Brits in Business
Naomi speaks to British
ex-pat entrepreneurs…

Nigel Cox: Arena Hairdressing Salon

Nigel Cox (43) - one of Nerja’s more striking characters - has been a hairdresser all his working life. He did a three year apprenticeship directly after leaving school, and then travelled to France where he cut hair on beaches and in camp sites. “It was great”, he says: “no overheads!”.
Some time later he opened his own hairdressing salon in Leamington Spa – “Razor’s Edge” – which he managed for nine years.
He came to Spain with his wife and two children, and set up Arena in 1998. “I found a vacant shop that had been trading as a shoe shop, and within three weeks Arena was open. It was easy - I brought all the equipment from England and, thanks to my friend Sammy who already had a business here and who showed me what needed to be done, I had no real problems starting it up.
He creates stylish cuts for both men and women, just over half of whom are British. About 15% are Spanish, and the rest represent other European nationalities.
Nigels says: “Running a salon over here is not hugely different from running one in the UK; you still have to have the same attitude. I am in less of a hurry here though, so I can take my time more”. Does he have any problems with the business? “As long as you make enough money to pay your bills, what problems can you have?!”

Arena: Calle Jaen, Nerja, Tel: 952 52 6686
Opening hours: Mon-Fri: 9.30-2 + 5-8.30; Sat:10-2

Bev Gissing and John Corderoy: Total Textiles

Bev Gissing (44) and John Corderoy (43) are friends who first met about four years ago when Bev’s daughter and John’s son both attended the same karate class. They decided to open a shop selling ready-made soft furnishings because they saw a gap in the market and wanted to import certain products from the UK that they noticed weren’t available over here.
It’s their first business venture in Spain. Bev, who is from Staines in Middlesex and now lives in Nerja, is also a partner in a well-established business in England managed by her husband, which installs computer systems. Bev says “it’s hard to compare the two companies because they are completely different: this new business offers a product, whereas the computer business offers a service”. She was a registrar in an American private school in England, too, which she enjoyed. John (from Ilford, Essex and now also living in Nerja) had been a printer since leaving school and has never run his own business before.
They found suitable premises in Calle Chaparil, Nerja, which was previously set up to sell furniture (it was a video outlet before that), so they didn’t have to do much to it other than paint it. John comments: “We are very pleased with the location; in fact, we think we’re in the best street in Nerja because we are surrounded by furniture shops and bed shops”.
Setting up the business went quite smoothly, apart from the display units – they had trouble getting enough of them, and the ones that were delivered were faulty and had to go back.
Their shop, Total Textiles, opened in June of this year, and both business partners are pleased with how things are going, especially as it’s rental time and many people are currently on holiday.
The shop has a light, airy feel to it – you could almost be in Next – and offers products such as anti-mildew shower curtains, Egyptian cotton sheets (known to be the best quality cotton money can buy) and pillow cases to fit the pillows you brought over from the UK. Plain dyed bed linen, quilt sets and cushions are all proving to be good sellers.
Everything is ready made, but they do offer a fitting and alteration service.
Goods can be ordered from one of their catalogues if it is not in stock.
John and Bev are also very excited about a new facility they’re working on at the moment: a website which will allow the public to purchase goods from their shop on line.

Total Textiles: Calle Chaparil, Edif Rambla del Rio Chillar,
Nº 8 – Local Nº 3, Nerja
Tel: 952 52 8764 Email: info@total-textiles.com

Opening hours: Summer - Monday + Weds-Sat: 10-2; Tuesdays: 10-6;
(from 5th September – Mon-Fri: 10-2 + 6-80.30; Sat: 10-2)

De Cotta McKenna y Santafé
Sandra Wrightson is an English barrister and senior partner in the law firm De Cotta McKenna y Santafé. The company was established by John de Cotta, an English lawyer, who founded the firm with Jaime Santafé back in 1983, but Sandra first joined it in the mid nineties to do legal training. She then went back to England to study for her Bar exam before returning to the company, and then four years later went on to become a partner. There are currently four partners who make the major company decisions jointly at partnership meetings.
Prior to beginning her law studies, Sandra used to do rural tourism in Exmoor, Devon, and has deputised for managers in a training centre.
The company now has around twenty employees. Sandra remarks: “We have expanded continuously, like many other lawyers offices in Spain. When I first came here I noticed law firms were much smaller, but since I’ve been here the growth of these offices from, say, one or two lawyers into eight or ten per firm, has been one of the most noticeable things in the legal profession.
“Looking back, I would definitely do the same thing again. The best part is working with people from different nationalities. The work is always interesting because there is so much variety and I feel as if I am really achieving something.
“I’ve been able to work and bring up two sons thanks to my husband, who is a writer and has been at home looking after them.”

De Cotta McKenna y Santafé:
NERJA OFFICE: Calle Diputación, 6 - 2ºA, Nerja
Tel:952 52 7014 Fax: 952 52 3428
E mail: nerjaenquiries@decottalaw.net
MIJAS-COSTA OFFICE:
Centro Comercial Valdepinos 1 y 3A, Urb Calypso, 29649, Málaga
Tel:952 93 1781 Fax 952 93 3547
E mail: mijasenquiries@decottalaw.net
Website: www.decottalaw.com
Opening hours:
Summer: Mon-Fri:9.30-2
from 5th September: Mon-Thurs: 9.30-2 + 4-6.30; Fri: 9.30-2

Lisa Tupman, Eclipse Vacations
Lisa Tupman’s company - Eclipse Vacations - has not been quite so problem-free. Lisa explains: “When I set up the Nerja office with a business partner back in 1999 we had major problems with our telephones because the telephone manager didn’t have sufficient knowledge to programme our telephone system correctly. It was six months before we had proper use of our telephone lines”.
Another complication arose when she opened the Frigiliana office earlier this year: “The town hall looked at the plans for our sign and agreed to them; they gave us written permission to put the sign up. So we had it made and put it above our shop and then the town hall told us we could not have a yellow sign; we had to take it down within 15 days and change the whole front or we would be fined and then forced to take it down anyway. So we had no choice but to replace it with a white sign featuring our logo in the centre.
She goes on to say that she has also experienced difficulties with a gestor she had been using right from the beginning, who just didn’t do the job competently, despite coming recommended. She later discovered that deadlines had been missed, and Lisa is still paying off the fines now, 18 months later. She did not find it easy working out exactly what was needed to be done in order to set up and run a company, and says, too, that she was badly advised. Lisa bought out her business partner in March 2003 and, despite these teething troubles, the business has been doing well and Eclipse has hit its targets this year.
“If I knew then what I know now I would still run my own business, but it would not involve rentals” says Lisa. “I am on 24 hour call and it completely takes over your life”. Prior to living in Spain she worked for seven years as a qualified florist, a line of business that’s not financially viable in Spain, according to Lisa.
She prides herself on running an honest, reliable holiday rentals and property sales company, but passers-by often seem to confuse it for a tourist office. Lisa is amused by questions such as: “When is the Tuesday market?” which has been asked of her on more than one occasion!!
She also smiles at the memory of one of her clients who booked two weeks accommodation with them. On his date of arrival he telephoned her from a call box in Majorca to ask where the Eclipse taxi was!

Eclipse Vacations:
NERJA OFFICE:Edificio Málaga
Avenida Castilla Pérez
Tel: 952 52 8222
FRIGILIANA OFFICE:
Calle San Sebastián, 17
Tel: 952 53 3532
www.eclipsevacations.com
Opening hours:
Nerja : Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri: 10-2 + 5-8; Weds: 10-5; Sat: 10-1
Frigiliana: Mon-Sat: 10-2