

Teso la Monja, Toro, Spain Toro is a region in the northwest of Castilla y León that has recently soared to fame for its powerful, full-bodied red wines made from Tina da Toro (Tempranillo). Teso la Monja comes from the eponymous, family winery near Valdefinjas, in Zamora. It holds the record for the most expensive Spanish with an €993 average of €993.

Descendientes de J. Palacios, La Faraona, Bierzo In the northwest of Castilla y León, the potential of Bierzo as a wine-producing region was discovered relatively recently by the same Alvaro Palacios who helped put Priorat on the map in the 1980s. The winemaker established Descendientes de J. Palacios in Bierzo in 1999 and now produces a selection of high-end, single-vineyard wines. La Faraona is a red wine made from Mencia grape grown on barely more than an acre of land, with the vines yielding just a single barrel of wine each year. Its €939 average price is €939.

Jerez Sherry wine and the Andalucian town of Jerez de la Frontera are synonymous and production dates back to the 8th century at least. First exported in the 12th century, for a long time it was reputed to be the finest wine in Europe and was probably the first wine to be

commercially exported to the Americas. Jerez is made from the white Palomino Fino grape, which makes it drier than wines using Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel de Alejandría grapes. The vineyards of Jerez and the neighbouring coastal towns of El Puerto de Santa María and Sanlucar de Barrameda are collectively known as the Sherry Triangle.

Barbadillo Reliquia Palo Cortado Jerez This winery is located in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a port town celebrated for its Manzanilla, a variety of sherry with a subtle chamomile flavour (manzanilla means chamomile in Spanish). However, Barbadillo also offers remarkably old and chokingly pricey wines, including an Oloroso, Pedro Ximenez… and a Palo Cortado, €100 3 the first sherry to be awarded 100 by the Parker guide. Barbadillo’s Palo Cortado is dry with a clear, golden complexion. Average price €1,003.

Montilla-Moriles These wines from Cordoba share similar characteristics to sherry, yet they are often overlooked by wine lovers. The Andalucian region mostly produces sweet, dessert wine from Pedro Ximénez

Bodegas Toro Albala Don PX Convento Seleccion This winery in Aguilar de la Frontera is famed for its vintage PX wines. Convento Seleccion is a dense and complex wine with notes of dark chocolate and roasted coffee beans, and less sweet than other PX wines. The 1946 is its best year and it was the first sweet wine to be awarded 100 points by the Parker guide (1958 was also an exceptionally good year with a score of 97). Average price €229.

€229

Gonzalez Byass Anada Palo Cortado Another top Palo Cortado sherry hails from the Gonzalez Byass bodega in the town of Jerez itself. With its iconic Tío Pepe brand, Gonzalez Byass’ sherry is famous worldwide. The Palo Cortado is salty and intense with citrus notes. Average price €164 euros.

€164

Jorge Ordoñez founded his winery in 2004, with huge success in short time. His series of four sweet white wines in particular have found favour with the rich and famous. No. 2 Victoria Moscatel was served to the Queen at Picton Castle in Wales during its 88th anniversary; former British Prime Minister Tony Blair enjoyed it on his last visit to Spain; and it was also the first Spanish wine to be served at a Nobel Prize function in 2012. Made from Moscatel de Alejandría grapes which add floral aromas, No. 3 Old Vines offers the best value for money of the series. Average price €85.

€85

Restaurante La Pampa is open from Wednesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner. Calle Sevilla 70, 29680, Estepona Phone: 952 795 545 email: reservas@lapampaestepona.es www.lapampaestepona.es