Buying a vending business, or selling one: how to value it and what to check

Buying a vending business that is already running, or selling one, starts with understanding what is actually being paid for: not the machines, which can be bought on their own anywhere, but the locations that sell and the figures that prove it. A vending business is worth what it earns, and only if that can be checked.

In this guide we explain exactly what is being bought, two ways to value it, what increases and decreases the price, what data to ask for before signing, what happens with the location contracts, the VAT on the transfer, and how to prepare the business if you are the one selling.

What is being bought

When someone sells “a vending route”, it usually includes:

• The machines, with their payment system.
• The locations: the agreements with each bar, office, or gym. This is what is worth the most and is the most fragile.
• The product inside the machines and in storage, plus the change in the coin mechanisms.
• Sometimes, the vehicle, the warehouse, or supplier contracts.

The machines have their own value: what they would cost used on the market (we cover this in our guide to buying a used vending machine in Spain). Anything paid above that is paid for the locations and what they sell.

Buying the machines or buying the company

• Buying the assets (machines, product, agreements): you buy only what you choose. This is the simplest option when the seller is a sole trader (autónomo).
• Buying the company (its shares): you take over everything it has, including contracts, but also its debts and anything it may have done wrong in the past. Ask for written guarantees and have your accountant review it before signing.

How it is valued

There are two ways to look at it, and it is best to do both.

1. By what it earns. Start from the real profit over the last twelve months, machine by machine: sales excluding VAT minus product, location commissions, shrinkage, travel, maintenance, and insurance. And two adjustments that are often forgotten:

• A salary for the person doing the route. If the seller restocks it themselves and pays themselves nothing, their profit includes their own work. You, or someone you pay, will have to do that work.
• Depreciation of the machines: one day they will have to be replaced.

With that profit, decide in how many years you want to recover what you pay. No one sets that period: it depends on the risk you see. For example, with made-up figures: if ten machines leave €15,000 a year after paying for the route and you want to recover the investment in three years, you should not pay more than €45,000.

2. By what it would cost to set up. Add up what equivalent machines would cost you, plus the time and money needed to get similar locations and wait for them to start selling. If buying the business costs more than setting it up, something does not add up.

A reasonable price is somewhere between the two figures. For the first one, you can use the vending machine profit calculator with the numbers for each machine, and to understand each line of the accounts, our guide to vending machine profitability.

What increases and what decreases the price

The data you need to ask for

Before paying a deposit, ask in writing for:

• Sales for each machine, month by month, for at least the last twelve months.
• Collections and bank and card statements, to verify that the money really came in.
• Product purchase invoices. If they say they sell a certain amount per month, they must have bought something similar.
• What is paid to each location: the agreement and the settlements.
• The list of machines: model, year, serial number, condition, breakdowns, and whether they are paid off. A machine on lease or with outstanding financing does not belong to the seller.
• The paperwork: registration for the Spanish business activity tax (IAE), the health register (registro sanitario), insurance and the payment system contracts.

If you can, accompany the seller on the route for a couple of weeks. You will see how much is sold, how long it takes, and how you are received at each location.

Agreements with the locations

This is the point that kills the most deals. Many agreements with bars and offices are verbal, and the location does not have to continue with someone it does not know. Before paying:

• Read each written agreement: duration, notice period, and whether it can be assigned to another operator.
• Ask the seller to introduce you at each location and have the location confirm that it will continue.
• If any machine is in a public building (a hospital, a university), it is usually a concession or authorization with an end date, which cannot be transferred without the Administration’s permission. Ask when it expires and whether it can be assigned.
• Leave part of the payment deferred and tied to the locations still being there a few months after the handover.

Also review what is paid to each location: a high commission can make a high-selling location leave very little profit. We explain it in our guide to vending machine commission.

VAT and paperwork for the transfer in Spain

• If the entire business is sold, with everything needed to keep operating on its own, the transaction is not subject to VAT (article 7.1 of the Spanish VAT Act).
• If individual machines are sold, it is a normal sale and VAT applies.
• The seller pays tax on what they earn from the sale, in Spanish personal income tax (IRPF) or corporation tax (Impuesto sobre Sociedades).

Your accountant will determine which case applies with the contract in front of them. And if you buy, also:

• register for the IAE under the right heading and, if you sell food, in the health register of your autonomous community: each operator needs its own registration;
• change the operator’s name, address, and phone number on all machines, which the law requires to be visible;
• put the insurance and the card payment system contract in your name.

The registration steps, one by one, are in our guide on how to start a vending business in Spain, and the VAT on each product in VAT on vending machines in Spain.

The day of the handover

1. Take inventory with the seller, machine by machine: what is in each slot and in storage.
2. Remove the cash together from the cash boxes and count the change in each coin mechanism.
3. Record the counters on each machine, if they have them.
4. Check the expiry dates of what you are buying: expired items are not paid for.

From that day on, every sale is yours, and it is a good idea to start logging every visit so you can quickly see whether the business sells what you were told.

If you are the one selling

A buyer pays for what they can verify. If you plan to sell in a year or two, start now:

• Track sales for each machine, month by month, not just the total.
• Reconcile each collection with what was sold, so the figures hold up under review.
• Put the agreements with the locations in writing, with a clause allowing them to be assigned.
• Settle with the locations with proof, so the buyer can see what each location costs.
• Remove the machines that do not pay for their visits before selling: they drag down the average and create work.

Frequently asked questions

How much is a vending business worth?

What it earns, verified, multiplied by the number of years the buyer wants to take to recover the investment. That period depends on the risk: signed agreements, spread-out sales, and recent machines justify paying more.

What is a vending route?

A set of machines visited along the same route. When buying or selling, the whole business is called a “route”: the machines and their locations.

Can contracts with locations be transferred?

It depends on each agreement. If it is in writing, check whether assignment is allowed. If it is verbal, the location decides. The prudent approach is for the seller to introduce you and to leave part of the payment deferred.

Is there VAT on buying a vending business in Spain?

Not if the whole business is transferred and can keep running on its own. If individual machines are sold, there is. Confirm it with your accountant.

Do I have to register with the health register if I buy a business that is already registered?

Yes. Registration is for each operator, so the new one must make their own notification to the health authority of their autonomous community.

What data should I ask for before buying?

Machine-by-machine monthly sales, collections with bank statements, product purchase invoices, agreements and settlements with the locations, and the list of machines with their condition.

Conclusion

A vending business is worth what its locations earn, and only if it can be proven. If you buy, value it based on the real profit with a salary for the route, compare it with what it would cost to set up, and do not pay for agreements you cannot secure. If you sell, start keeping the figures for each machine long before you put up the sign: that is what determines the price.

This article is for information only and does not replace advice from your accountant. The form of the purchase, the VAT, and what the seller pays tax on depend on each case: review it with the contract in front of you.

Useful links

• Vending machine profitability: how much one really makes: the calculation, line by line.
• Buying a used vending machine in Spain: what to check on each machine.
• Vending machine commission: how much it affects what each location leaves behind.
• How to start a vending business in Spain: the registration formalities.
• Vending cash reconciliation: comparing what was removed with what was sold.