Olive Press Newspaper - Issue 236

FREE Vol. 10 Issue 236 www.theolivepress.es March 30th - April 12th 2016

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thE battlE to sink spain’s most notoRious piRatEs (pagEs 6&7)

In the anniversary edition of our Property magazine find out...IT brings a whole new meaning to the concept of living life on the edge.Perched above the Med, Casa del Acantilado (The Cliff House) is the latest project from weird and wacky Madrid architects GilBartolome.

xxxxxSomething of a challenge, it was created by architects Pablo Gil and Jaime Barto-lome on a 42-degree slope on the Granada coastline.Commissioned by a young couple from Madrid, ev-ery single window of the home, near Salobrena, boasts stunning views of the sea.

The state-of-the-art de-sign split over two floors features a ‘dragon-scale’ inspired curved roof, floor-to-ceiling windows and an infinity pool. Its position dug into the hillside helps the inside stay cool in the summer months and warmer in winter.“The project combined

EVEREST veteran Stephen Venables has swapped his West Country home for a pad in hilly Gaucin.The intrepid mountaineer, who found fame leading ex-peditions through the Hi-malayas, has chosen soaring Andalucian mountains over Somerset countryside.“It’s a strange irony that though I’ve spent most of my life calling myself a moun-taineer, yet this is the first time I’ve actually lived in the mountains,” revealed Ven-ables, 61.Venables and wife Rosie, from Bath, bought a pair of small, adjacent town hous-es and have knocked them through to create one larger village home.“We are reliant on the local expat community because we are only just learning how to speak Spanish,” he said.Venables found fame forg-ing a new route up Everest’s Kangshung Face and was the first Briton to summit with-out extra oxygen. He has also explored Antarctica.

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LIVING ON THE EDGEIconic Spanish architects complete innovative cliffside pad on the Andalucia coast

Up IN THE wOrLD!

Caption

Phot

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: Jes

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olive pressropertywww.theolivepress.es March 30th - April 12th 2016

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Caption

joyful living, innovative construction techniques, the return of craftsman-

ship and the cave as an en-vironmental strategy,” said Bartolome.

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...How to live like a rockstar

From Page 20

... why Hugh is in Palma

HE has set himself on fire, jumped off exploding speed-boats and thrown himself out of high-rise buildings.

I fell for that stunt!

THE Junta may be made responsible for repaying tens of millions handed out in bogus training schemes.A judge in Huelva has filed a motion demand-ing that any money that cannot be recouped in the €2 billion Edu scan-dal will have to be paid by the Junta.In an unprecedented case, he insisted the au-thorities would be re-sponsible for any com-pany or individual found guilty of taking money fraudulently that is de-clared bankrupt.The investigation cen-tres on funds allocated to training programmes for the unemployed, that mostly did not take place.Under the scheme, mil-lions were stolen in grants for bogus acad-emies, which were set up in disused buildings and merely furnished when officials were sent to in-spect.

THE BIG PAYBACK

EXCLUSIVE By Joe Duggan

Now Hollywood stuntman Peter Wicke is diving head-long into a bitter Costa court-room showdown over a dodgy multi-million film deal.Marbella-based Wicke, who has appeared in over 400 films and TV shows, is suing a Dutch expat after claiming he was scammed in a bogus partnership deal.The 48-year-old German is gunning for Dutchman Jan Herman Brink-man, who he claims took him for a bone-shaking ride.In a classic costa shakedown, he insists Brinkman’s company Jene Invest-ments owes him thousands after he entered a promised multi-million euro

deal to invest in his own film company.However, he claims Brinkman had no intention of stumping up any money for him and was merely after his own.“I am absolutely raging,” Wicke told the Olive Press. “I answered an advert in a local newspaper (not the Olive Press) offering investment in proj-ects. Next thing I am thousands out of pocket.”Wicke, who has lived on the Costa del Sol for two years, was hoping to find an investment partner for his com-

pany, Movie Television Productions International PW.Planning to produce a couple of films in Andalucia, he was naturally inter-ested when he spotted the offer of ‘safe and secure’ investment with ‘no results, no payment’.After three meetings at the end of last year, he claims he was offered a €5 million investment deal from Brink-man and his mysterious ‘business partner’ Jan Te Riet, who Wicke never met.

The plan was to set up a joint com-pany, for which he himself was asked to stump up €10,000 for legal and notary fees.In the end he handed over €2,500 be-fore he smelt a rat and went to police.

“It is a very clever crime system and has probably taken a fair few people,” insisted Wicke last night.“I have worked in Hollywood for years and nothing like this has ever hap-pened. If I see him in court I’m not sure I will be able to contain myself. “This deception has been very con-scious and calculated.”When the Olive Press confronted Brinkman about the case, last night, he declined to answer our questions.

Hollywood stuntman erupts after losing thousands in bogus €5 million Costa film deal

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FLAMING: Wicke and (right) during stunt

2 www.theolivepress.esCRimE nEWs2 www.theolivepress.es March 30th - April 12th 2016

AN AWOL estate agent want-ed for stealing a million euros and a hit and run incident has been tracked down to the Netherlands. Dutch agent Annika Elena van der Pluijm, AKA Ana Sanchez - who also faked her death - has moved to the province of Drenthe, it can be revealed.Shipping documents obtained by the Olive Press show that she and her husband Thomas van der Pluijm are now hid-ing out in Schoonebeek.Papers reveal they moved

Gotcha! Olive Press tracks down rogue estate agent wanted for a string of crimes in Holland

EXCLUSIVE By Rob Horgan

ANOTHER Irish gangster has been murdered, alleg-edly by a man working for Estepona-based Christy Kinahan. Noel ‘Kingsize’ Duggan, 55, was ambushed and shot dead in a ‘gangland-style’ attack while sat in his car outside his home in Ireland.Duggan was reportedly a key figure in Lanzarote-based Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch’s smuggling ring in the 1990s.Police are linking the at-tack to a string of mur-ders between the warring Spain-based gangs run by Hutch and by Kinahan, who is now said to have teamed up with various Russian gangs.

A PAIR of helicopters have been seized from a gang that used them for smuggling drugs from Morocco to Estepona and Algeciras.Police became suspi-cious after they spotted the same two helicop-ters repeatedly mak-ing the trip across the Straits. When they raided the owners’ properties they found a ton and a half of hashish, along with €220,000 in cash.

A ‘SEX lure’ gang has been broken up by police after a number of British tourists were duped on the Costa del Sol. A total of eight victims re-ported a gang of women after they lost a total of €50,000. The women are believed to have approached their vic-tims at a bar in Puerto Banus, promising them sex before spiking their drinks and lead-ing them to cashpoints or scamming their credit cards. When two of the women were arrested, one had a hand-held card reader in her bag.

POLICE are investigating a gunfight that was ar-ranged through WhatsApp.Two rival gangs met in a park in Granada with one 19-year-old taken to hospital suffering from a se-vere bullet wound.No arrests have yet been made, but Guardia Civil sources revealed this is not the first time a gunfight has been organised through the popular messaging app.It appears one of the gangs challenged the other to the fight in various messages, stating a time and lo-cation. Several guns were fired.

New gangland killing

Sex doesn’t pay

WHATSAPP GANGSTERS

Sky-high smugglers

their 15 Presa Canario dogs to a three-bedroom house in the town after her agency shut up in January.The 37-year-old has now been arrested by police and could be extradited back to Spain to face charges, claimed sources in the town.According to four Dutch neighbours, she has also been grilled over a similar property scam in Holland.One told the Olive Press: “Ana is wanted here for the same sort of scam. “Police arrested her just months after her return. “She has been up to this sort of thing her whole life and still can’t see what she has done wrong.”The Dutch realtor and her German husband disap-peared from their home in Almeria in January, fleeing with up to a million euros of deposits taken through her agency Inmobiliaria Partaloa,

based in Almanzora. The victims, mostly Dutch and British expats, have since set up a Facebook page, ‘Catch these Scammers’, to track her down.They claim police also want to talk to her over a hit-and-run incident which left a British man with ‘life-changing inju-ries’ last October.A woman matching her de-scription fled the scene after running over a group of cyclists near Cantoria, in Almeria.

FOUND: Dutch dog duper and (above) our story

2

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the Olive Press November 14th - 25th 2016CRIME NEWS

2 www.theolivepress.es

February 17th - March 1st 2016

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to inves-tigate the case of missing Scot-tish expat Lisa Brown.The mother-of-one’s disap-pearance in November was raised at Prime Minister’s Questions by Martin Do-cherty, Scottish National Party MP for Dunbartonshire West.“I will certainly look into this case, and make sure the Eu-rope Minister meets with him (Docherty) to make sure everything is done for Lisa’s family as soon as possible,” said Cameron.Lisa’s boyfriend, Liverpudlian businessman Simon Corner, also disappeared days after Lisa, but later released a state-ment, allegedly from Thai-land, claiming he was ‘inno-cent’ and would meet police.However, his former legal advisor, reformed UK crimi-nal Jason Coghlan, claims he missed the appointment after arriving in Spain three weeks ago.

“As far as I know he is now a missing person,” he told the Olive Press.It comes after Lisa’s brother Craig Douglas said he believed Corner’s visit was a ‘hoax’.

Cameron’s pledge for Lisa

AN estate agent has vanished leaving dozens of expats up to a million euros out of pocket. Dutch realtor Annika Elena van der Pluijm is alleged to have taken deposits of at least €750,000 on properties before disappearing with the money. The group of mostly Dutch and British buyers have now been forced to take legal ac-tion after the company of-fice, in Almanzora, Almeria, closed without warning.They have also launched a Facebook page ‘Catch these scammers’ in a bid to locate van der Pluijm, who has also been using the name Ana Sanchez.Victims of her agency In-mobiliaria Partaloa told the Olive Press that ‘at least six’ official denuncias have been filed with police so far.One British victim, who asked not to be named, insisted they would ‘not rest until she is caught’. “She has ruined so many lives,” said the 55-year-old,

Agent on the runSearch on for rogue estate agent who has vanished with up to a million euros in deposits

A FAILED hit on the son of an Estepona gangster has sparked a violent drug war in Ireland.Two men have so far died af-ter four gangsters, dressed as policemen, tried to assassinate Daniel Kinahan at the weigh-in of a boxing title fight in Dublin.Kinahan - son of Estepona gang boss Christy Kinahan - who is closely linked to the MGM gym in Marbella that organised the fight, was forced to escape through a window of the Re-gency Hotel.He was allegedly the main tar-get of the shooting, which led to the death of David ‘Happy Harry’ Byrne.A revenge attack days later saw Eddie Hutch Snr - the brother of Lanzarote-based mob boss Gerry ‘the Monk’ Hutch - killed in his home by four gunmen.

And about time too!THE disgraced mayor of Alhaurin el Grande has finally stepped down after years of corruption.Juan Martin Seron (right) finally accepted his days were numbered after a vote of no-confi-dence was tabled for this week by all rival par-ties, including the PP, PSOE and the IU.

He has been serving Por Alhaurin as a mayor since a ban from public office end-ed in 2014.He was banned under the Casa Troya case for taking bribes for building contracts and was caught soliciting €122,000 from a builder in return for planning permission.

who is currently renting in nearby Cuevas de Almanzora. “So many of us have lost our savings to this scam.”He has lost €9,500, while the group together has lost over €750,000.“And more and more victims keep coming forward so we expect it to go up rapidly,” he continued. “We are set to launch a joint action against Annika shortly.”The Olive Press has discov-ered that Ana’s German hus-band Thomas van der Pluijm - AKA Thomas Dollekes - has also not been seen since the end of January.Both he and the couple’s two young sons and her parents

have all vacated the big rural property they were sharing in La Hoya, near Cantoria.Over a dozen Presa Canario dogs, which they breed, have also been removed from the property.The couple are understood to have ‘business interests’ in France and Hungary with group members believing she has skipped the country.

Ironically, Van der Pluijm pub-licly supported our K.O. the Kickbacks campaign to stop the practice of backhanders be-ing taken between lawyers and agents, declaring herself as an ‘ethical estate agent’.However, when the Olive Press attempted to contact her this week she failed to respond to emails and her phone was switched off.

A DUTCH woman and a Sen-egalese man were found dead at a property in Estepona’s Don Pedro Urbanisation.The woman, 54, had multiple stab wounds and the man, 30, had slashed veins which have led police to believe the woman was a victim of gender violence and the man killed himself.Post mortem results pending.

Expat deathsEXCLUSIVE By Rob Horgan

GANG WAR

VANISHED: Van der Pluijm and (inset) husband Tom

FEUD: Monk and Christy Kinahan

Last month the Olive Press revealed that Van der Pluijm staged her own death in 2014 to escape a string of debts incurred through a dog breeding company Maricopa Presa. So far ‘at least six’ official de-nuncias have been filed with police in Spain.A spokesman for Dutch police refused to confirm or deny she had been arrested, claim-ing ‘due to privacy laws’ they cannot comment.

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FAULTY TOWERS: Cameron

Was it a knockdown price, Dave?

LED Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant is land-ing in Marbella with his Sensational Space Shift-ers.The former wildman is set to headline at this year’s Starlite Festival, alongside Tom Jones and Carlos Santana.The legendary singer will play the Marbella Auditorium in Nagueles on July 16, while Santa-na plays on July 24 and Tom Jones on August 1.In 2014, Plant cancelled his upcoming Spanish tour citing ‘exhaustion’.

Hook, line and sinker

AFTER spending winter in the dock, Princess Cristina has docked in the Far East on an exotic holiday to Cambodia and Vietnam.Despite an ongoing multi-mil-lion corruption case, disgraced royal Cristina and husband Ina-

Handcuffs to Hanoi

the 1991 building plan. A judge ruled that the ten-swimming pool ‘mon-strosity’ exceeded both capacity and

height rules and ‘does not fit in with the landscape’.However, the hotel which was built

in 2006, has so far avoided demo-lition, despite flaunting these and various other regulations.

Either way, Cameron seemed oblivi-ous as he ate paella on Thursday while alone for 24 hours before his

Cameron beds down in Lanzarote hotel that has been illegal since 2007

BEAM MEUP ROBBIE

NOTHING like a spot of cricket after lunch.And even better when it is served up by none other than John Lennon.Previously unseen photo-graphs of the Beatles star in Spain are set to fetch €45,000 at auction. The set of 200 rare im-ages show Lennon fooling around on the set of 1966 war film How I Won the War, which was filmed in Almeria.It comes just weeks after the

PLANT: Marbs gig

HE should probably know better… or at least his advi-sors should.British Prime Minister Da-vid Cameron has been stay-ing at an illegal hotel on his latest sojourn to Spain.The Conservative leader will have hopefully got a knock-down price at a hotel in Lan-zarote that should have been knocked down years ago.In his seventh visit to Spain in as many years, he booked his family into the contro-versial Hotel Gran Castillo, in Playa Blanca, which has infringed numerous laws.The five-star hotel’s build-ing permit was cancelled by the Canary Islands Supreme Court in 2007 for breaching

EXCLUSIVE By Iona Napier

Olive Press tracked down a series of stolen negatives from Lennon’s wedding day with Yoko Ono in Gibraltar. Filmed in Cabo de Gata, the World War Two film was, in the end, not very well re-ceived by critics. But judging by the photos that didn’t stop a 26-year-old Lennon from having a good time. He also happened to write a little known ditty Straw-berry Fields Forever while staying here.

In the stunning set of photos he is shown laughing with cast members including Roy Kinnear as well as indulging in a spot of cricket. The collection of 35mm negatives went under the hammer on March 22 at Omega Auction House in Cheshire.

wife Samantha arrived on Friday. It gave him ‘time to think’ as he told a press con-ference.

FavouriteCameron is fond of this part of the world, having stayed around the corner in San Bartolome, two years ago, when he got stung by a jel-lyfish.Indeed, the country has be-come a firm favourite for the Camerons, who have en-joyed breaks in Granada and Mallorca, while the Olive Press revealed he holidayed twice in Ronda, before he became Prime Minister.The town hall believes the UK PM’s visit advertising val-ue of more than €1.2 million.

Lunch before wicket

ki Urdangarin, have found the money to rent a luxurious five-star hotel with

their four children.They have a month’s leave from the Noos case in which they are ac-cused of embezzling €6 million.The family spent several days at

the luxurious Hotel Vedana Lagoon

spa resort in central Vietnam (above), before taking a private tour around the rest of the country and Cambodia.It was a long-awaited reunion for the family, as they had been ordered to stay in Mallorca for the trial while their four children aged 10 to 16 were at school in Geneva.

PLANT: Marbs gig

FAULTY TOWERS: For Dave

PALS: Hook and Fergie

SARAH Ferguson is the lat-est in a long line of art lovers to get Hooked.The Duchess of York and Gi-braltar’s very own art legend, Christian Hook, had great success fundraising together in London last week.The two friends were on hand for a private auction in May-fair, which raised €44,000 for the charity Children in Crisis. Among the items to be auctioned were Hook’s 2014 portrait of Fergie, which fetched thousands.HAPPY: Royals

nEWs in bRiEF

nEWs4

Green giant felledSPANISH energy com-pany Abengoa has filed for bankruptcy protec-tion in the United States as it looks for a plan to restructure billions in debts.

Expat exodusAROUND 100 Brit-ish expats a day are quitting Spain and heading back to Blighty ahead of June’s Brexit vote, new figures show.

Jihadi spotTEACHERS in Spain are to be trained in how to spot signs of radicalised children in the wake of recent ISIS terrorist attacks in Eu-rope.

Zika updateTHE total number of reported cases of the zika virus in Spain has leapt to 58, with the vast majority of the cases reported in the north of the country.

Hidden agenda?RUSSIAN naval activity in the straits has become ‘a mat-ter of concern’, admitted the Gibraltar government.It comes after it emerged that leader Vladimir Putin’s ves-sels are stopping off at least 10 times a year at the Spanish north African enclave of Ceu-ta, just 68 km from the Rock.It has led to a stinging rebuke from a group of MEPs over Russia’s use of Ceuta as a regular refuelling base for its submarines, destroyers and frigates since 2011.Some 11 MEPs complained to the European Commission that it amounted to a breach of the EU’s sanctions against Putin for his annexation of the Crimea.A spokesman for the govern-ment told the Olive Press: “The use of a Spanish port by the Russians when Spain is a

EXCLUSIVE By Joe Duggan

March 30th - April 12th 2016

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THE many different nation-alities of Marbella will join together in the resort’s first United Nations of Marbella seminar in April.Hosted by TV show Marbella Now, the summit takes place on April 5 at Laude Interna-tional College.The purpose is to give resi-dents of all nationalities a plat-form to have their voice heard on various issues ranging from sustainable living to charity and integration with the Span-ish community.To register visit www.marbel-laazul.com.

United Nations of Marbella

NATO ally must be a matter of concern.”However, he added: “The

defence of Gibraltar is the constitutional responsibility of the United Kingdom and so is any matter related to the presence of Russian submarines in this area.”Spanish diplo-matic sources have claimed the stops are ‘routine mari-time activities and never mil-itary activity.’The Russian stop-offs are granted by the Spanish Foreign Min-istry on a case by case basis and bring around €1 million a year to Ceuta’s economy.This behaviour has not been supported in the US, with one Washington-based think tank, The Heritage Founda-

tion, describing Spain’s will-ingness to allow the Russian military to operate so close to Gibraltar as ‘a potential secu-

rity problem’.“This behavior is un-

becoming of 21st-century NATO allies,” it said. “The topog-raphy of Gi-braltar makes i n t e l l i g e n c e gathering a core function.

“Having Rus-sian submarines

resupply mere miles away presents

a potential intelligence and security problem for the U.S. and its allies.”Neither the British Ministry of Defence or Foreign Office were able to comment as we went to press.

THREE more Junta bosses are being hauled before a judge over the €855 million ERE scandal.Judge Alvaro Martin sum-moned Gaspar Zarrias, Car-men Martinez Aguayo and Antonio Avila to answer questions over their role in the slush-fund fraud.The move came a week after two former Junta leaders appeared in a Sevilla court over the biggest public mon-ey fraud in Spanish history.Manuel Chaves and Jose Antonio Grinan were grilled over their involvement in the misappropriation of funds, which were intend-ed for retired workers and struggling companies.Between 2001 and 2008 under Chaves's presidency more than €576 million was diverted into a so-called ‘reptile fund’, which was used for family and friends of Junta bosses.However, at the hearing he insisted he had never been involved in any illegal de-cisions while boss of the Junta. Grinan also claimed the same.

ERE three called

A PRIVATE company has forked out €1.6 million to take control of the Caminito del Rey in El Chorro.The walkway, dubbed the ‘world’s deadliest’, has been leased by Malaga City Council to construction firm Hermanos Campano for four years from April 20.The company currently runs visits to the Roman theatre in Malaga, one of the city’s top tourist at-tractions.

PRICEY PLANKS

MURKY WATERS: Putin’s forces docking in Spanish-owned Ceuta

Gibraltar government ‘concerned’ over Vladimir Putin’s unofficial Mediterranean navy base

www.theolivepress.es nEWs 5March 30th - April 12th 2016

THE opening phase of the coast’s first wave power installation has been completed.Israeli firm Eco Wave Power completed the 100kw device on Gibraltar’s Ammunition Jetty earlier this month.Once completed, the wave power plant will provide the Rock with 15% of its power needs.Testing on the plant is now un-derway and the wave installation is expected to be fully operational by the end of April.The next phase will expand the commercial scale power plant to

5kw.Health Minister Dr John Cortes told the Olive Press: “It’s a source of clean, renewable energy and it will potentially play a significant role in helping us to meet our EU commitments in this respect.“It will also serve to put Gibral-tar on the map as a leader in the deployment of innovative ma-rine technologies.”Eco Wave Power has received European Union funding for the scheme, which will help the Rock meet its 2020 renewable energy targets.

A big splashA PAIR of generous expats are hoping to feed 40 hungry schoolchildren for a year.Jojo France and Dorte Isolas are hosting a ‘family funday’ to raise funds, with around €8,000 of the €12,000 target already pledged.They hope the event, at Kidd-ibank nursery, in San Roque, on April 22, will help provide a daily packed lunch for chil-dren in Estepona who eat just once a day at the local soup kitchen.

Presents“For the last three years we have been collecting christ-mas presents for the children who eat at the soup kitchen,” said Jojo, 46, a personal trainer, from Birmingham. “But I was shocked when I realised these 40 high prior-ity kids don’t eat for the rest of the day. They don’t get a breakfast or lunch.”She added there were at least 400 other children on the coast who don’t eat until the evening.The funday will involve 12 challenges, from physical exercises to mental puzzles, with prizes for the highest-scoring team.Face painting, cake stalls, golf experts and a bouncy castle will also be on hand.Contact the Duquesa Chari-table Society of St George at www.dcso-stgeorge.com for more info.

Feeding the forty

A CONCERNED mother has slammed Malaga airport for failing to do basic security checks.Marbella-based Hayley Malli, 38, was shocked when her

A DOUBLE-amputee had a sour end to his Spanish holiday when he was told he would have to crawl on to the plane.Matthew Parkes was ‘made to feel like a second-class citizen’ after Ryanair gate staff at Malaga airport told him ‘to drag himself down two ramps, a set of stairs, across tarmac and up the steps of the plane’.The father-of-three, 38, refused and was then carried the full length of the plane on a stretcher chair in front of all other passengers.Parkes, from Manchester, who had both legs and part of a hand amputated last year after falling ill with sep-sis, is lodging a formal complaint.

KEEP US SAFE!

Security concerns at Malaga airport after expat boards plane with razor and ‘massive’ pair of scissors


16-year-old daughter passed through security with a razor, tweezers and various liquids.

She also carried a ‘massive’ pair of scissors in a pencil case.“Security didn’t even check her bag,” Malli told the Olive Press, last night.“She didn’t realise she wasn’t allowed to take them but it is very worrying that so many forbidden items can get through.” The mother-of-two, who runs a restaurant in Marbella, con-tinued: “I have been flying in and out of that airport for some 36 years and it’s always been the same.“In the UK they are so much tighter, while here it is often laughable. It concerns me with all the recent terrorist attacks in Belgium and Paris.”Meanwhile pensioner Barry Gorst revealed that he had formally complained to the airport for ‘a total lack of se-curity’ in the arrival halls.

Harassed“It took eight minutes for the information desk to find a security guard when I was being harassed by a drunk waiting for a friend on Sun-day night,” said the former estate agent.“Barcelona is teeming with armed police and I am wor-ried that the Costa del Sol will be targeted this summer,” added the expat, who has lived in Spain for 35 years.The news comes as Spain’s Interior Minister Jorge Fer-nandez Diaz announced air-port security will be ramped up following the ISIS terrorist attack in Brussels last week.However, the national terror alert will not be stepped up from level four - the highest level since the 2006 Madrid bombings which killed 191.Malaga airport press office told the Olive Press this was ‘a government matter’.

Double amputee had to crawl to plane

POWER: Eco wave project

Caption

SPAIN would lose €3.6 bil-lion a year in revenue if it bans bullfighting, the Nation-al Association of Bullfight-ing Organizers (ANOET) has claimed.The figures are based on esti-mated lost ticket revenue and the 199,000 jobs connected to the controversial tradition.It is believed Madrid alone would lose €244 million, with some 900,000 people visiting the capital’s iconic Las Ventas bullring last year.

Bull fever

66August 6th - August 19th 2015www.theolivepress.esFEatuREwww.theolivepress.es6

OPINION

Tel: 951 273 575 (admin) Accounts: 658 750 424 Sales: 692 725 475or [email protected] or [email protected] campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the hugeexpatriate community in southern Spain - 200,000 copies distributed monthly(130,000 digitally) with an estimated readership, including the website, ofmore than 500,000 people a month.

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Tighten upSECURITY lapses are often discovered when it’s too late.Belgium certainly learnt this the hard way this month - as did the world as we watched agog - and the shocking events brought into sharp relief airport security everywhere.We have been lucky enough to spot some lapses in Malaga air-port’s security before any serious or tragic events took place.It is not the first time, with one of our journalists getting on a flight recently without showing his passport once.So let’s funnel the resources into the places where they are desperately needed: more security staff in Spain’s biggest airports, and tougher, more stringent security bag checks.Who would argue for scrimping and saving in the fight against terror?

BREXIT- Your vote mattersDo you qualify?

OverseasUK nationals who have been registered to vote in the UK within the last 15 years can vote in UK Parliamentary General Elections, UK-wide referendums, and European Parliamentary elections.

RegisterYou will need to know you National Insurance number and date of birth, and have your passport to hand if you have one. If you dont have a Nacional Insurance number you can still register, but may have to supply more information to show who you are.DeclareYou have to sign an annual declaration once you have regis-tered to renew your registration every year. So if you were registered to vote for the 2015 General Elections you will have to renew your registration with your local Electoral Registration Officer in the UK or register again.

VoteYou can choose how you wish to vote. You can vote by post, by proxy (voting by appointing someone you trust to vote on your behalf ), or even in person at your polling station.

www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

IT’S a murky form of modern-day piracy that has netted millions for its practitioners. But it’s not treasure that has

enticed these 21st century Spanish brigands. It’s fish.The hunt for the precious ome-ga 3-rich Patagonian toothfish - known as ‘white gold’ - can yield an incredible €73 million in a single season’s haul. Described by celebrated food critic AA Gill as the ‘most utterly delicious fish’, it is understand-ably big business, but also highly illegal, akin to hunting the critically endangered rhino or gorilla. So critical has become its pro-tection that only tiny shoals are left and figures such as Prince Charles have helped to launch campaigns to protect them. And despite thousands of res-taurants around the world re-fusing to serve it up, industrial scale fishing somehow still con-tinues… and its worse culprits are a Galician gang, that thank-fully has been finally snared af-ter a decade of evading justice.The detention of six members of the Vidal family after an investigation by Interpol and Spanish police was greeted with delight by environmen-talists around the world this month.

DoggedlyFishing baron Antonio Vidal ‘Tono’ Pego and his father Antonio Vidal ‘Tucho el Coyo’ Suárez have been doggedly pursued across the seven seas by Sea Shepherd, a brave, little known marine wildlife conser-vation group.Indeed, it was largely thanks to the bravery of one of its sailors, Captain Siddharth Chakravarty that these two pirates were fi-nally brought to justice.A 110-day chase of the Vidal supership Thunder by Chakra-varty, last year, became the longest in maritime history.“For years, the Vidal crime syn-dicate have destroyed the vul-nerable toothfish populations in the shadowlands of Antarc-tica, using the blurriness in international law to hide their involvement,” Chakravarty told the Olive Press from the South China Sea, this week.“This is now thankfully coming to an end.”The Spanish high court has said the family form a ‘criminal organisation’ and they have hit the Vidals with €17.84m in fines.This sad tragic story has its roots in the insatiable Spanish desire for fish. In 2013, Spaniards devoured more than 26kg of fish, behind only Portugal in Europe and close to Japanese levels of con-sumption.

EnD oF thE linEA brave pursuit by ecologists could finally spell the end of one of Spain’s top fishing gangs, writes Joe Duggan

And their enormous appetite for fish shows no signs of stop-ping, with this month plans be-ing unveiled for a controversial 65-hectare site near Zamora which would house the ‘biggest farmed salmon factory in the world’.Meanwhile, Galicia accounts for 50% of Spain’s fishing in-dustry, with overnight lorries t r a n s p o r t i n g fish hundreds of miles from Vigo to Mercamadrid, the world’s sec-ond largest fish market. As Spanish stocks have de-pleted, its fisher-men have been forced further out to sea.But Galicia’s misty docks also have a long association with nautical skulduggery. During the 1980s the local criminal fraternity, capitalising on the area’s links to South America (forged when poverty-struck

Galicians were forced to emi-grate) turned the coastal area into one of the main portals for Europe’s drug trade. Antonio Vidal Suárez was born in 1952 with the region’s cold Atlantic brine flowing through his veins. Raised in Riviera, Spain’s most important inland fishing port, he learned his trade from his father, a local

shipowner. When his father died, Antonio set up his own trawler com-pany. His son Antonio, Tono, a highly-intelli-gent man with a business de-gree and flu-ent in English,

became his trusted right-hand man in their company Ribeiro Vidal Armadores. The company operated local trawlers and although things went swimmingly to start with things got tougher for Galicia’s

fishermen after Spain joined the European Union in 1986, when already depleted fish stocks were finally protected by the imposition of fishing quotas.This was bad news for the Vidals.Realising the family business needed to expand or die, they teamed up with Antonio Perez, a fellow Riviera fisherman who had worked in the lucrative toothfish industry off the coast of Argentina.“If you go back to the 80s and 90s off the Falklands, Spain has always had a hand in the toothfish industry,” Captain Chakravarty told the Olive Press from his boat, currently in the South China Seas, chas-ing a band of illegal shark fish-erman.“When the Spanish fishing business started to collapse it seemed like a really good business to go into. The Vidals had the money to stay one step ahead.”With toothfish in plentiful sup-ply in French waters in the

MARIO ALEGRIA

MATTERSMADRIDTIME is running out

and none of the ma-jor political parties have any type of di-

rection as to where they are going. April 29 seems to be the deadline day for the parties to try to pull together a co-alition government that can run Spain for the next four years.But after more than 90 days since the December 20 elections left a fractured parliament and an ungov-ernable state, the four major political forces have refused to budge on their positions. The Socialists will once again try to convince left-ist Podemos to join its pact

stalematePolitical uncertainty continues in Madrid with major parties at loggerheads

with the centre right Ciudada-nos party. But Podemos wants too much power in any future govern-ment, which the Socialists are not willing to yield. At the same time, Podemos don't want Ciudadanos to be included in the pact.So then what? The ruling Popular Party, the govern-ment which is in a transition-al stage, is still opting for the great pact between Ciudada-

nos and PSOE. The problem is that neither party wants Mariano Rajoy to continue as prime minister in which he insists. There have even been calls within the PP that he must step aside. We are all back to square one. The political parties don't seem to be too concerned that the gruelling process will have to continue, even after the next elections, if there is

no real winner. The 2016 budgets have been passed so we seemed covered for the rest of the year.Not really a fine way of look-ing at things.But politicians want to play politics, it is part of their blood. They must broker that tiny compromise before they can satisfactorily say they hammered out deal.


9

GREEN NEWSMarch 16th - March 29th 2016

Mijas Golf

HOUSE CLEARANCES.....CALL NOW!!!

DANGEROUS rivers in Este-pona will finally be cleaned up. Aiming to be more ‘environ-mentally friendly’, Estepona

Town Hall has pledged to eliminate waste water from beaches and rivers. It comes after the Olive Press

revealed that two rivers in the town were an environ-mental threat. Following an Olive Press in-vestigation, a strand of the

killer E-Coli bacteria was detected in the Arroyo del Hornacinos, a stream often played in by children, last May. The town hall faced yet an-other probe into a dangerous

river, when levels of methane had been detected in the Ar-royo Judio, in El Padro. An EU investigation last

summer found that waste being pumped into the river caused it to be a fire risk as

as well as a typhoid h e a l t h hazard. D e s p i t e a subse-quent Guardia Civil investigation, both riv-ers are yet to be treated. However, the town hall has now announced a project to remove all waste water and improve on the current sew-age system.

Spring clean in Estepona

A WEALTHY family of fishing barons has been detained for poaching a protected species. In total, six people are being held on charges of illegally fishing Patagonian toothfish in Antarctic waters. Five of them are members of the Vidal family who run Ri-beiro Vidal Armadores and have a previous record of ille-gal fishing. The arrests took place follow-ing an Interpol and Spanish police raid on Vidal-owned property in Galicia, where the

Netted, at last

Spanish ‘pirate’ family behind bars for poaching fish

By Rob Horganfamily owns a factory produc-ing Omega-3 products. It comes after the final ship in the suspected poaching fleet Bandidos 6 was successfully sunk by environmental group Sea Shepherd. The fish, which is rich in Ome-ga-3 fatty acids, is known as ‘white gold’ in the industry as it can sell for as much as €130 per kilo. A large catch can be worth as much as €50 million.

“This is the first time Span-ish police and Interpol have joined forces against illegal fishing in a joint action,” said Lasse Gustavsson, executive director of the NGO Oceana in Europe. “This announce-ment is a watershed moment in the fight to eradicate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing of our oceans.”The high court is now in-volved and criminal proceed-ings are said to be underway. A police spokesman said that at his time of arrest Antonio

Vidal did not deny fishing in the Antarctic. Vidal has already been con-victed in the USA for attempt-ing to smuggle toothfish. His vessels have been blacklisted but the ships have been renamed and reflagged in countries such as Equatorial Guinea, Maurita-nia and Panama to evade the au-thorities. In 2015 Spain’s agriculture min-istry imposed fines of over €17 million on three of Vidal’s vessels.

FREE Vol. 9 Issue 214 www.theolivepress.es May 28th - June 10th 2015

olive press

the The original and only English-language


STILL THE ‘BEST NEWSPAPER IN ANDALUCIA’ ACCORDING TO THE NEW ROUGH GUIDE

Let HiFX help you reach your destination.www.hifx.co.uk

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based in Las AlpujarrasFind us on facebook.com/alpusat.alpujarra

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•

UK TV SolutionsNo contract IPTVSatellite TV

A DEADLY bacteria has been

found in an Estepona river.

A strand of the killer E-Coli

bacteria has been detected in

the Arroyo del Hornacinos,

a stream often played in by

children.

River of shameEstepona Town Hall fails to clean

up a deadly river often played in by

children

EXCLUSIVE By Rob HorganResidents of the neighbouring

Villas Andaluzas are now call-

ing in the Guardia Civil’s envi-

ronmental arm Seprona, after

written complaints to the town

hall came to nothing.They insist that the area is

overrun with rats and mos-

quitos and the town hall has

been completely ‘inactive’ de-

spite receiving the first report

in April. Independent analysis of the

water shows that the river

poses a serious health risk

and could be fatal.A report from Laboratorio

Rafael Perez Rodriguez stated

that the quantities of ‘coli-

forms’ were so high that there

were ‘too many’ to count. E-Coli can cause vomiting,

diarrhoea, liver disease and

worse.“It is an absolute disgrace

and worse, a serious health

hazard,” said British resident

Sam Hall, 78. He added: “It’s especially

worrying because we have

seen children playing near

the water where it flows into

the sea.“If anyone were to be struck

down, it would be a national

scandal.” Hall and his wife Susanna,

from Surrey, as well as vari-

ous neighbours, have submit-

ted a number of formal com-

plaints to the town hall. In response, a town hall

spokesman told the couple

Mayor Jose Urbano was

‘aware of the problem’ and it

would be ‘sorted out’. However, when a clean up

was finally ‘promised’ for May

18, nothing happened. “They say one thing to keep

you happy and then do noth-

TOWIE star Elliot Wright launches a no-holds-barred column on Page 3 before we grill him on our food pages. See The Wright Stuff on Pages 54-55

Arty tapas is the special of the day in a new column from former Michelin-starred

TV chef Steven Saunders. See Page 49

TV presenter Nick Knowles and stunning wife Jessica lift the lid on their escape to Soto-grande on Page 3

What is E-Coli? E-Coli is a type of fecal

coliform bacteria usually

found in the intestines of

animals and humans. Its presence in water is a

strong indication of re-cent sewage or animal

waste contamination. When the bacteria lives in

animal or human intesti-nal tracts it is harmless. However when it appears

in inadequately treated

water it produces a toxin

which is harmful and po-tentially fatal to humans.

THE winds of change

have truly blown in as

dozens of anti-corruption

parties made substantial

gains in town halls across

Spain.Voters made clear they

are ready to ditch Spain’s

traditional two-party

system as new parties

Podemos and Ciudada-

nos performed well at re-

gional and local elections

on Sunday.All over the country the

governing PP lost abso-

lute majorities, meaning

it will have to pact with,

at least, one other party

to form legitimate gov-

ernments. Some of the big mayors in

danger include Marbel-

la’s Angeles Munoz and

Malaga’s Francisco de la

Torre.See A Spring of Change,

on Pages 4 and 5

Musical chairs

ing about it,” Hall added.“On hot days the smell is so

unbearable that we are un-

able to sit out in our garden.”

Ironically, Estepona was re-

cently honoured with a Green

Flag Award for boosting envi-

ronmental awareness.Estepona Town Hall failed to

respond to Olive Press ques-

tions.

Which ageing costa DJ’s

show was cancelled after he crashed his new €60,000 Range Rover into the studio’s front door?

NOTNOT

BUT

A REAL DOG DAY

ELECTION LATEST

31

2

CONCERNED: Resident Sam Hall at river’s bank

HOT CELEBRITY EXCLUSIVES THIS ISSUE

FISHY BUSINESS: Antonio Vidal

HOOKED: Toothfish

SPAIN’S nuclear power sta-tions are close to completing vital safety enhancements put in place after Japan’s 2011 Fukushima disaster.The measures were intro-duced in 2012 by the Europe-an Nuclear Safety Regulators Group following a European Council report.Work to protect Spanish plants from natural disasters including earthquakes and floods is now 80% complete.Extra cooling systems have been added, and a central emergency support unit set up.

Unforeseen“Nuclear power plants are solidly prepared to face un-foreseen events at their de-sign bases," said a statement from Spain’s nuclear industry body Foronuclear.”

Nuclear activity

SAFER: Plants

THE USA has confirmed it will not negotiate the nuclear clean-up in Palo-mares until Spain has a government.Radioactive contamination from the plane collision in 1966 was not tackled suf-ficiently and after decades of protests, John Kerry fi-nally agreed to find a solu-tion ‘as soon as possible’ in October 2015.But the US government has now confirmed it won’t negotiate until the Span-ish government has been formed - a process which could take months.And the US presidential elections could stall the process further.The clean-up is thought to cost €640 million which will be paid by both Spain and the USA.

Clean-up on hold

DELAYED: Solution

LUCRATIVE: Chilean sea bass and (inset left) Captain Chakravarty

Vidal suarez was born with galicia’s cold atlantic brine

flowing in his veins

Johan’s legacy‘Winning is an important thing,’ said Johan Cruyff. ‘But to have your own style. That is the greatest thing.’ Cruyff had both. And in the pantheon of football giants, the Dutch master was utterly unique. Cruyff not only conquered all as a player, he went on to become a managerial great. It wasn’t just the four La Liga titles in a row and the 1992 European Cup he brought to the Nou Camp.It is difficult to overstate Cruyff’s influence and impor-tance to the modern Barcelona team.In setting up La Masia, the Dutchman embedded his swashbuckling style deep in Barcelona’s DNA.His legacy lives in the Camp Nou team to this day. Renam-ing the stadium in his honour would be a fitting tribute.

77August 6th - August 19th 2015www.theolivepress.esFEatuREwww.theolivepress.es 7

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EnD oF thE linESouthern Ocean, Vidal went into partnership with a French company to exploit them. However the lucrative business eventually soured at the hands of the authorities, which is when the Vidals opted to go out on their own, completely illegally.“I am not a pirate,” said Suarez when confronted about his ac-tions by a journalist a few years ago. “Legal fishermen can say whatever they like and accuse whomever they want. Why? Be-cause they don’t want anyone else to catch those fish. Who is the pirate here? Me or them?”To conservationists, however, their form of fishing was a blight on the ocean, with tooth-fish more susceptible to inten-sive fishing as they take longer to mature. “The Vidals’ vessels used pro-hibited gill nets,” continued Chakravarty. “They stay at the bottom of the sea for a day and a half. This goes on for months and months until the sea is wiped dry. This has caused dam-age that will never be repaired.”Originally popular in Russia and Ukraine only, by the 1990s toothfish become fashionable

in the USA and Asia. New York’s Four Seasons hotel put it on the menu, with one fish alone fetching up to €885. By now, the delicacy was clev-erly rebranded as Chilean sea bass. But as its popularity grew, over-fishing made toothfish an en-dangered species.Not that this mattered to the Vidals, who didn’t accept the illegality of their actions. Their refusal to bow to maritime law reached an as-tonishing head in 2003.Between August 7 and 28 one of Vidal’s boats, the Viarsa, was pursued 4,000 miles across the Southern Ocean by Australian pa-trol boat South-ern Supporter. It was one of the longest chases in maritime history.With Perez at the Viarsa’s helm, the ship veered straight into a monstrous storm and had to change course for Ant-arctica. Huge waves threat-

ened to rip the Viarsa to pieces but Perez was not about to surrender his €900,000 cargo of toothfish without a chase.Despite 75-mph winds and narrowly avoiding some 70 ice-bergs, Perez led his 41-strong crew on a kamikaze journey. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Stephen Duffy, the Australian Customs officer

who was lead-ing the patrol. “The blue co-lour streaking through the icebergs was something to behold, I never imagined we’d see so many.”Finally, the Vi-arsa was cor-nered in the

South Atlantic Ocean as ships from Britain and South Africa joined the pursuit. But to the anger of all three countries, Perez and his crew walked free from charges of illegal fishing in an Australian

court due to a lack of evidence.

Back in Riviera, the Vidals celebrated their re-

lease with a firework display and, no doubt, lots of fine Alba-rino wine.However, the family were soon in trouble again. In May 2004, Tono Vidal at-tempted to import 53 tonnes of toothfish into Miami. Using fake documents and working through a Uruguayan-based company, Fadilur, Tono hoped to sell the fish on the American market.But when the false documents were uncovered by US agents, Interpol issued an arrest war-rant. Desperate, Tono reached out to the FBI to strike a deal. The Spaniard avoided 20 years in prison by agreeing to inform on other tooth fishermen. Pleading guilty, he received a €357,000 fine and four years’ probation, the first Spanish pi-rate convicted in the USA.International pressure began

to grow on the Vidal clan.Greenpeace lobbied Zapa-tero’s then socialist govern-ment to move against the fam-ily’s operations. But nothing was done and in 2011, Greenpeace produced a leaflet called Tono, which ac-cused the government of pro-tecting him.“Spain not only hasn’t acted against him, despite receiving international pressure, it has supported him,” said a spokes-person.“They have even interceded on his behalf and given grants worth millions.”Incredibly, the government had even gone the other way, ac-tually supporting the Galician gangsters.Greenpeace estimated that Vidal Armadores had received €16 million in grants from the government and the Galician Junta. Commentators estimat-ed backhanders. But the net was closing on the Vidal crew.In 2015, Spanish police and

“the blue colour streaking through the icebergs was

something to behold”

SCUTTLED: Vidal vessels with (left circle) Tono and (above right) Antonio

Interpol launched Operation Sparrow to snare the fam-ily. Spain’s agriculture ministry also levied €15 million fines against three of Vidal’s boats.In February 2016, one of these, the Kunlun, attempted to offload its illegal haul of tooth-fish in Senegal while sailing un-der a false name. Its crew was arrested. Altogether, three of Vidal’s ships have been successfully pursued by Sea Shepherd.The culmination of the opera-tion was the arrest this month of Tono and Tucho el Coyo, plus brothers and sisters Angel, Bel-en and her husband Joaquín Manuel Pérez.“We haven’t seen the details of the charges yet, but these are now criminal proceedings and could lead to jail sentences, not just fines,” says Elvira Jimé-nez, the head of Greenpeace Spain’s oceans campaign.Spain’s most notorious pirate family could finally have been sunk.


9

GREEN NEWSMarch 16th - March 29th 2016

Mijas Golf


DANGEROUS rivers in Este-pona will finally be cleaned up. Aiming to be more ‘environ-mentally friendly’, Estepona

Town Hall has pledged to eliminate waste water from beaches and rivers. It comes after the Olive Press

revealed that two rivers in the town were an environ-mental threat. Following an Olive Press in-vestigation, a strand of the

killer E-Coli bacteria was detected in the Arroyo del Hornacinos, a stream often played in by children, last May. The town hall faced yet an-other probe into a dangerous

river, when levels of methane had been detected in the Ar-royo Judio, in El Padro. An EU investigation last

summer found that waste being pumped into the river caused it to be a fire risk as

as well as a typhoid h e a l t h hazard. D e s p i t e a subse-quent Guardia Civil investigation, both riv-ers are yet to be treated. However, the town hall has now announced a project to remove all waste water and improve on the current sew-age system.

Spring clean in Estepona

A WEALTHY family of fishing barons has been detained for poaching a protected species. In total, six people are being held on charges of illegally fishing Patagonian toothfish in Antarctic waters. Five of them are members of the Vidal family who run Ri-beiro Vidal Armadores and have a previous record of ille-gal fishing. The arrests took place follow-ing an Interpol and Spanish police raid on Vidal-owned property in Galicia, where the

Netted, at last

Spanish ‘pirate’ family behind bars for poaching fish

By Rob Horganfamily owns a factory produc-ing Omega-3 products. It comes after the final ship in the suspected poaching fleet Bandidos 6 was successfully sunk by environmental group Sea Shepherd. The fish, which is rich in Ome-ga-3 fatty acids, is known as ‘white gold’ in the industry as it can sell for as much as €130 per kilo. A large catch can be worth as much as €50 million.

“This is the first time Span-ish police and Interpol have joined forces against illegal fishing in a joint action,” said Lasse Gustavsson, executive director of the NGO Oceana in Europe. “This announce-ment is a watershed moment in the fight to eradicate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing of our oceans.”The high court is now in-volved and criminal proceed-ings are said to be underway. A police spokesman said that at his time of arrest Antonio

Vidal did not deny fishing in the Antarctic. Vidal has already been con-victed in the USA for attempt-ing to smuggle toothfish. His vessels have been blacklisted but the ships have been renamed and reflagged in countries such as Equatorial Guinea, Maurita-nia and Panama to evade the au-thorities. In 2015 Spain’s agriculture min-istry imposed fines of over €17 million on three of Vidal’s vessels.

FREE Vol. 9 Issue 214 www.theolivepress.es May 28th - June 10th 2015

olive press

the The original and only English-language


STILL THE ‘BEST NEWSPAPER IN ANDALUCIA’ ACCORDING TO THE NEW ROUGH GUIDE

Let HiFX help you reach your destination.www.hifx.co.uk

The BesT PrePaid Cards

www.masmovil.es/en

300 MB or 40 mins3€

iNC. iVa

OLIVE PRESS – Earpiece 27th May


FRONT COVER 27th May


59€

Free varifocal lenseswith glasses from 89€Fully accreditted BSKYB technician

based in Las AlpujarrasFind us on facebook.com/alpusat.alpujarra

663 303 932 / 675 033 [email protected]

•

UK TV SolutionsNo contract IPTVSatellite TV

A DEADLY bacteria has been

found in an Estepona river.

A strand of the killer E-Coli

bacteria has been detected in

the Arroyo del Hornacinos,

a stream often played in by

children.

River of shameEstepona Town Hall fails to clean

up a deadly river often played in by

children

EXCLUSIVE By Rob HorganResidents of the neighbouring

Villas Andaluzas are now call-

ing in the Guardia Civil’s envi-

ronmental arm Seprona, after

written complaints to the town

hall came to nothing.They insist that the area is

overrun with rats and mos-

quitos and the town hall has

been completely ‘inactive’ de-

spite receiving the first report

in April. Independent analysis of the

water shows that the river

poses a serious health risk

and could be fatal.A report from Laboratorio

Rafael Perez Rodriguez stated

that the quantities of ‘coli-

forms’ were so high that there

were ‘too many’ to count. E-Coli can cause vomiting,

diarrhoea, liver disease and

worse.“It is an absolute disgrace

and worse, a serious health

hazard,” said British resident

Sam Hall, 78. He added: “It’s especially

worrying because we have

seen children playing near

the water where it flows into

the sea.“If anyone were to be struck

down, it would be a national

scandal.” Hall and his wife Susanna,

from Surrey, as well as vari-

ous neighbours, have submit-

ted a number of formal com-

plaints to the town hall. In response, a town hall

spokesman told the couple

Mayor Jose Urbano was

‘aware of the problem’ and it

would be ‘sorted out’. However, when a clean up

was finally ‘promised’ for May

18, nothing happened. “They say one thing to keep

you happy and then do noth-

TOWIE star Elliot Wright launches a no-holds-barred column on Page 3 before we grill him on our food pages. See The Wright Stuff on Pages 54-55

Arty tapas is the special of the day in a new column from former Michelin-starred

TV chef Steven Saunders. See Page 49

TV presenter Nick Knowles and stunning wife Jessica lift the lid on their escape to Soto-grande on Page 3

What is E-Coli? E-Coli is a type of fecal

coliform bacteria usually

found in the intestines of

animals and humans. Its presence in water is a

strong indication of re-cent sewage or animal

waste contamination. When the bacteria lives in

animal or human intesti-nal tracts it is harmless. However when it appears

in inadequately treated

water it produces a toxin

which is harmful and po-tentially fatal to humans.

THE winds of change

have truly blown in as

dozens of anti-corruption

parties made substantial

gains in town halls across

Spain.Voters made clear they

are ready to ditch Spain’s

traditional two-party

system as new parties

Podemos and Ciudada-

nos performed well at re-

gional and local elections

on Sunday.All over the country the

governing PP lost abso-

lute majorities, meaning

it will have to pact with,

at least, one other party

to form legitimate gov-

ernments. Some of the big mayors in

danger include Marbel-

la’s Angeles Munoz and

Malaga’s Francisco de la

Torre.See A Spring of Change,

on Pages 4 and 5

Musical chairs

ing about it,” Hall added.“On hot days the smell is so

unbearable that we are un-

able to sit out in our garden.”

Ironically, Estepona was re-

cently honoured with a Green

Flag Award for boosting envi-

ronmental awareness.Estepona Town Hall failed to

respond to Olive Press ques-

tions.

Which ageing costa DJ’s

show was cancelled after he crashed his new €60,000 Range Rover into the studio’s front door?

NOTNOT

BUT

A REAL DOG DAY

ELECTION LATEST

31

2

CONCERNED: Resident Sam Hall at river’s bank

HOT CELEBRITY EXCLUSIVES THIS ISSUE

FISHY BUSINESS: Antonio Vidal

HOOKED: Toothfish

SPAIN’S nuclear power sta-tions are close to completing vital safety enhancements put in place after Japan’s 2011 Fukushima disaster.The measures were intro-duced in 2012 by the Europe-an Nuclear Safety Regulators Group following a European Council report.Work to protect Spanish plants from natural disasters including earthquakes and floods is now 80% complete.Extra cooling systems have been added, and a central emergency support unit set up.

Unforeseen“Nuclear power plants are solidly prepared to face un-foreseen events at their de-sign bases," said a statement from Spain’s nuclear industry body Foronuclear.”

Nuclear activity

SAFER: Plants

THE USA has confirmed it will not negotiate the nuclear clean-up in Palo-mares until Spain has a government.Radioactive contamination from the plane collision in 1966 was not tackled suf-ficiently and after decades of protests, John Kerry fi-nally agreed to find a solu-tion ‘as soon as possible’ in October 2015.But the US government has now confirmed it won’t negotiate until the Span-ish government has been formed - a process which could take months.And the US presidential elections could stall the process further.The clean-up is thought to cost €640 million which will be paid by both Spain and the USA.

Clean-up on hold

DELAYED: Solution

www.theolivepress.eswww.theolivepress.esgREEn nEWs8

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INTERNATIONAL supermarkets are demand-ing urgent action to stop Spain’s strawberry growers sucking key wetlands dry. Companies including Sainsbury’s, M&S and Coca-Cola are campaigning over unsustainable water usage in Huelva and Sevilla. The consortium of supermarkets and food companies claims current strawberry growing

practices will lead to ‘severe environmental damage’ in the Doñana National Park. The group is now demanding the introduction of a land plan set out by the Junta in 2014 but yet to be implemented. The plan includes the eradication of 1,500 hect-ares of unauthorised strawberry cultivation. “We strongly support the land use plan issued

Strawberry fields not foreverMajor food retailers fight against depleting wetland in Doñana National Park

ENVIRONMENTAL charity Arboretum is gearing up for its annual spring fair. Taking place in Marbella on April 3, visitors can enjoy artisan foods, organic arts and crafts workshops and a guided tour of Arbo-retum’s premises. Entrance is free but guests are asked to bring a book to donate for sale to raise funds. For more information visit www.arbore-tummarbella.org

GREEN PARTYTWO Spanish brothers have designed a revolutionary new so-lar-powered vehicle.Gonzalo and Alfredo Chomon’s Evovelo ‘Mo’ (left) has been de-scribed as the first fully-enclosed, solar-powered urban trans-port.She looks like a detached motorcycle sidecar but she’s no slow-Mo. Once charged, the Malaga brothers’ 85kg invention can travel at up to 50 km/hour, powered by a solar-charged battery.The two-seater vehicle produces zero carbon emissions if driv-en for 10-25km per day.

Little Mo’s a solar-powered goer

GUARDIA Civil officers are clamping down on the mis-treatment of horses. New laws to protect equines in Andalucia were introduced last year but have largely been ignored.However the Guardia’s envi-ronmental arm, Seprona, is to enforce the law more strin-gently. As of April last year it has been illegal to hobble a horse, which involves tying its front legs together, allegedly to im-prove patience. Animal psychologists sug-gest the practise can trigger mental problems and panic

Hobble, hobble, toil and trouble

AFTER three years of glo-betrotting, Spaniard Nacho Dean has returned home. Malagueno Dean quit his job as a lifeguard and totted up 33,000 kilometres. He took in four continents and 31 countries, and becomes the first Spaniard to walk around the world.He found adventure – he was chased by men with machetes in Mexico, mugged at knife point in Peru, and arrested in Iran for taking a selfie – but Dean says his journey was about spreading awareness of climate change.And he documented the ef-fects of climate change as he went. “It was always a dream that I had, to walk around the world,” he says. “I needed to launch an envi-ronmental message for the care of nature and planet earth, and the most savage way to demonstrate my com-mitment was to walk.”He adds: “There were some scary moments along the way but the most enriching part of my journey was the people I met.”

Walk on wild side

by the government of An-dalucia and urge all parties involved to cooperate on its urgently needed implemen-tation,” a group spokesman said.“We believe that continued pressure will ultimately lead to severe environmental deg-radation of the ecosystem and in particular the Doñana National Park, as well as to a reduction in the long-term availability of strawberries from the region.”Environmental campaigners claim there are as many as 2,000 illegal boreholes, and that water used by strawberry farmers has reduced the wet-lands by 50%.The European Commission is currently investigating the claims. Spain’s strawberry industry generates around €400m a year in export revenue.

attacks. Fines of up to €10,000 can be dished out for first-time of-fenders, while repeat offend-ers can face a total ban on keeping horses.

NEIGH-SAYERS: Police


MAJOR health food chain Holland & Barrett has launched its fourth store in Spain. With stores already in Sevilla, Marbella and Fuengirola, Holland & Barrett has now launched in Granada. The retailer has a total of 1,000 stores worldwide.

Health kick

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TWO angry pet-owners have slammed Brittany Ferries after their dogs were barred from sailing to the UK.Dog owners Tricia Watson, 51, and Mandy Willmott, 46, are furious that pet passports used to travel to Spain were declared invalid at Bilbao for their return trips.Nerja homeowner Watson and former expat Wilmott found themselves in the same predicament when port check-in staff sent them to a local vet to ‘sort the problem’.They each incurred over €140 of expenses before they could sail and believe suspicious business is afoot between port staff and local vets.“My dog Pedro travelled to the UK six months ago

Dog fightTravel nightmare as pet owners ordered to renew passports as they board ferry home

EXCLUSIVEBy Iona Napier

through a rigorously checked, DEFRA-approved courier with no problems,” Willmott told the Olive Press.“So why was there a problem this time?”The Isle of Wight resident, who got her pet from the Axarquia Animal Rescue continued: “First the port staff said I need-ed some sort of stamp, next the

A CAR park that cost Nerja Town Hall €3 million has been shut less than a year after opening. Continual flooding in the Burriana underground car park forced town hall officials to shut it, just days before the start of the Semana Santa processions. Mayor Cristina Fernandez confirmed that the location of the car park left it ‘vulnerable’ because of the ‘instability of the hillside’ above the building and the amount of ground-water that it collects. “We are hoping the closure will just be temporary,” Fernandez said.

Park and ride

vet’s telling me I needed a to-tally new passport - they were simply inventing problems.”“It cost me €142 when it nor-mally costs under €20. It was complete robbery.”Meanwhile Watson had to take a taxi to the vet to solve a ‘microchipping problem’ which cost her €180 in total and was later declared ‘un-necessary’ by her UK vet.“I feel I have been treated very badly” she said.Despite the women complain-ing to Brittany Ferries on the same day, customer services rejected each complaint saying it was an ‘isolated incident’.A spokesman for Brittany Fer-ries said ‘there is no conspir-acy here, both pet passports were genuine fails and the checks are much tougher get-ting into the UK than leaving it’.

Neighbour-hood watch COMPETA Town Hall has introduced an app for residents to report any damage or vandalism spotted in the town.

Stop buildMORE than 5,400 residents in Velez-Malaga and Rincon de la Victoria have signed a petition to halt the con-struction of 1,500 homes as part of the Juvigolf com-plex in Chilches.

Weeded outA MAJOR drug lab-oratory has been uncovered in Velez-Malaga, with a to-tal of 198 marijuana plants recovered and three people arrest-ed.

Police padTORRE del Mar’s po-lice force will receive improved facili-ties after the Junta pledged to spend €4.7 million on reno-vating the building.

TRAVELLERS (from left): Mandy, Tricia’s dog and Pedro

10 March 2nd - March 15th 201610la cultura10


what’s on

antequera, granada, lucena, osuna, april 8-10

BRITISH group The Char-terhouse Jazz Band, aged 13-18, specialise in music from the Glenn Miller era. All concerts are free.

burriana beach, april 8SOPRANO Alba Chan-

tar, mezzosoprano Ruth Garcia and pianist Daniel Diez recite arias from Dido and Eneas, the Magic Flute and Faustus at Playa del Sol restaurant. Info: 952 52 00 09

Velez Malaga, April 23SPRING party at Cas-

tillo de la Fortaleza with acts like Los Electroduen-des and Break the Senses.Info:www.qevento.es/velez-malaga/nexo-fiesta-de-la-primavera-velez-mlaga/.

malaga, until June 12CAMEROON artist

Pascale Marthine Tayou’s exhibition Miracle at CAC Malaga uses a colourful combination of recycled materials. Info: 00 34 952 12 00 55

ANYONE with any kind of interest in original and independent music making will be aware of the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.Held annually for the past 30 years, SXSW is a

launch pad for new bands, filmmakers and multimedia artists. But you don't have to go all the way to the States to experi-ence a potent wellspring of creativity. Thanks to a couple of Spanish youngsters inspired by the action in Austin, Andalucia has its very own new music showcase in the shape of Monkey Week.For the past seven years, Monkey Week has taken over the town of El Puerto de Santa Maria, just a few kilome-tres outside of Cadiz. Due to its success, the festival has finally outgrown the town’s available venues and this Oc-tober’s indie music gathering will be held in Andalucia’s capital, Sevilla. Thankfully, this is not the end of El Puerto’s association with the festival, as each year there is an interim Monkey Week – a two-day warm-up event in the form of Freek Fest. Taking place over the last weekend in April, Freek Fest is one of the first big festival dates on the Andalucia cal-endar. It features an eclectic lineup of local, national and inter-national indie acts. Headliners, alt-country pioneers The Long Ryders and top UK soul act The James Hunter Six, top a very interesting bill which includes Beautiful Senori-tas, Ramona the Band, Miraflores and Sweethearts From America among the performing bands.Freek Fest takes place at the Hotel Puerto Sherry, with two stages, a barbecue and even a creche for the kids! What better way to kick start this year’s festival season?Tickets are available online from www.ticketea.com priced at €22 per day and €35 euros for the weekend.You can find more information about the local music scene on www.andaluciamusic.com, or tune into Castle Radio 89.2 FM each Wednesday from 10pm, repeated on Sundays at 6pm.

CORDOBA’S iconic Mezquita does not belong to anyone and can never be acquired, a town hall report has con-cluded. The report claims that the mosque-cathedral is pro-tected under law as being a ‘monument beyond the scope of human commerce’. The report is the latest twist in a decade-long legal tussle involving the Church, local government and a public pro-test group. The town hall’s general secre-tary Valeriano La Vela Pérez is now urging annulment of the Church's ownership.

Mezquita is for all

Latest twist in Mezquita saga sees Church slammed by town hall report

with gary beaumont

ojeando music Festival unveils the first bands in its summer line-up

Freaks and monkeysSevilla gears up for Monkey Week Festival

HE’S Spain’s king of quirky cinema, but Pedro Almodovar’s new film is a less out-landish affair than normal.The director’s Julieta makes its premiere in Spain on April 8 before taking its UK bow on August 26.The tale of a 55-year-old teacher whose daughter has abandoned her is Almodo-

var’s first offering since 2013’s I’m So Ex-cited.“It’s a film about women who are imperfect but sympathetic, like you, like all of us,” said the Oscar-winning director.“I have tried to be less rhetorical because I decided that was the way to tell this story. “It’s not a melodrama, it’s a dry drama.”

‘A site of outstanding univer-sal value cannot be owned by an individual or an institu-tion,’ the report states.‘The Mezquita is a monument beyond the scope of human commerce and, by law, can-not be bought’.

Registered by the Bishop of Cordoba for just €30 in 2006, the purchase received the backing of the Heritage Of-fice despite claims that it was illegal. However, the Church claimed it was acting within mortgage

law passed by Franco in 1946 which has allowed it to regis-ter thousands of properties in its name. Since then, 4,500 churches, temples and cathedrals have been registered by the Catho-lic Church.

ALMODOVAR’S ‘DRY’ RUN

DRAMA lovers were treated to a spooky romp through the absurd last month, courtesy of Marbella’s oldest theatre group.The International Theatre Studio excelled themselves with their latest play, Ghost Writer. Written by David Tristan, the drama focused on the su-pernatural, with a typewriter featured as an unlikely cast member.

Spine chiller

BOLLYWOOD’S big-gest award ceremony is heading to Spain. Dubbed the ‘Oscars of Bollywood’, the 17th In-ternational Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards will be held in Madrid. The three-day extrava-ganza will begin on June 23.

Bolly good ceremony

SPOOKY: Ghost Writer

HOLY ROW: Church blasted

BACK IN ACTION: Pedro

Tuning in

OPEN ALL WEEK FROM 9:30AM TILL LATE – LIVE ENTERTAINMENT EVERY DAY!OLIVIA’S | CALLE TORREÓN, LA CALA DE MIJAS | T: +34 952 494 935 | OLIVIASLACALA.COM

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12 www.theolivepress.esthe Olive Press November 14th - 25th 2016 121212 lEttERs

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In ruinsI WAS disappointed to read about the demolitions and heavy construction in Estepona (Demolition day, issue 235). How on earth can this be approved? Those buildings are lost forever with no respect for history - the Capitalist way. Of course builders are motivated by profit from loans for development, but they were beautiful buildings in a his-torical area. But, sadly, money talks.

Jim Briggs,Manilva


Positives and negativesSnapper supportAS a fellow photographer I have followed the Olive Press’ coverage of the missing John Lennon negatives with a great professional interest (Get back... to where they once belonged! Issue 235). Every photographer under the sun will have had his copyright stolen at one point or another. This type of property theft is worryingly ignored in the main. I hope a case of this magnitude will help all struggling photographers stake a claim to what they rightfully own.

Chris Parkinson, Malaga

Total outrage JOHN and Yoko’s wedding must be one of the most iconic moments of pop culture. The fact that this crook is trying to make a buck or two from flogging them is opportunist, selfish and above all else illegal. I hope the coverage will kick the authorities into action and get this guy banged up.

Steve Finn, London, UK

Have your say!DEAR OP,

AS a permanent resident in Spain, I believe it is impor-tant for all British citizens also living in Spain to vote in the EU Referendum. The consequences of the UK leaving the EU could be very damaging for those receiv-ing pensions and Spanish healthcare. However it is also important to under-stand the voting system. As an expat you are allowed to vote in UK elections for 15 years after leaving the UK. You can register as an over-seas voter at the Electoral Office of the last UK address where you were registered to vote. However being reg-istered as an overseas voter is only the first step, you still have to apply to the electoral office for a postal vote, or to appoint a proxy, this does not happen automatically. If you want to vote in the June referendum then now is the time to start the process.

Ian Hanson, Madrid

Barking madDAVID Carter please do NOT put that doggie back in the window, just love him and admit that you were sold a pup (Put that doggie back in the window, issue 235). NEVER buy a puppy from a pet shop; ALWAYS buy from a registered breeder. Al-ways see the puppy with its mother and if possible see the father as well. Pedigree

puppies born in Spain have to be registered with the Span-ish Kennel Club and have a microchip along with the reg-istration (LOE number). In Malaga there is the Sociedad Canina de la Costa Del Sol who you can ask for breed-ers of your chosen breed. If there is anyone who would be willing to get up an online pe-tition to stop the sale of pup-pies in pet shops I will be the first to sign.

Dot Wisdom,Alhaurin de la Torre

SO David Carter complains about buying a dog and it not being a pure bred Labrador. Your article mentions the puppy being just a month old, so not even weaned. I'm sure animal loving readers like myself will feel anger at Da-vid's callousness and his sup-port of puppy farming. Love the dog and move on David; taking it to the UK for further tests is a fool’s errand. A dog is for life not for profit.

Stephen Amore, Manilva

Crazy lawI WOULD like to see the Ol-ive Press put the Junta on the spot about the new prop-erty law - the crazy idea of all holiday lets now needing to have air conditioning is beg-gars belief (Licence to kill, issue 234). At a time when emissions are rising in Spain faster than most countries in Europe, this is a ridiculous policy. The air pollution on the Costa del Sol is already very high in summer. If every

house and apartment has air con, this will only get worse. Besides, innumerable prop-erties on the coast get a sea breeze and air con just isn’t necessary.

David Coughlan,Marbella

Frida exhibitionI CANNOT wait to visit the Frida Kahlo exhibition in Malaga (Frida unseen, issue 235). I recently watched the film about her life - called Frida - and was truly inspired by her. What an honour to have this exhibition come to Malaga and to be able to see these photos which have nev-er been seen before. I have read a lot about Frida Kahlo and her story is amazing. I am also hoping to go to the show-ing of her work at the Pompi-dou museum in Malaga. Su-per excited!

Joanna Cook,Malaga

3


the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

www.theolivepress.esNEWS

3March 16th - March 29th 2016

Become a CELTA qualified English TeacherMalaga: 6th June - 1st July4-week CELTA Courses in Sevilla & Málaga

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GET BACK… to where they once belonged!HE’S the man who brought punk rock to the world.And now John Lydon is tak-ing the road to Spain with Public Image Limited.The Sex Pistols singer is play-ing dates in San Sebastian, Valencia, Santander, and Ma-drid during May.Lydon earned worldwide no-toriety as Johnny Rotten, the flame-haired frontman of the seminal British punk band before forming PiL in 1978.

THEY are the biggest UK export of Girl Pow-er for a decade.Now Little Mix are heading to Spain for a double-header of gigs.The X Factor win-ners, who got two Brit Award nominations last month, will be jet-ting into Barcelona on June 24 and Madrid on June 25, on the last two dates of a long 51-date world tour.The Black Magic hit-makers will be pro-moting their third al-bum, Get Weird, fol-lowing two number one singles.

BRITISH rock group The Vaccines are set to play their first ever gig in Granada.The London-based band come to Andalucia on Sat-urday March 19 as they tour their third album English Graffiti.The band are also playing in Barcelona on March 17 before heading to Madrid the follow-ing night.

The Vaccines have described English Graffiti as ‘genre-de-fining’ and released the first single, Handsome, off the al-bum on January 19 last year.

ROTTEN RETURNS

Time to get Vaccinated In the mix

FERGIE has been ditched by her Span-ish lover.The Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, 56, is ‘distraught’ fol-lowing a break-up with exotic Spanish-Irish toyboy Manuel Fernandez, 47.The pair had been together for over a year, holidaying in Fernandez’ native Asturias last June, as well as skiing in the Alps.Now sources close to the Duchess - who is a regular visitor to Sotogrande very summer - revealed ‘Manuel’s finished it and she’s been very tearful.’

La vida loner

ROCKER: Lydon

SPAIN-BOUND: Vaccines

SINGLE: Fergie

THE Olive Press has tracked down the stolen negatives from John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Gibraltar wedding.Masquerading as a mystery buyer, we discovered that the original photos were being sold by a Beatles biographer from his Far East home.The writer, who we are not naming for legal reasons, put our undercover report-er in touch with an alleged Thailand-based ‘middleman’ before emailing proof sheets showing some of the never-before-seen wedding nega-tives (see right).The incredible shots, valued by Beatles experts at over £100,000, went missing in 1975 when British photogra-pher David Nutter lent them to Anthony Fawcett to use in

his book John Lennon: One Day At A Time.As we revealed last issue, Nut-ter - who had been hired by the Beatles’ record label Apple for the commission on the Rock - has been trying to get them back for four decades.However, when the Olive Press contacted Fawcett, he

said ‘these were in fact stolen from my New York apart-ment around 1976 along with everything else from my flat’.Acting on a tip-off that the negatives were being ped-dled online, our undercover reporter approached the 62-year-old Beatles biogra-pher in the Far East.

Issuing instructions that the fee for the negatives would be €7,000, he put us in touch with the mysterious seller.

RemarkableOur reporter was told to send 90% of the agreed price after two contact sheets showing the original negatives were sent as proof of ownership.Despite Nutter being com-missioned by Apple execu-tive Peter Brown, the seller claimed Nutter was working for HIS company Sparrow Photos.He also said Nutter was ‘dead’ and never owned the copy-right anyway.After a week of exchanges, two remarkable never-before-seen contact sheets from the wed-ding were emailed over.But when the writer suspect-ed our undercover reporter was working for Yoko Ono he launched into a vile tirade against Lennon’s widow be-fore threatening to sue and ending contact.Nutter, who had unsuccess-fully called in police over the theft, is furious with the writer and wants his nega-tives back.Speaking from his New York home, last night, Nutter said: “This is criminal. They are my stolen property... end of story.”

EXCLUSIVE By Joe Duggan Olive Press tracks down stolen John and Yoko wedding pics

AN extraordinary collection of photos of iconic Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is to go on display for the first time in Malaga.The wonderful set of 55 inti-mate unseen images by photog-rapher Leo Matiz are on display at La Termica gallery until May 29.They capture her early life in the 1940s with lover, fellow art-ist Diego Rivera. Frida unseen

DISCOVERED: Missing negatives belonging to Nutter (pictured right) with Lennon and Ono

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13www.theolivepress.es the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015sponsored by:All about

Vol. 10 Issue 236 www.theolivepress.es March 30th - April 12th 2016

13

In association with the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce

GIBRALTAR has well and truly shaken off its image as a 1960s-style Britain

in the Sun to take its place as Europe’s shiny new hub for global e-commerce and finance.Gone is the grey military look of old, replaced by smart glass and chrome office skyscrapers, while even its famous Barbary macaques have been given their march-ing orders out of town and back to nature at the top of the Rock, where they belong. Its strong financial services and internet gaming sectors in particular are beacons of hope for the future of the British Territory as it rides choppier political waters stirred up by Britain’s im-pending EU referendum.They are among the boom industries continuing to open up new employment opportunities for locals and ex-pats, not to mention hundreds of skilled Spanish workers, who also commute in every day.Such is the growth of the econo-my over the last few years - up to 10% per annum - that the GDP per capita (£50,941) makes the

Flying high With the world’s third highest

GDP per capita, Gibraltar’s rock solid economy

puts others in the shade, writes Tom

Powell

Gibraltarians the third highest in the world.The small economy is booming and, as Chief Minister Fabian Picardo has stated on various occasions, with cooperation from the nearby Campo de Gibraltar, tens of thousands more jobs could be created over the next

few years.The variety of businesses has diversified hugely over the last two decades, with legal, accoun-tancy, insurance, telecommuni-cations and betting firms all now jostling for position.A new World Trade Center Gibral-tar, which is now nearing comple-

tion, will boast 15,158m2 of super-premium office space over seven storeys.This spectacular build-ing, located between the airport and Ocean Village, is set to become the geo-graphic and economic centre of Gibraltar’s busi-ness community.Meanwhile, big retail firms such as Marks and Spen-cer, BHS and the Early Learning Centre continue to thrive, while new chain stores, such as Pandora, Swarovski and Cadenza, open every few months.As well as the arrival of leading international firms, including Ernst & Young, Grant Thornton and PwC, recent years have also seen a swathe of young home-grown entrepre-neurs setting up their own businesses.Take Alex Capurro, found-

er of Easy Payment Gateway. Launched a year ago, EPG offers a ‘very simple one-stop solution for making internet payments’, he says.Users have access to over 200

GLOBAL HUB: Gibraltar is going from strength to strength while (below) a soldier stands guard

Gibraltar

Turn to Page 14

GIBRALTAR boasts the third highest GDP per Capita in the world, beaten only by Luxembourg and Qatar,The Rock is higher than the likes of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and all of Scandinavia.gDp per Capita is a nation’s gross Domestic product divided by its population, and one of the clearest signs of a country’s economic stature.Gibraltar’s GDP has almost doubled in the last five years, from £1,082 million to £1,802 million.

up, up and away

Picture by Jon Clarke

GibraltarAll about14


worldwide payment solutions, banks and credit card processes at the lowest price in the industry.Today the business employs 20 staff, having raised £2 million pounds in in-vestment and received three buy-out offers from leading companies in the financial payments industry.Elsewhere, go-getters like Justin Bau-tista, the creator of Mama Lotties cook-book, and the team behind new food de-livery app, Hungry Monkey, are further proof of Gibraltarian entrepreneurship.The territory’s population may only hover around 30,000, but it has always punched above its weight thanks to its citizens’ passionate sense of identity.And as the Rock grows and evolves in

terms of economic savvy, so does its people.Gibraltar University, inaugurated last September at Europa Point, is a shining example. Degree courses are available in Ac-counting and finance, Banking and fi-nance and Business and management. It’s clear what the priorities are at this early stage.Of course, a huge chunk of Gibraltar’s economy (over 25%) is still tourism-based.And with border delays shorter and less frequent than they were a couple of years ago, tourists are finding it increas-ingly easier to pop over from Spain for the day or even a long weekend.In addition, the Rock is a major cruise destination.

The numbers of ships making Gibraltar a port of call this year is set to leap by 11%, with more than 232 stops scheduled (see page 18).And passengers are not short on places to splash the cash once they arrive. Ocean Village with its bars and restaurants, lively Casemates Square and bustling Main Street are favou-rite haunts for VAT-free cruise souvenirs.Meanwhile, the selfies every visitor shares on social media from emblematic locations like St Michael’s Cave, the Great Siege Tunnels and the Moor-ish Castle are all free publicity, ensuring Gibraltar a permanent and prominent place on the global tourism map.

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IT has become a hit film starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara (right) and has even been nominated

for five Academy Awards.So it bodes well for Gibraltar that the so-called ‘Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ chooses the Rock as her ideal escape at the end of the massive selling Millenium trilogy by Stieg Larsson.In the final part of the tril-ogy Lisbeth Salander jumps on an early morning flight to Malaga before taking a taxi straight to the enclave,

Dragon Tattoo girl chose Gib‘a place that is not like any-where else’. While there she meets a Fi-nancial Times-reading German businessman at the Rock ho-tel and spends time with her secretly gay lawyer Jeremy Stuart MacMillan, who is ad-ministering her huge multi-million euro fortune from his small back street office.She even manages to feed the Barbary apes and go on an all-day bender starting at Harry’s Bar.

An extremely positive end to the third of the trilogy of books The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, the book paints a strong and vivid pic-ture of the place.And, as there are already plans to turn the remaining two books into films then the Rock can be expecting some high profile visitors at some point soon.

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Cave’s Rock of GibraltarHOPEFULLY a few Gibraltarians will know the words to veteran rock star Nick Cave’s 2003 hit Rock of Gibraltar – but for those who don’t, below is a reminder.The song from the artist’s Nocturama album uses the metaphor of Gib’s politi-cal situation to describe a love affair that is ‘betrayed like the Rock of Gibraltar’.

Let me say this to youI’ll be steadfast and trueAnd my love will never falterThe sea would crash about usThe waves would lash about usI’ll be your Rock of GibraltarSometimes it’s hardAnd we’re both caught off guardBut there’s nothing I would ever alterThe wind could howl round our earsFor the next thousand yearsI’d still be your Rock of Gibraltar The best thing I doneWas to make you the oneWho I’d walk with down to the altar

You’d stand by me And together we’d beThat great, steady Rock of Gibraltar Under the big yellow moonOn our honeymoonI took you on a trip to MaltaAnd all through the nightYou held me so tightYour great, steady Rock of Gibraltar Could the powers that beEver foreseeThat things could so utterly alter?All the plans that we laidCould soon be betrayedBetrayed like the Rock of Gibraltar

DID YOU KNOW?

GIBRALTAR has contin-ued to buck the eco-nomic trend for Eu-rope with GDP growth

at around 8% for 2015 and virtually full employment. In the last 30 years the Rock’s economy has under-gone a huge transformation from one dominated and re-liant upon the Garrison and related public sector activi-ties to an economy which is driven by the private sector. The main economic pillars are financial services, tour-ism and the port and ship-ping services. Another impor-tant sector is online gaming. All of these sectors are served by a well-developed professional services com-munity which provides advice and expertise on everything from law, trust, tax and ac-counting.

ExpertiseGibraltar’s workforce has in-creased from 16,874 in 2005 to 24,422 in 2015, a rise of 50% in ten years. Although small in absolute terms, it is a pretty impres-sive achievement when set against Europe’s rather dis-mal record of job creation in the last 10 years. As Gibraltar’s economy has become more diversified and international it has cre-ated jobs in new sectors like e-commerce, online gaming and e-payments.The people needed to do these jobs have been brought from outside, predominantly from other parts of Europe, but some have come from further afield such as the US

Bucking the economic trend

gibRaltaR’s bet on the online gaming industry has more than paid off.the Rock is home to the head offices of William hill, bet365, ladbrokes

a saFE bEt!

The growth of jobs in all sectors should be an inspiration for the rest of Europe, writes Edward Macquisten (pictured), Chief Executive of the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce

and South East Asia. Many of the people who work in Gibraltar live across the border in Spain. Around 12,000 people cross the frontier each day to get to work on the Rock.The daily rush hour to cross the frontier which can be seen each morning has just as much bustle as any big city.The salaries earned in Gibral-tar are spent in Spain and this in turn has helped to al-leviate some of the hardship which Spain’s prolonged re-cession has generated.At the macro-level Gibraltar’s government has generated regular budget surpluses in the last 10 years and signifi-cant improvements have also been made to the local in-frastructure including a new hospital, a state of the art air terminal and the completion of a number of government housing projects.But Gibraltar is not resting on its laurels.It continues to attract outside investment and create new job openings. The low corpo-rate tax rate makes it one of the most attractive jurisdic-tions in Europe.It enjoys full EU membership as a UK Overseas Territory, but it is outside the EU Cus-toms Union so there is no sales tax (VAT). In addition there are no wealth taxes, inheritance tax or capital gains taxes in Gi-braltar.Being an Overseas Territory gives Gibraltar additional security: the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office is re-sponsible for Gibraltar’s For-eign Affairs and The Governor

is in control of the local Royal Gibraltar Police. In most other aspects though, Gibraltar is largely autono-mous and self sufficient.It passes its own laws with its own parliament and raises its own taxes and spends its own money.

BusinessThere is no subsidy paid to Gibraltar by UK taxpayers and Gibraltar’s Government has signed Tax Information Ex-change Agreements with more than 30 other jurisdictions, many of which are in the G20.Air links to Gibraltar from the UK are good from either Lon-don, Manchester, Bristol or Birmingham. Setting up a busi-ness in Gibraltar is different to the UK but is still relatively straightforward. Anyone who is thinking about investing in Gibraltar or set-ting up a business here should make the local chamber one of their first ports of call. Being a small town it is quick and easy to get around but having a door opened or simply just knowing the right person to talk to can help you get up and running more quickly. We would be delighted to help you.

www.gibraltarchamberof-commerce.com

IN LINE: Spanish workers queue to exchange pounds for euros (right)

and 888, with around 3,000 people cur-rently employed in the industry.This, of course, has brought a great eco-nomic boost not just to gibraltar but also neighbouring La Linea and the Campo de Gibraltar where many of the workers live.

Gibraltar originally became the unoffi-cial capital of online gambling thanks to its generous tax environment, but taxes have now been forcibly imposed, and the firms are showing no immediate signs of flight.

16 www.theolivepress.esthe Olive Press November 14th - 25th 2016

I GOT my first real sense of the best of Gibraltar during a night at the cin-ema six years ago.

It was the night of the Os-cars and I was appropri-ately watching The King’s Speech and in the King's Bastion leisure centre, no less.The place was rammed to the rafters with local fami-lies and groups of friends, most of whom seemed to know each other. And there was a real frisson of excitement, the British film being rightly up for various gongs across the pond.But as I sat back to enjoy the trailers I noticed for the first time something very special about this small enclave.There was a palpable sense of togetherness and pride among the rows of ordinary Gibraltarians who

came from every persua-sion and faith.In front of me was a row of Jewish friends, while below them was an Asian family and across the steps a Muslim man and his girl-friend. And they all knew each other and swapped banter and pleasantries.It was a real eye-opener, even for a Londoner, like me. For in this true melting pot of beliefs, there was one abiding trait; they were all utterly proud to be British.It should be a lesson to us all, for while I have never been a fan of nationalism, it certainly beats racial segre-gation and hatred... and is sadly extremely rare these days.It took me a while, but I have really got to like Gibraltar.There is something about the efficiency of its busi-nesses, the ability to adapt

to change and the warmth of its people, which appeals to me.People give you the time of day and are always pre-pared to stop for a chat. They are interested (and interesting) and are rarely

without an opinion on this or that.Even their leader, a high-flying Oxbridge lawyer is

personable and approach-able... someone to share a bit of banter with, to have a chat about the footie or who’s on the bill at Benicas-sim this year.But above all, it is the fabric of the place that I so admire.Once away from Casemates and Main Street, there are so many hidden corners, a sur-prising amount of well-pre-served buildings, a treasure chest of history and even some terrific nature walks.On a hike to the top of the Rock, via Jew’s Gate and St Michael’s Cave with my mother and kids, I was amazed not just at the in-credible views and scen-ery… but how well protected and organised it is.With excellent signposting,

superb picnic spots and a soon-to-be daredevil rope bridge and glass viewing platform, it’s worth a day out on its own.There was even the odd bit of wildlife and who can ever grow tired of watching the macaques in full swing?But it was back in town at one of the typical Gibral-tar boozers - over fish and chips and a pint of John Smith’s (the Jam’s English Rose appropriately playing in the background) - that I realised what made this small enclave great.It has a real sense of its own identity, its place in the world and its drive to be dif-ferent.Viva Gibraltar… Long live Llanitos!



a true melting potGibraltar can teach us all how multiculturalism can truly work, writes Olive Press publisher Jon Clarke

A real sense of its own identity, its

place in the world and its drive to be

different

UNITED: Gibraltar’s religious groups bond well

WALK: Family outing to top of the Rock


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THE sight of tourists dis-embarking from cruise liners is set to become even more frequent on

the Rock. In fact, the numbers of cruise ships stopping at Gi-braltar this year is set to leap by 11% with more than 232 stops scheduled.It is estimated these vessels will bring around 350,000 passengers to Gibraltar this year.

LuxuriousAnd with a record 18 cruise ships making their maiden voyages to the Rock, Gi-braltar is moving full steam ahead in the shipping world.Among the new ships stop-ping off is the Seven Seas Explorer, claimed to be ‘the most luxurious ship to sail the seven seas’.Other new boats docking include Royal Caribbean's

Cruise controlIt’s full steam ahead as cruise liner stops are set to swell by 11% this year, discovers Joe Duggan 232 cruise ships

to dock this year

Quietest months: (% of yearly stops)January (0.42%)February (0.42%)December (2.94%)

busiest months:April (15.97%)October (15.97%)September (14.29%)May (12.61%)November (10.08%)

nationalities: British (46.64%)American (28.57%)Italian (7.14%)German (6.72%)Spanish (2.52%)French (1.62%)

Cruise visitors:2014 - 359,293 visitors2015 - 342,942 visitors2016 - 350,000 + visi-tors

Ovation of the Seas, Carnival Vista of Carnival Cruise Lines and Holland America’s Koningsdam.April is set to be the busiest month in the calendar, with at least 38 ships arriving.Gibraltar’s membership of the associ-ation MedCruise links it to 100 other ports in 22 Mediterranean countries.

These ports represent 20% of the world’s cruise traffic with member-ship of the group helping to pro-mote Gibraltar as a cruise destina-tion.The Rock’s facilities, outstanding at-tractions and location at the mouth of the Mediterranean makes it the ideal port of call.

As Minister For Tourism, Samantha Sacramento, explains: “The record number of inaugural cruise calls consolidates the robust trend experi-enced in 2015 when we had an ex-tremely busy summer and 27 more cruise ships arriving in the ports of Gibraltar compared to 2014.“This bustling activity underlines the

effective work carried out by the Gi-braltar Tourist Board and the GPA in marketing and promoting the port of Gibraltar.“It is also a vote of confidence by the global cruise industry both in our tourist product, and in our capacity to handle some of the largest ships in the world.”

SHIP AHOY: Gibraltar cruise numbers leap and (inset) Seven Seas Explorer

FaCt FilE




knowledge of Capurro’s team of 20 is underpinned by their individual expertise in niche sectors of the market.Operating in Gibraltar, Spain, the UK, Portugal and Malta, the business has grown hugely since the 1980s when just two staff catered for the Rock’s population.Patrick, who joined the family firm in 2000, underlines the importance of taking care of the client.“I always stress to the staff, we have to make ourselves differ-ent in some way,” he says.“People could go straight to the insurer, so why go through a broker at all? “But what happens when you have a claim? Guiding some-one through that process isn’t easy at all. That’s probably the more difficult part of the business. And that’s where we come in.”It is very much a family-run business, with three out of four directors sharing the Ca-purro surname.And with thousands of Gibral-tarians choosing that name for their own insurance, the company is set to remain a pillar of the Rock’s economy for the foreseeable future.

Visit capurroinsurance.com or call (+350) 200 40850

WHEN Arturo Maria Capurro set up his insurance company in 1876, he little re-

alised he was laying the foun-dations for one of Gibraltar’s most enduring businesses.Over the past 140 years, Ca-purro Insurance & Investments has grown from strength to strength, and is now Gibraltar’s oldest insurance company. The intermediary insurance firm specialises in everything from commercial insurance and professional indemnity to motor and marine insurance.And 140 years on, MD Patrick Sheppard-Capurro (Arturo’s great grandson) underlines the company’s core value which re-mains the same.“Doing the right thing,” says Patrick. “Eating it for break-fast. It’s probably the reason Capurro’s still going today and probably the reason we are

We put clients firstGibraltar’s oldest insurance firm Capurro is still being run by the founder’s great grandson, discovers Joe Duggan

thinking ahead to the next hun-dred years.“It is the client we are always

looking after. We stand shoul-der to shoulder with our clients. If the insurer does not want to

pay the claim we will fight our client’s corner.”The exceptional all-round

CaptionPATRICK Sheppard-Capurro (left) joined the family firm Capurro Insur-ance & Investments in 2000.The born-and-bred Gibraltarian was schooled in the UK before studying business and marketing at univer-sity. But, in the end, the lure of the Rock eventually proved too much.“I tried my hand at a career in the

UK, then realised the lifestyle here has too much to offer,” says Patrick.“Gibraltar’s a great place to live and a good place for doing business. A friendly place,” he says.Initially he decided not to work for the family business and got a job with the Bland Group, gaining valu-able business experience.

"But after a few years I ended up being swayed and joined the family firm,” he concludes, some 16 years on. A keen yachtsman, Patrick has also worked at Sheppard's, a marine company, where he combined busi-ness with pleasure - his love of the sea!

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ONLINE gambling giants 888 has announced its profits are up 20% from this time last year.The news boosted the Gibral-tar-based company’s shares by 2.2% to £185.75.The company’s customer base and revenue both expanded in 2016.The good start to 2016 comes despite a £10.34 million charge for the failed takeover of Bwin.party which hit 2015 year-end profits.

BULGARIA has definitively re-moved Gibraltar from its list of tax havens.It follows months of intensive lobbying by the financial ser-vices minister, Albert Isola, and a meeting with the Bul-garian Ambassador to the UK in London.The Bulgarian Ministry of Finance has now removed Gibraltar from its list of coun-tries with preferential tax re-gimes.“I am delighted with this re-sult following our recent suc-cesses with Canada, Estonia, Italy, Latvia and Poland,” said Isola.“We will continue to press the remaining very small number of EU Member States to delist Gibraltar as soon as possible.

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ALL STAR LINE-UP: The Capurro team with Patrick (centre)

21www.theolivepress.es the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015

IT brings a whole new meaning to the concept of living life on the edge.Perched above the Med, Casa del Acantilado (The Cliff House) is the latest project from weird and wacky Madrid architects GilBartolome.

StunningSomething of a challenge, it was created by Pablo Gil and Jaime Bartolome on a 42-degree slope on the Granada coastline.Commissioned by a young couple from Ma-drid, every window of the home, near Salobrena, boasts stunning views of the sea.The state-of-the-art de-sign split over two floors features a ‘dragon-scale’ curved roof, floor-to-ceiling windows and an infinity pool. Its position dug into the hillside helps the inside stay cool in the summer months and warmer in winter.“The project combined

EVEREST veteran Stephen Venables has swapped his West Country home for a pad in hilly Gaucin.The intrepid mountaineer, who found fame leading ex-peditions through the Hi-malayas, has chosen soaring Andalucian mountains over Somerset countryside.“It’s a strange irony that though I’ve spent most of my life calling myself a moun-taineer, this is the first time I’ve actually lived in the mountains,” revealed Ven-ables, 61.Venables and wife Rosie, from Bath, bought a pair of small, adjacent town hous-es and have knocked them through to create one larger village home.“We are reliant on the local expat community because we are only just learning how to speak Spanish,” he said.Venables found fame forg-ing a new route up Everest’s Kangshung Face and was the first Briton to reach the sum-mit without extra oxygen. He has also explored Antarctica.

Live like a rockstarPAGE 23

PAGE 24

PAGE 30

PAGE 40

Happy first Birthday

Best of the botched jobs

What’s Hugh doing in Mallorca?

LIVING ON THE EDGE

Iconic Spanish architects complete stylish cliffside pad on the Andalucia coast

Up in the world!

GOING UNDER-GROUND: Innovative hillside pad

Phot

o by

: Jes

us G

rana

da

olive press

ropertywww.theolivepress.es March 30th - April 12th 2016

P

IN THE HILLS: Venables (above) and Gaucin

joyful living, innovative construction techniques, the return of craftsman-

ship and the cave as an environmental strategy,” said Bartolome.

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23Property www.theolivepress.es March 30th - April 12th 2016 23

IF you’ve ever dreamed of sitting in Rick Parfitt’s chair, the time is right now.The Status Quo rocker’s Spanish mansion is up

It’s going for a song Rick Parfitt’s Alhaurin pad

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THE population of Benaha-vis is set to increase by up to a third if its new town plan (PGOU) is approved by the Junta.Up to 1,063 houses will be added to an additional 3,800 homes, which already have permission from the existing 1983 town plan.The majority of properties are to be built in the surround-ing urbanisations, including Montemayor and La Quinta, while an extra 200 homes are to be added to the village.The population is expected to swell from its current unoffi-cial size of 20,000 residents to around 30,000 residents.“There will be less density, but more volume and the main objective is to keep the quality. This is not about quantity,” said local agent Scott Marshall, of Propertie-spain.com. “It is an exciting and ambi-tious new plan, but at this stage it is just a plan,” added the Benahavis property spe-cialist.

Expansion plans

for sale - and for less than half the original asking price.

The six-bedroom pile set in a leafy two-and-a-half hectare plot in Alhaurin El Grande has been priced to sell fast, slashed from €2 million two years ago to €995,000 now. Which proves you’re Never Too Late for What-ever You Want.Rick, 67, his third wife Lyndsay Parfitt and their sev-e n - y e a r - o l d twins use the property as a weekend retreat when they are not at their luxu-

ry Marbella villa.The impressive Alhaurin estate with stunning

views boasts a home cinema room, huge

swimming pool, tennis court, sepa-rate guest house and

‘space for stables’.The house is on the

market with the Parfitts’ very own estate agency, Status Homes, which the couple launched late last year in San Pedro.Last June, the

Olive Press ex-posed a dodgy kitchenware scam

ROCKER’S PAD: In Alhaurin and (inset) Parfitt

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RUSSIAN purchases in Spain are on the decline.The Spanish Property Registry reveals buyers fell by 42% between 2014 and 2015.Just 1,767 properties were sold to Russians in 2015, down from 3,106 in 2014.According to agency Engel & Völkers ‘there is no lack of interest, but Russian buyers have become sellers’.They are being replaced by Americans, Swiss and buy-ers from the Middle East.However, Brits remain the biggest buyers from abroad and represent a staggering 21% of all property sales.

THEy’rE Off-skI

WINSTON Churchill’s Second World War HQ is to be given a makeover by a leading Spanish construction company. The keys to the Old War Office in White-hall, a stone’s throw from the Houses of Parliament and Downing Street, have been handed over to Spain-based firm OHL alongside the Hinduja Group.

Would Churchill turn in his grave?The seven-storey, 1,100-room building where Churchill often spent the night will be converted into a five-star hotel.OHL has purchased the lease - for an undisclosed fee - from the British Min-istry of Defence on a 250-year arrange-ment, in partnership with the Hinduja Group.

in Nueva Andalucia which left the Parfitts €2,930 out of pocket.

MAKEOVER: For Churchill’s old room and (left) the ex-PM

24 www.theolivepress.esthe Olive Press November 14th - 25th 2016 Property March 30th - April 12th 201624

Mijas Golf


Email: [email protected]: (+34) 951 203 094 from the UK 0845 508 2395

www.mylawyerinspain.com

Offices: Marbella, Torrox, Murcia, Almería, Alicante & Valencia.

EXPERIENCED ENGLISH SOLICITORS & SPANISH ABOGADOS

Looking to buy a Spanish property? Contact us for your free guide to buying Spanish property safely & securely.

We provide a wide range of legal services including:

Litigation

Road traffic accidentsPersonal injury & medical negligenceCompany law

ConveyancingInheritancesSpanish wills that comply with EU regulation 650English willsFamily & divorce CUE cake, candles and Champagne: the Ol-

ive Press’ Property magazine is celebrat-ing its first birthday.Since launching in March last year, we

have built up to a regular 24-page bi-monthly pull-out, supported by the cream of the coast’s best agents, architects and developers.Over six bumper issues, we have broken count-less exclusive stories and given readers the in-side track on the property market, its growth and its many complex issues.From the sale of Robert Kilroy Silk’s €12m Casa-res pad, to former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar’s ‘illegal’ wall in Marbella, and from Salma Hayek’s campaign to protect La Almoraima es-tate, to the best green properties in Spain, we have covered the lot.Meanwhile our Kick Out the Kickbacks campaign saw one of Marbella’s biggest law firms taken to court and continues to expose the practice of lawyers giving estate agents ‘backhanders’.

And our Olive Press Property Observatory, launched in January, now brings together a think tank of property experts two or three times a year.The sun is coming out, the tourists are back and the property market is going from strength to strength. It should be a bumper year ahead for everyone in the property industry!Thanks to all the key movers and shakers, includ-ing Taylor Wimpey, Winkworth, PropertieSpain Property Overseas Group and Andalucia Devel-opment, who have supported us from the begin-ning.We are gearing up for an exciting year – we hope there will be plenty more of you joining in our suc-cess story!

year to remember

Olive Press’ Property magazine celebrates its first birthday

19www.theolivepress.es the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

POTTED POINTERS

olive pressthe

roperty

Dream

come true

Steaming ahead

Property expert Mark Stucklin on how the market is suddenly gathering speed with help from the British market

The secret Spanish homes of a dozen leading celebrities

Marbella’s leading agent Chris Clover on how he started out on the Costa del Sol in 1970

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www.theolivepress.es March 19th - April 1st 2015

P

45 years as an agent

Fit for a star

HOMESELLERS REPORT Paradise by the pool...

POTTED POINTERS

olive pressthe

ropertyExpat buying boom

RE/MAX Top CEO Miguel Bilbao on the huge growth of foreign buyers even flocking to Malaga City

Why a host of famous chefs, celeb-rities and supermarket tycoons are buying in Gaucin

Mr Boom of Bena-havis Scott Marshall reveals his mas-ter property plan with 20-something websites

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www.theolivepress.es the Olive Press May 13th - May 27th 2015

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Boom boom boy

Hidden hotspot

HOMESELLERS REPORT

EDITION No. 2

WONDERWALLS: This mini oasis in

Benahavis with a distinct Moroccan vibe, panoramic views of Africa and four

bedrooms is priced at €2.2 million with

Winkworth

24 - Page

Special

19www.theolivepress.es the Olive Press June 11th - June 24th 2015 19

POTTED POINTERS

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ropertywww.theolivepress.es July 23rd - August 5th 2015

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Room with a viewBREATH-TAKING: Views over Spain, Gibraltar and Africa from this extraor-dinary villa perched high in exclusive La Zagaleta

EXCLUSIVE: British politician Robert Kilroy Silk puts his costly Costa estate up for sale

How you can buy a mil-lionaire’s home with a down payment of €800,000 and a mortgage with the owners

PAGE III

PAGE XIX

Lucky numbers

Kilroy woz ‘ere

So stunning. Pages X - XI PRICELESS VIEW: This beautiful hillside property, with a stunning and stylish pool, is on sale through www.lazagaleta.com

19www.theolivepress.es the Olive Press October 1st - October 14th

olive pressthe

ropertywww.theolivepress.es October 1st - October 14th 2015

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Safe at last!

Controversial Almoraima sale comes off the market after campaign by Olive Press and visit from Hollywood actress Salma Hayek

SOLD OUTSPANISH housebuilder Tay-lor Wimpey Espana has dou-bled its annual sales this year.The subsidiary of the British company has already sold out five developments, with Brit-ish sales up 37%.Meanwhile, German buyers have leapt by an astonishing 160%, fuelled mainly by sales in Mallorca.Marc Pritchard, sales and marketing director, said: “It’s been a really good summer this year. “It’s been at least five years since I’ve experienced such an intense level of enthusi-asm for Spanish property.”New Costa del Sol develop-ments popular with British golfers this year include La Floresta Sur near Marbella and Miraval in Mijas.

Malaga company floatsA LUXURY property com-pany has become the first in Malaga to float on the stock exchange.Obsido, a Spanish-Norwe-gian company, debuted on the Mercado Alternativo Bursátil (MAB) this month at a price of €19.40 per share.The company currently man-ages two hotel resorts in Es-tepona and Marbella. FULL STORY PAGE 21

NATURAL BEAUTY: Alcornocales Natural Park, while (left) Hayek and (below) Almoraima estate

Who bagged top prize at the World Travel Awards?

PAGE 35

EXCLUSIVE: Peter Hain buys stunning Estepona villa

PAGE 21

What have former PM Aznar and footballer Bent-ley got in common?

PAGE 24


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ropertywww.theolivepress.es

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THE property sector is set to bounce back at an even faster pace over the coming years.And many in the industry feel this change is across the board, from studio apartments and small holiday homes right up to the luxury sector.If 2015 was the year of the ‘comeback’, 2016 and 2017 will see prices contin-ue to rise with the rental market also gaining ground, according to a leading property expert.Prices are predicted to increase around 6.2% next year alone, claims Servihabi-tat CEO Julian Cabanillas.This rise is almost three times this year’s increase, which is currently pre-dicted to sit at between 2.3% and 2.6% overall.The real estate giant, part owned by La Caixa bank, also predicted that pur-chases next year could grow by 25%.This positivity is shared by property ex-pert Terra Meridiana’s Adam Neale.“The crisis brought many tough years for the property market with the crunch really hitting in 2011,” he told the Olive Press.“The market has picked up since then across all budgets and now we can real-ly see the good times picking up again.”

Let the good times roll...

A new chapter to breathe life into this iconic Marbella ruin

EXCLUSIVE: Meet the estate agent on an un-heard-of selling streak

Page 19

What has Brigitte Bardot got to do with Spanish property?

Page 22

SOLDSOLD

SOLDSOLD

SOLD

Issue No. 6 November 26th - December 9th

Property sales are back on track with multi-million euro purchases, renewed confidence and fresh hope for the future

LA ZAGALETA BEAUTY: Sold by Panorama

PUERTO BANUS PRIZE: Sold by Panorama

GOLDEN MILE PAD: Sold by Terra Meridiana

ESTEPONA ESCAPE: Sold by Terra Meridiana

ON THE UP: Stunning Spanish properties, such as luxury villa (above) sold by Panorama, are being snapped up in the post-crisis boom


olive pressthe

ropertywww.theolivepress.es January 20th - February 6th 2016

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HiFX Europe Limited Sucursal en España is a branch of HiFX Europe Limited. HiFX Europe Limited is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Payment Services Regulations 2009, registration 462444, for the provision of payment services.HiFX Europe Limited Sucursal en España is a branch of HiFX Europe Limited. HiFX Europe Limited is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Payment Services Regulations 2009, registration 462444, for the provision of payment services.HiFX Europe Limited Sucursal en España is a branch of HiFX Europe Limited. HiFX Europe Limited is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Payment Services Regulations 2009, registration 462444, for the provision of payment services. Don’t let the banks cash in! www.hifx.co.uk



Enjoy bank beatingexchange rates.

Mark Stucklin on the year Spain left the crisis behind

PAGE 18

Eco triumph for Valdevaqueros beach in Tarifa

PAGE 19

Olive Press Prop-erty Observatory launches

PAGE 20

A run down of Spain’s top eco-friendly pads

PAGE 24

IT is set to become one of the most ex-clusive golf development projects in Europe.The purchase of emblematic Valderra-

ma golf course by Marbella development company Zagaleta is the fusing of two prestigious Spanish giants.A new mega-project, taking in 200 hect-ares of rolling virgin hillside near the fa-mous golf course, is the perfect sign that the Spanish property market is truly flour-ishing again.Zagaleta, just outside Marbella, is Spain’s most luxurious residential development, counting Hugh Grant and the mayor of Moscow among its residents, while So-togrande-based Valderrama hosted the 1997 Ryder Cup as well as the now de-funct Volvo Masters.Developers Zagaleta Limited, based in London, have purchased the Valderrama group, including the golf course, as well as the new land in neighbouring Castellar municipality.In an exciting deal, said to be worth €40 million, Zagaleta has become the new landlord of Valderrama Golf Club, until at least 2050.Alongside the deal, Zagaleta is to invest a further €200 million creating a new complex - dubbed Valderamma 2 - with a second championship course, hotel and around 100 high-end properties.

Spain’s property comeback continues as €240m mega-fusion sees Zagaleta buy the Valderrama group, writes Iona Napier

Local agent Ben Bateman, of Holmes Sotogrande described the deal as ‘a very interesting fusion of two famous brands.’The agent, who has known about the sale for some time and even shown potential clients around the course, added: “The quality of Zagaleta is integral here, and given the new ownership of Sotogrande

itself, it’s very exciting news for the whole area.”Fellow agent Adam Neale of Terra Me-ridiana added: “It is surely win win for the coast.“You are going to get a whole new net-work of high-end clients looking there.”Security is set to be a major factor in the

development, while quality of construc-tion will also be paramount.At Zagaleta, in Benahavis, near Marbella, homes currently start from around €3 million.An incredibly secretive place, once owned by arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, its own-ers are said to have included Rod Stewart

and even President Putin of Russia.The project will unfold over the next de-cade, and La Zagaleta group has ex-pressed its willingness to collaborate with the Real Club Valderrama, to preserve the privacy and exclusivity that the brand has built up over many years to become a Eu-ropean landmark.

It is surely win win for the coast.

A very interest-ing fusion of two famous brands.

‘‘

“ “

“

Mega-fusionPERFECT MATCH: Zagaleta (top) meets Valderrama (below)

Ben Bateman, Holmes Sotogrande

Adam Neale, Terra Meridiana



Buying or selling property in Spain?Enjoy bank beatingexchange rates.Put us to the test. See if HiFX could save youtime and money.

SIX OF THE BEST: OP Property magazines over the last 12 months

25www.theolivepress.es the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015Property www.theolivepress.es March 30th - April 12th 2016 25 March 30th - April 12th 2016

26 www.theolivepress.esthe Olive Press November 14th - 25th 2016Property www.theolivepress.es March 30th - April 12th 201626

Positive, but not naiveThe year started well for sales and at least one top economist is cautiously optimistic, writes property pundit Mark Stucklin

ONE of Spain’s top economists, professor Jordi Gual of the Caixa Bank group, is optimistic about the year ahead despite the frag-

ile global economy.Speaking at a dinner for real estate pro-fessionals organised by Amat Immobili-aris he talked about the oil price crash, slowdown in China, and low interest rates – and the implications for Spain as it emerges from recession after a painful internal devaluation and restructuring, and now faces a continuing political cri-sis in Madrid.After reading so many gloomy head-lines of late, it was reassuring to listen to a more balanced view from some-one with access to all the data. Prof Gual made it clear he is cautiously optimistic for Spain, describing his position as ‘posi-tive but not naive’, in-cluding on the domes-tic political front.Without denying the human cost, he ex-plained how Spain has become much more competitive, al-though the job is not yet over. As a totally open econo-my, foreign investment has been flooding in to take advantage of Spain’s opportunities, including real estate. Of course, he stressed, if foreign investors take fright, they can leave as quickly as they arrived.He also explained how

Spanish firms are just as productive as those in other EU countries like Germany when comparing mid-sized and big companies. Spain’s productivity problem stems from its large number of small companies compared

to economies like Germany and the UK. Why so many small companies? Be-cause the administrative environment in Spain discourages companies from growing above a certain size.

gooD staRt to thE YEaROfficial statistics for January show the Spanish property market kicked off the year with a blast, as sales surged and house prices increased.There were 27,568 homes sold in Janu-ary, according to the General Council of Notaries, an increase of 27% on last year (see chart above).However, the chart also shows that Janu-ary 2015 was 11% down on 2014, so this January’s big increase might have more to do with weak sales last year than strong sales this year. The hotspots are Barcelona, Madrid and the most popular towns on the Mediterranean coast like Marbella, as well as the Balea-rics and Canary Islands.

housE pRiCEsMeanwhile, average house prices (in terms of €/sqm) rose 2% in January on a year before, having climbed from an an-nualised decline of 6% in January 2015 (and - 8% a year ago in March 2015).

There were 11,884 new mortgages signed in January, an increase of 30% over the same time last year.Although house prices have crawled back into positive territory (based on the price of property sold), they lack the momentum to rise fast anytime soon. And house prices are still 31% below their 2007 peak.In the context of the SPI House Price Index Tracker (see chart, left), which in-cludes the seven most watched house price indices in Spain, the latest data from the notaries reinforces the picture of Spanish house prices stabilising in mildly-positive territory, after years of big declines.

ConClusionSales up 27%, mortgage lending up 30%, house prices up 2%: It looks like January was a great start to the year for the Spanish property market.

Mark Stucklin runs www.span-ishpropertyinsight.com

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Coto Real – Ref 248Price: 375,000€

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Jardines de la Duq. – Ref 236Price: 595,000€

Immaculate private villa overlooking the 15th hole at Duquesa Golf course. A South West orientation enables you to enjoy the sun all day. Located at the end of a quiet street, only 1km from the Marina of Duquesa.

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SOUTH FACING TERRACE!SEA VIEWS!FRONT LINE GOLF!AMAZING PROPERTY!

ON THE UP: House prices keep going up again


VILLA FRONTLINE LOS NARANJOS GOLF4 Beds • 4 Baths • 680 Built m2 • 208 Terrace m2 • REF 176-01258P

A beautiful and very well built house front line to Los Naranjos Golf in a small gated and private urbanisation. The house has been decorated in a modern style and is being offered fully furnished. The Villa features under floor heating, state of the art AC system, central vacuum cleaner, heated pool and also a special basement level with natural light and consists of a cinema room, guest suite, laundry room, utility area and a large garage.

VILLA LA QUINTA4 Beds • 5 Bath • 550 Built m2 • 143 Terrace m2 • REF 176-01246P

Brand new stunning contemporary villa offering breath-taking views towards the sea and tranquil surroundings. The property has been built to perfection with high qualities throughout. As you enter the house you have a good size living/dining area that leads out to the covered terrace and pool area. The garage holds 2-3 cars as well as having space for a store room.

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in cyberspace… buyer beware!

There is little protection for anyone buying and selling through big property portals… and it is unfair on legal, registered agents, believes Graham Govier of Inland Andalucia

IT seems extraordinary that in 2016 there are still a large number of individuals op-erating as estate agencies who are to-

tally unregistered in Spain. What do I mean by ‘unregistered’?Well, aside from failing to provide proper invoices to their clients for services, they don’t have public liability insurance, which means that anything verbally stated or promised as part of a purchase or sale will have no recourse on them, except in a civil court.On top of this, they don’t have registered addresses and are often not properly checking whether the properties they sell are completely legal and allowed to be traded.

In short, they are not adhering to any as-pect of the European Trade Description Act… and all the strict regulations that us legal agents have to abide by are generally ignored.This doesn’t happen in the UK, Germany or Denmark… so why does it happen in Spain?A lot of the blame has to sit with the large number of property portals that exist out in cyberspace. Websites such as Kyero, Think Spain, A and Place in the Sun, etc, which do not check the accreditation of anyone offering properties for sale. And why would they? That would drasti-cally restrict their revenue, of course.It is even apparently too much for many of them to simply have a disclaimer tucked away in the small print as part of their ‘terms of use’ section.This is all completely unacceptable in

2016. Where is the protection for the pub-lic? I believe it is going to take new European legislation to resolve this. Meanwhile it has to be BUYER BEWARE.We always advise our clients to use their credit card when reserving a property. This method provides the additional pro-tection of the credit card company.If ‘Sorry…we don’t take credit cards’ is the reaction of your agent, ask yourself why?That is the true indication if you are really dealing with a registered agency that has bank accreditation.Property prices are still low and there are some great bargains out there… but do not risk your savings without investigating who you are dealing with.If it all goes wrong you will live to regret it!

Contact Graham Govier at Inland Anda-lucia on [email protected]

Property www.theolivepress.es March 30th - April 12th 2016 29

IT may be in need of a little TLC but this cortijo between Alcala la Real and Castillo de Locubin could become a dream finca overlooking stunning Andalucian countryside. On the market for just €49,000 you would be hard pushed to find a cortijo project in such a stunning location going as cheap. With a large well, 4,500m2 of land and planning permission already in place to rebuild, it would make a dream spot for a cycling retreat or a hikers getaway.Contact Inland Andalucia for more information.

a dream view


What would the romans say

...about Spain’s long list of botched makeovers and reck-less restorations?Rob Horgan and Iona Napier tour the country’s monumental disasters

WHEN archaeologists uncov-ered incredible Roman ruins in Ecija, the town hall turned it

into a car park. When UNESCO threat-ened to take away Sevilla’s World Heritage status, the city ploughed

ahead with plans for a 40-storey sky-scraper anyway. And now, in Cadiz, Spain’s latest res-

toration disaster is unfolding.Historians and locals are outraged over ‘repairs’ to El Castillo de Matre-

Car crash digaRChEologists could barely hide their excite-ment. historians revelled in the unearthing of a new hidden gem. And then … the bulldozers moved in, flattening nearly 2,000 years of history. beneath the main square of Ecija, in Sevilla, a trea-sure trove of Roman his-tory languishes beneath a new car park. Where a Roman bath house, gymnasium and temple had once stood, seat ibizas, leons and to-ledos are now parked up. While archaeolo-gists around the world slammed the work, the town hall claimed that had it not dug up the main square to build the car park in 1998, the re-mains would never have been found.

WHEN the final stone is set in place, Gaudi’s famous Sagrada Familia will be the world’s tall-est church, soaring 170 metres above Barcelona. It will also be one of the strang-est looking and possibly the most controversial places of worship ever built. Confounding architects, critics and historians alike, the church was described by George Or-well as ‘one of the most hid-eous buildings in the world’ and he admitted he hoped it would be destroyed during the Spanish Civil War.Although Gaudi began the work, the building’s numerous subsequent architects have each added their own stamp. Some critics say they have strayed too far from the original vision of the great Spanish ar-chitect. Started in 1882 the project is scheduled - although unlikely - to be finished in 2026.

Towering insult FOR 13 centuries a bell tower overlooked the ancient city of Sevilla. It was the tallest building in Andalucia’s capital and the standout jewel on the city’s skyline. Then in 2010, a 178-metre tower was erected by Spanish bank Cajasol and the quaint La Giralda bell tower was thrust into its shadows. It was regarded as such an eyesore and an insult to the city’s architecture, UNESCO threatened to remove Sevilla from its list of World Heritage Sites. In the end, the city retained its status but remains on the ‘threatened list’ and has been warned off ruining its historic skyline.

UNHOLy HOTCHPOTCH

ra, after the 9th century castle was ‘extended’ by builders.In place of ancient stone work, concrete blocks were slotted in to ‘pre-serve’ the monument. A National Monument since 1949, a local histo-rian described the work as a ‘heritage massacre’.

Mocked

Such a cowboy cockup it is, that it has received international media cov-erage lambasting the poor workmanship and the images went viral on social media, as people mocked the less-than-lovingly restored Moorish castle. But the botched job on the Castillo is sadly noth-ing new. In place of historic land-marks, giant eyesores have been popping up across the country since the turn of the century. Here are some of the worst (or best, depend-ing on your taste).

ONE of Spain’s biggest restora-tion disasters has polemically become a tourist draw.When an elderly woman tried to repair a religious fresco in a Zaragoza church in 2012, scan-dal and derision reverberated through the country and its me-dia outlets.But now Cecilia Gimenez, 82, has the last laugh, as a visitor centre has opened to document her botched drawing of Christ.

Her efforts to preserve Behold the Man (Ecce Homo) were cru-elly but somewhat accurately re-named Behold the Monkey (Ecce Mono).The patched-up 100-year-old sketch has drawn some 100,000 visitors to Borja and even in-spired an opera, Behold the Man.Borja Mayor Francisco Arilla hopes more good can come, with an average of 30,000 visitors per year predicted.

Monkey business

RED-FACED: Gimenez


The Olive Press – 342 x 256mm 30th March Property Magazine

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S O T O G R A N D E

S O T O G R A N D E

33www.theolivepress.es the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015 33Property www.theolivepress.es March 30th - April 12th 2016Property www.theolivepress.es March 30th - April 12th 2016

S O T O G R A N D E

S O T O G R A N D E


IT was never a question of IF Richard Woodland would escape the London rat race,

it was WHEN.The Property Overseas Group owner, who was raised in sub-urban south London, pursued his dream to move to Spain almost 15 years ago.The half-Spanish IT man-ager traded his job in the big smoke to work for Country-wide, the UK's largest estate agency at the time, which was establish-ing a Marbella base."My mother is from Madrid so I had always holidayed in Spain, mostly on the coast, and I was interested in prop-erty so the job at Countrywide was the perfect timing and the perfect fit," the 50-year-old father-of-three told the Olive Press.

In the knowFrom the big smoke to the rolling hills, Property Overseas Group owner Rich-ard Woodland is an inland wizard

"I lived in Marbella for a few years but I was attracted to the inland lifestyle so I bought some land and built my own finca in Coin."The softly-spoken agent con-tinued: "The finca I was build-ing was initially intended as a weekend retreat but it wasn't long before I had moved in permanently and then started building a new project in Mon-

da."By this point Richard had left Country-wide and set up his own agency, Prop-erty Overseas Group, which now operates from its inland office in Coin, opposite La

Trocha commercial centre.Due to the length of time he has lived in the area, he has built up the best contacts for local architects, lawyers, gar-deners and builders and can

provide the complete service to clients.As importantly, he is com-pletely bilingual – perfect for negotiating bureaucratic red tape and changeable Spanish laws."I realised I can be really help-ful to buyers," he explains, adding that most of his clients are looking for property with beautiful views and a private plot of land.He believes in the current climate this can be achieved easily inland for around €250,000."You can certainly get much more for your money inland," insists Richard, who lives with his partner and son in Coin.

He has two daughters in the UK.Such a big fan of the region, he now has several properties of his own that he rents out - including one in Estepona, which can be rented cheaply while house hunting and you can be refunded the rental if you buy.While he knows the property market on the coast, he is a particular specialist in the Guadalhorce valley, includ-ing the towns of Coin, Monda, Guaro, Tolox and Alhaurin el Grande.Call Richard on 952 814 780 email [email protected] or visit www.prop-ertyoverseasgroup.com

HOMESELLERS REPORT

KNOWLEDGABLE: Richard Woodland

my spanish is perfect for negotiating

bureaucratic red tape

35www.theolivepress.es the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015Property www.theolivepress.es March 30th - April 12th 2016 35

36 www.theolivepress.esthe Olive Press November 14th - 25th 2016 Property March 30th - April 12th 201636

NEW LOCATION FOR LA PERLA PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

The services are dedicated to taking the ‘hassle factor’ out of being a homeowner in Spain, making your life as easy as you want it to be and increasing the enjoyment of your property. They are always making improvements to be able to offer an even higher quality

of service. They offer an array of services for your convenience and they can be specifically tailored to your situation or needs. Services include:

They can manage the Sale or rental of your property for long or short lets. If you bought your property as an investment or as a second home, they

can arrange rentals for the periods where the house is not being used with the advantage that they always have a person on site to help the rental clients and to make sure that your house is always being looked after.

Jane Clay has opened the doors to her plush new office in Sabinillas and couldn’t be happier!!! With it’s central location it’s now even easier to pop in and have a chat to resolve all your doubts on your property in Spain. La Perla Living in Bahia passed on to be La Perla Property Management in 2010 and Jane has over 29 years experience

of managing property on the coast. In DLP San Pedro in 1987 then in Sotogrande in Paniagua and followed by La Paloma de Manilva where all the infraestructure was renewed and all the villas built, moving on in 2003 to

La Perla de la Bahia where she now manages 140 of the properties onsite.

Jane Clay – La Perla Property [email protected] [email protected] Tel : + 34 952 890 930 Fax: + 34 952 897 377 Mobile + 34 620 368 288

Conjunto San Luis, Portal 3 Local 4 (next to Banco Popular), Calle Isaac Peral, San Luis de Sabinillas, Manilva, 29692 Malaga

www.laperladelabahia.com

Jane and her team can’t wait to welcome you to their new office and help you in all your needs

Cleaning packages A, B & C Insurance BrokersWelcome Package Weekly Check

Annual Air-conditioning ContractsGardening & Plants Personal Secretary Maintenance Service

NEW on the Costa Del SolPrices from EUR 90 + IVA

Get those all important viewings with good pictures

www.marbellarealestatephotos.com

Marbella Real Estate Photos

WHATEVER the re-sults of the vote on June 23, our re-

search shows us that Spain will always appeal to British buyers. Even if Brexit comes to pass, Brits will still want their place in the sun or the coun-tryside, a better way of life and a warmer climate. We do not expect there to be any change in the ability of Brits to purchase abroad – after all, the most popular locations in Spain do rely on the significant stream of income from British buyers and expats to boost their economy.From a currency perspec-tive, here at Smart Curren-cy Exchange we have seen how sterling strengthened against the euro throughout 2015 following worries over Greece and the weakness of the Eurozone economy.Forecasts were for continued euro weakness, but the mar-kets were caught by surprise when the European Central

Brexit, house prices and why not to worry

Bank’s actions following the December 2015 meeting didn’t meet expectations, and the euro strengthened.Sterling’s weakness has since been exacerbated by talk of the potential of Brexit; and setting a date for the referendum has focused everyone ’s minds on what this could mean. The pound will more than likely continue to struggle in the face of un-certain markets, speculation about the outcomes of the referendum and in response to other economic data. Be aware that sterling could still fall further in the run up to the referendum and after

the vote. It is important to remem-ber, however, that although the sterling-euro exchange rate soared in the summer of 2015, the rates available now are still considerably bet-

ter than those available up until as recently as 2014, in the wake of the fi-nancial crisis.Of course this volatility may well affect what properties you can afford for your money in

sterling, taking any property beyond your budget. This is where we recom-mend utilising our services and property buyer solu-tions, such as the opportuni-ty to secure the price of your property in pounds at the

there is no guarantee the rate will shoot

up following the referendum

current rate to protect you from any future fluctuations before you make your final payment.After all, if you choose to leave the property price in the hands of the exchange rates and wait for rates to improve, you may be waiting for some time.If the outcome of the refer-endum IS a Brexit, the ster-ling-euro rate could poten-tially fall further. And even if we decide to remain in the EU, there is likely to be some uncertainty in exchange rates until everything settles down, so there is no guar-antee the rate will shoot up immediately following the referendum.Email [email protected] or visit the Mijas La Cala office behind SuperSol.

Britons will always want a place in the sun but also keep an eye on exchange rates, writes Smart Currency Exchange ex-pert Mark Rickard

www.smartcurrencyexchange.comLa Cala del Sol, Local No. 17,Cala de Mijas, 29649, Malaga

tel: +34 951 401 921


37www.theolivepress.es the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015Property www.theolivepress.es March 30th - April 12th 2016 37


Looking for peace of mind?

www.blacktowerfm.com

• Expert wealth management • Effective tax planning• Tailored investments• International Pension Transfers • Private Banking• Discretionary Fund Management

Contact the Marbella or Gibraltar OContact the Marbella or Gibraltar Office:T +34 952 816 443 | +350 200 42353E [email protected] Financial Management (International) Limited is licensed by the Gibraltar FSC Licence 00805B and registered with the DGS in Spain. Blacktower Financial Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.

How many New Year Resolutions have you broken so far?- By Quentin Sellar / International Financial Adviser

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) Licence No: 00805B and registered with the DGS in Spain.

We are almost at the end of the first quarter of 2016 and as the last weekend will include Easter most of us will break the “I won’t eat chocolate in 2016” resolution by Easter Sunday - if we have lasted that long!

That was a slightly flippant opening, but there is a common resolution that my colleagues and I hear most days: “I said at the start of the year that we MUST get my finances sorted out and do something about…” That ‘something’ could be a frozen pension in the UK or having too much cash in a current account that is earning them absolutely nothing and even in these days of low inflation, eroding their spending ability. It could be having investments that were started when you were living in the UK and made fantastic sense as a UK resident, but give you absolutely no benefit at all now that you are living in Spain. Think ISA’s or Premium Bonds.

It could even be an inheritance that you know you should do something with, but with all this uncertainty caused by Brexit, interest rates rising in the USA or concern over the volatility of the financial markets the money is still sitting in a deposit account gaining no interest whatsoever.

Or it could be that you know you should have done something about your Residency, completing your Modelo 720 submission.

Let’s take this step by step and look at the main areas where we find people are not planning properly or are delinquent, and therefore leaving themselves open to a severe fine or potentially penalising their beneficiaries.

I’ve focussed on a few of the most important issues and the key ones are:

• Spanish or UK resident• Declaration of Offshore Assets (Modelo 720)• Spanish Inheritance Tax

Before I start on those, on 29 October 2014, 51 jurisdictions signed the first ever multilateral competent authority agreement to automatically exchange information. Known as the “Automatic Exchange of Information or Common Reporting Standards”.

These countries have agreed to collect data on income earned in their territory by non-resident individuals and automatically transmit this data to the authorities where the individual resides, so that it can be taxed in the individual’s country of residence. This process started with the EU Savings Directive in 2005, where details of savings accounts held in other countries were automatically sent to the tax offices. In January 2016 this level of information was extended to all income from any source.

Fiscal Residency - this is a matter of fact and not a matter of choice.

Spain will class you as being a Fiscal Resident, and therefore due to pay your taxes in Spain if:

• You spend more than 183 days a year in Spain• Your dependent spouse and children live here• Your centre of economic interest is in Spain

The taxes that are due to be paid in Spain:

• Income tax on worldwide income• Savings and Dividend taxes• Capital Gains Tax

And as a fiscal resident you are also now need to declare all assets held outside of Spain.

Declaration of Overseas Assets - Modelo 720

Since 2014, you have been obligated to declare assets held in other countries if you have more than €50,000 in either:

• Property• Bank Accounts• Investments

The deadline for this submission is 31st March and if you have not already done so, please complete it now. The fines for a late submission are a lot less severe than no submission at all and being caught. From January 2016 the asset will be declared to the Spanish authorities anyway. Once you have made the declaration, you do not need to submit again unless your holdings in any of the three asset classes has increased by more than €20,000, or made any disposals.

However, do not be caught out by the exchange rate trap. On 31st December 2013, the £:€ rate was 1:1.20 but on 31st December 2014 it

was 1:1.28 and on 31st December 2015 it had climbed to 1:1.36. So even if the value of the asset in GBP had not increased, the euro value had increased quite significantly.

Inheritance Tax

You need to be aware that the system in Spain is completely different to that of the UK. I’m not going to go into all the differences or explain how it is calculated in this article because it is very complicated, but the most significant differences are:

• There are no free transfers between spouses• The beneficiary must pay the tax before they can inherit the asset• There are different rates applied depending on your relationship to the deceased, i.e. Unmarried couples pay twice as much as those who are married or who have registered as “Pareja de Hecho” Step children will pay twice as much as natural children

There are allowances, again depending on your relationship to the deceased but these are nowhere near the level of the UK, so most people will have a tax liability to pay.

Can we help?

Of course we can. When we meet a client for the first time we have a relaxed conversation to establish their current situation, discuss their future plans and finally what they want to happen to their estate when that time comes. We then develop a solution that will meet those needs in the most tax effective way possible.

I’ve only touched on the most common problems people encounter so if you want more information contact me on + 34 952 816 443 or email [email protected]

39www.theolivepress.es the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015Property March 30th - April 12th 201639

www.castlesestateagency.comCalle Isaac Peral 4, Sabinillas 29692 · Manilva, Malaga · España · Office: (0034) 951 714 626 / 952 891 221

Fabulous ground floor duplex apartment located on a front line beach urbanisation at Casares, with good access to main coast road and villages of Sabinillas, Estepona and the nearby golf and marina complex at La Duquesa. Beautiful landscaped gardens and swimming pool areas with direct access to beach.

Type: Duplex Apartment / Area: Casares CostaBedrooms: 3 / Bathrooms: 3 / Area Built: 120m² / Terrace: 60m²

3 Bedroom Apartment 2 Bedroom Apartment

3 Bedroom Apartment

235,000€Ref. 1555

Beautifully presented 3 bedroom townhouse located on a small, tranquil urbanisation overlooking La Duquesa Golf and enjoying panoramic views of the course and to the sea. The picturesque port of La Duquesa and traditional fishing village of Sabinillas is a short walk away. The townhouse is in excellent condition having been recently been renovated to a high standard. The house has a small garden to the front and a private parking space. A fine property in a lovely location, in fantastic condition and tastefully furnished. Ideal for holidays or as a permanent residence and viewing is recommended

Type: Townhouse / Area: Duquesa / Bedrooms:3Bathrooms:3 / Area Built:107m² / Terrace: 98m²

3 Bedroom Townhouse

225,000€Ref. 1536

Fantastic opportunity, for 2 bedroom apartment situated in the luxury complex of Duquesa Village. Landscaped gardens, multiple community swimming pools, 24hr security, good road access to the blue flag beaches nearby, and the picturesque marina of Puerto de la Duquesa. Bright and spacious lounge and dining area with access onto the main sunny terrace. A fabulous apartment at an unbeatable price. Excellent permanent or holiday home with rental potential. Viewing highly recommended.

Magnificent frontline beach top floor duplex apartment located on the prestigious complex of La Perla de la Bahia, Casares. A luxurious urbanization in a Moorish design with substantial tropical gardens, fountains and pools. Built to a high quality the property affords lovely views of the beach and sea. The complex is completely private, with good security, video door entry and alarm system. Direct access to a blue flag beach via gardens which also include a fabulous choice of swimming pools - one of which is heated.

A superb top floor apartment with a huge roof terrace enjoying panoramic sea views, ideally situated close to the marina and golf of La Duquesa. Good access to the beach and nearby shops and restaurants the property is bright and spacious, beautifully presented and includes an underground parking space and storeroom. The apartment is located on a secure gated complex with lovely swimming pool and garden areas and a padel tennis court.

Type:Apartment / Area:Duquesa / Bedrooms:2 / Bathrooms:2Area Built:88m² / Terrace: 30m²

Type: Duplex Apartment / Area: Casares Costa / Bedrooms:3Bathrooms:3 / Area Built:170m² / Terrace: 35m²

Type: Penthouse Apartment / Area: Duquesa / Bedrooms:2Bathrooms:2 / Area Built:75m² / Terrace: 61m²

2 Bedroom Apartment

120,000€Ref. 1532

A stunning 4-bedroom luxury villa located in an elevated position on the Casares Costa between Estepona and Sabinillas. A short drive to local shops, restaurants, supermarkets and 2 minute walking distance to the blue flag beaches. Close proximity to the prestigious Finca Cortesin Golf course and Dona Julia. This villa was designed in a classic Andalucian style by the renowned local architect Aubrey David and has spectacular elevated sea views.

Type: Villa / Area: Casares Costa / Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms: 4 / Area Built: 245m² / Plot Size: 2058m²

4 Bedroom Villa

695,000€Ref. 1506

390,000€Ref. 1386

170,000€Ref. 1352

39

Cocomo

ULF and the team at Anda-lucia Development are up to their eyes in business

at this time of year. With the Costa del Sol seeing an explosion of growth over recent decades and the recovery of the crisis well underway, it’s es-sential to speak to people who know their stuff to keep savvy.The small but very well estab-lished Scandina-vian team at An-dalucia Develop-ment in Marbella has a wealth of experience in the Spanish and international real estate markets.Since the company was set up by Kjell Hessedahl, Ulf’s father,

Taking care of businessAndalucia Development is keeping busy in the golf valley and in Nueva Andalucia

MORE French riviera-style seafront board-walks are to be laid in a push to connect the entire Costa del Sol.French developer Les Rivages is investing €500,000 on a new section on the outskirts

of Estepona where it is spending €12 million building 18 luxury properties.The boardwalk is part of the Senda Litoral project to link 180km of coast stretching from Nerja to Manilva.

Walk the planks

back in 1981, it has been per-fectly poised to be part of the immense growth of Marbella and the surrounding areas.The multilingual team is a ‘one -stop- shop’ for your needs

and can take care of all the details and bureaucratic hoops that are involved when buying or sell-ing a house.N u r t u r i n g solid relation-ships with cli-ents, lawyers, building and

property management compa-nies and many more over the years, their connections make the whole process of buying or selling a house as smooth as possible.

Their goal: to make their cus-tomers feel as comfortable as possible throughout what can be a stressful process.They also secure all of the practical after sale aspects so you don’t have to worry about a thing.With an approachable, welcom-ing workforce for whom nothing is too much trouble, the team at Andalucia Development would love to see you. You can find them in Centro Pla-za, Local 63, Nueva Andalucia, Marbella. Call them on 952 816 250 or email [email protected]

VERY BUSY: Ulf

The multilingual team is a ‘one

-stop- shop’ for all your

needs


RECIO & MADRONA

Gestoría

tel: 952 892 097 – [email protected]. Manilva 1 – Edificio Avenida, 1F – Sabinillas – 29692 Manilva

Administrative Advisors with 20 years experience in both Spain and the UK

Tax advisors and accounting services

Business start-up

Vehicle transfers, Spanish car registration and driving license renewals

Assisting at the notary

EXPAT SERVICESApplication for NIE and residency

Translation services and help with phone calls to Spanish companies

Bank accounts & mortgages

Property www.theolivepress.es March 30th - April 12th 201640

Direct from owners! Two great business opportunities, 40 Hct. farm on the “Rio Genal”Very old mill ruin, plus buildings to renovate. 800 meters River Front, three water prevorations on flat river land! Great for ECO-vegetables growing, plus woodlands higher location. Cork, olives, horses, sheeps, etc.Tourist Hotel, Schools, Training centers, walking, riding.Two Villages 15 min, coast 45 min. Plans available for Centers. Townhall apr.

Ideal for Hotel / Restaurant / Camping Van’s, etc.38 Hct., 5 min main road, 15 min autovia Sotogrande - Estepona beach!Lots of water, plus river, electricity. Old farmhouse to renovate. Plans available with Townhall apr. Experienced working team, honest pricing, available.Must be viewed!

Finca Tintorera

Farm Rio Genal

750.000 €

800.000 €

Call 952 11 74 51 · Mob 616 73 66 00 · 8 am to 10 am and evenings 7 to 9 o’clock

THE priciest pad in Spain is owned by a British lord.Tory donor Lord James Lup-ton purchased lavish clifftop estate La Fortaleza, in Mal-lorca, for an estimated €40 million in 2011 from another Brit, John Ogden.However, it is a snip com-pared to the estate’s €125 million price tag at the peak of the boom in 2008, when Ogden put it on the marketNow multimillionaire Lup-ton, a former executive at Barings bank, has allowed the BBC to film the new se-

The Lord’s lairBBC films drama at Spain’s most expensive property, which belongs to aristocratic Brit

PRICEY PAD: La Fortaleza while (above) Hugh Laurie and (below) Lord Lupton

ries of The Night Manager, there for an undisclosed sum last month.The drama sees Hugh Lau-rie and Tom Hiddleston strut around the seven-villa, two-pool estate perched high above Pollenca bay in a thriller about arms dealer Richard Roper.A one-week stay at the

sumptuous estate was auc-tioned for a cool €265,000 at a Conservative party fun-draiser last year.La Fortaleza was built as a fort in 1628 to defend the peninsula from the Saracens.While it cannot be rented publically, it may soon be open to the public several days a month.

ourDirect from the owners! Two great business opportunities at a 40 hectare farm on the Rio Genal (River Genal)It consists of a very old mill, plus outbuildings to renovate. 800 metres of river frontage, and three wells on flat river land! It is great for growing organic vegetables, woodland, olives, horses, sheep and even cork.It would be a perfect project for a hotel, training centre/school or stables.There are two villages just 15 minutes away, and a 45-minute drive from the coast.And, the town hall has already approved a training centre.

Ideal for a hotel or restaurant development.Farm Rio Genal includes an old farmhouse that can be renovated with plans available from the town hall. At 38 hectares and just five minutes from the main road, you can be in Sotogrande via the motorway in just 15 minutes - thenEstepona beach and Malaga are not much further!There is lots of water plus a river and electricity. Come and have a look around!

8 - 10 a m a n d 7 - 9 p m

41www.theolivepress.es the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015 25Property www.theolivepress.es March 30th - April 12th 2016 41

Cocomo

What the papers say...“The Cocomo building provides a stylish ambience and a sleek, modern approach for today’s discerning clientele to enjoy a light snack, a signature cocktail or a full evening meal. Cocomo delivers for its diverse mix of local residents and global visitors alike.”

A unique opportunity to acquire this established freehold restaurant & bar, situated in the renowned beachside community of Benamara.

Next to The Senator Banus Spa Hotel Marbella

This is an excellent opportunity to acquire the freehold site of this well established venue in readiness for an immediate return on investment.Due to a change in personal circumstances of its owner, an established hotelier, for whom the site was developed as a lifestyle retirement business, it is now reluctantly being offered for sale with vacant possession.Located in the picturesque community of Benamara dos Hermanos, beachside, only minutes from fashionable Puerto Banus and adjacent to the distinguished five star Senator Banus Spa Hotel, it has gained an enviable

reputation from its discerning clientele.Operating profitably from its first opening, it provides its occupier privileged profits and an excellent eclectic customer mix, with continued growth potential either as owner operator or with significant investment potential, providing a yield of circa 7.5%.The site extends to over 500 sq metres and is constructed over 3 floors. All works during its extensive half million euro reform were fully authorised and approved by the local authority and overseen by Baldrich – Tobal Arquitectos.

Accommodation & Luxury Apartment There is an external access from the street to a self-contained staff unit which has its own bathroom, A/C and provides for overnight accommodation.First Floor – The Apartment – Reformed in 2016, two double bedrooms, master bathroom, guest cloak room, lounge/dining room with new kitchen and utility area. The apartment is accessed by its own independent external staircase.

Plot: 500 metresTerrace: 240 metresBuild total: 330 metresBar: 150 metresBasement: 100 metresApartment: 96 metres

The establishment is marketed freehold and priced to sell, interested parties should make contact with the owner directly by email [email protected]

Property March 30th - April 12th 201642

Contact Campbell and the team on +34 952 923 520 or email [email protected]

experience in11 years+

RICS BUILDING SURVEYORS & VALUERS

Connect with us!

For peace of mind follow these property buying rules

+34 952 923 [email protected]

Buy with Knowledge& Confidence

Find Your Property

InstructBuilding Surveyor

InstructLawyer

ALL PROPERTY MATTERSBY CAMPBELL FERGUSON

IF you bought to let a Span-ish property to offset bills and mortgage fees and you don’t have an extra spare centimo to spend on it, think again. Andalucía has just con-firmed its residential prop-erty rental licensing scheme, bringing it into line with the majority of other tourist ar-eas throughout Spain. And safe to say, whether you get a license or whether you don’t, it will cost you. As far back as 2011, Barce-lona started controlling the rentals of private residential property. This has gradually spread to all the Costas, with the active backing of the hotel industry which saw private apartment and villa lets as an increasing threat to their occupancy rates. According to a recent study by HostelTur, private let-tings in 2015 accounted for approximately 25% of total short-term rentals in Spain, or more than 7.4 million tour-ists - an increase of 17% on 2014.From a health and safety an-gle, the regulation of some-times shockingly bad accom-modation is a good thing. Provision of fire, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors is good. But some of the new require-

Terra Meridiana. 77 Calle Caridad, 29680 Estepona. Tel: +34 951 318480. Office Mob: +34 678 452109

Email: [email protected]. http://www.terrameridiana.com

16years

essentialmagazine ®

1999-2015

w w w . e s s e n t i a l m a g a z i n e . c o m

WITH the Bank of Spain's proposed modification to Circular4/2004, Spanish registered banks may now be required, at least once a

year, to assess the accuracy of all property valuations and reappraise if there is a signifi-cant depreciation. This is long overdue and will give many banks a clearer – and possibly scarier – picture of their current investment standings.The mortgage process in Spain requires a valuation from a Spanish tasador, who is in-structed by the bank.However, because tasador valuations are regulated by the Bank of Spain this opens the door for eco-nomic ‘tinkering’, resulting in the valuations not being the true market value.Presently, the Survey Spain Network of RICS Chartered Surveyors undertake periodic valuations for various Europe-an banks who require updated Market Valuations of their cur-rent mortgaged stock. This is a trend we are seeing more frequently as banks turn to RICS valu-ers to get true market valuations after being disappointed with the ‘accuracy’ of tasador reports when the property is eventually sold.Tasadores are bound to value properties for mortgage purposes based only on the infor-mation contained within the escritura as a result of the authorities wanting to combat tax avoidance. However, this often provides a false impression as extensions or pool addi-tions are often only formally registered with-in the escritura when the property changes hands. Also, the banks often require the valuation to be after deduction of taxes and essential expenses, which can be as much as 10% of

the value.For example, say a bank has taken ten p r o p e r t i e s within a development and five of these have been extended. If the extensions were not registered (assum-ing all licences and permissions have been granted) the valuations from the tasador will all be the same, even though half of the properties are worth considerably more.In comparison, as RICS Registered Valuers are internationally regulated without a na-

tional interest, their guide-lines mean valuations are based on ‘what is seen’ on site and measured accord-ingly.Another client recently want-ed to purchase a detached villa with pool and their bank arranged a tasador valua-tion. In this case, the property was valued for the bank below the asking price, although we

had valued above asking price. When the two valuations were compared it was found that the pool, being 10 years old with all licences and permissions, had not been regis-tered within the escritura. Therefore it was not included in the tasador valuation even though the bank’s valuer had physically inspected it. People are unaware that their property may have been valued on a different basis and that recent legislation has effectively meant that RICS valuations cannot be used by banks wanting to register the mortgage of a property in Spain. Tasador valuations are not necessarily wrong, they may just be based on a different set of rules not related to true market value.

Relative valuesWhy do bank valuations differ from the buying price?

the property was valued

for the bank below the

asking price

The Property Insiderby Adam Neale

THERE are two possible outcomes once you have developed a new property: keep it as your permanent residence, holiday home, or to rent

out or sell it. Either way, you will be liable for a variety of levies, although these vary significantly, de-pending on the property and municipality.In addition to fees for professionals like architects and builders, you’ll have to hand over some significant sums to your local town hall for licences; to the Land and Property Registries and to notaries for registration fees; and, should you sell, pay ‘plusvalía municipal’ (local tax on the increase in the value of the land), also to your local council, and capital gains tax to the Spanish Tax Agency (‘Agencia Tributar-ia’, better known as ‘Hacienda’).To ensure we crossed all the ‘i’s and dotted all the ‘t’s, we asked Adolfo Martos Gross, a partner at the Costa del Sol firm, GAM Abogados, for more information. Let’s take a new-build villa in Marbella as an example, where, using round numbers, the plot costs €500,000 and construction €1,000,000.Before laying the first brick, you need to ap-ply for a building permit at your local town hall. Assuming the project meets relevant regulations, in Marbella the licence fee is

4% of projected build costs - in this case €20,000-28,000. These are based on amounts approved by the Architects Association of Malaga and are generally 30-50% lower than the real construction cost. But every town hall sets its own tax rates, so the percentage can vary.Once the property is completed, you have to apply for a ‘licence of initial occupation’, again at the town hall before you can con-nect to utilities and legally move in. In Marbella, this is levied at 0.308% of the build costs, Adolfo says, and normally based on the same projections provided for the building permit. As a result, set aside another €1,500-2,000, also variable.Thereafter, you need to visit a notary to draw up the deeds of the new property - you’ll be required to pay 1.5% of the real build cost in stamp duty. That, Adolfo notes, adds up to €15,000, plus another €2,000 for the Land Registry and notary’s fees.Up to this point, the costs are the same whether you decide to keep the property or sell it - around €37,500-47,000.If you opt to sell a new villa you will be liable to pay ‘plusvalía municipal’. If the period of ownership is under five

years, the rate in Marbella is 2.5% and the catastral value is usually less than half market value.So, for our €1.5 m villa it would come to €15,750.If you profit from the sale, you will also be li-able for capital gains tax, levied at different rates depending on your status (resident or non-resident, individual or company). Given Hacienda’s zealousness, Adolfo sug-gests you consult a specialist about declar-ing gains.Typically, all other costs – such as Land and Property Registries, and the notary – are paid by the buyer.But if the property is mortgaged, the seller is liable for the costs of cancelling an existing mortgage, if the buyer does not take it over.BUT, mortgage cancellations are tax ex-empt and recommends developers negoti-ate with banks to pay no cancellation fee or, in the worst case, no more than 0.5%. If there was a €300,000 mortgage pend-ing, cancellation costs shouldn’t exceed €500 for the Land Registry and €800 for the notary’s fee.Finally, as the developer of a new-build property in Spain, you also have to take out a 10-year structural damage insurance policy, which should cost in the region of €4,000 for our million-euro villa.

the price you pay In the final part of this series on Costa del Sol property

development, I review the fees and taxes a vendor has to pay before starting work, during the build, and at the time of sale


March 30th - April 12th 2016 25Property www.theolivepress.es March 30th - April 12th 2016 43

The widest choice of self catering holiday rentals

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GibraltarAll about 45


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IT may only be small, but Gi-braltar boasts just about ev-erything a stomach could be craving.

Whether it’s a no nonsense Domino’s pizza fresh to your home or a sumptuous three-course meal in upmarket Queensway Quay, the Rock can

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Top for tastebudsGibraltar offers everything from Domino’s to fine-dining when it comes to foodup in Ocean Village, providing extra competition for some al-ready firm favourites.It’s true, Ocean Village is a delightful food court, mixing some excellent local favourites such as Grille 53 and Bianca’s with the recently opened La Sala, aboard the Sunborn.Of course, if it’s people watch-ing you’re after between cours-es then there’s nowhere better than Casemates Square.

For fine dining, Cafe Solo is number one, while for top-notch pub grub look no further than Lord Nelson.Elsewhere, whether head-ing up Main Street, ducking into Irish Town or pulling in at Queensway Quay, there is plen-ty to get tastebuds tingling.Everything from the tastiest cur-ry houses to fine Italians, fresh fish restaurants to heartwarm-ing pubs is within easy reach.

One Gibraltar institution which prides itself on its cof-fee is Sacarello’s, in Irish Town, which has been serving up a decent brew for nearly two centuries.A true Gibraltar haunt for morning coffee, lunch, af-ternoon tea or supper, this charming old spot also counts on one of the best private art collections on the Rock and a newly installed wine cellar.

StarsFor a more formal fine din-

ing experience you should head to charming Queensway Quay, a millionaires playground, where houses start at the £4.2 million mark.Here, you will find the excellent Waterfront restaurant, which sits in pole position by the water and serves up some great light bites as well as more substantial meals.Also look out for next door Landings restaurant, which has counted John Prescott, Chief Min-ister Fabian Picardo and a variety of Coro-nation Street stars as guests.

RELAXED: Tables in sunny Casemates Square and (right) inte-rior of popular pub Lord Nelson’s




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GIBRALTAR’S stock as a first-rate shop-til-you-drop destination for expats is rising like its famous na-

tional dish – calentita, a type of Yorkshire pudding – and you can get that too.What was once a mecca for Brits seeking home comforts at Mor-risons has developed into an al-together more sophisticated retail therapy experience.And with border queues becom-ing a thing of the past, the tills are ringing and the Rock is back in business.

Top British brands share Main Street with historic local emporiums

In convivial Casemates Square, chilled cafes set up inside the battlement walls spill out onto an expansive, sunlit plaza while bus-tling Main Street boasts shops to rival any traditional British high street, with Mediterranean sun-shine thrown in.Here you will find big name brands such as Marks & Spencer, BHS and The Early Learning Centre, as well as Next, Pandora, Boux Ave-nue, Holland and Barrett, Dorothy Perkins and F&F.There is even an Apple store down a side street, not to mention vari-

ous toy shops, antiques and homeware empori-ums.But they are interspersed with locally-owned and family-run emporiums sell-ing everything from duty-free perfumes and camer-as to cuddly toy monkeys. Clone town it is not.Meanwhile, the downtown area has undergone a spectacular regeneration,

complete with floral hanging bas-kets and smart black and gold signposts.Of course, a fully-stocked Morri-sons still has some specific treats the Costa del Sol cannot keep up with, while Eroski has recently started offering an extended range of Waitrose products.The obvious draw for shoppers is Gibraltar’s VAT-free status and we’re not just talking about tobacco and alcohol. You can also save 21% on luxury items like perfume and designer sunglasses. And with zero import duty on electronic goods, computer software, DVDs and CDs and reduced duty for watches, jew-ellery, clothing and mobile phones, there are bargains to be had.Plus, as the currency is British Sterling – unique to Gibraltar, al-though notes from the UK are also accepted – UK bank cards can be used without incurring exchange rate losses.Meanwhile, although Spanish as well as English are spoken, open-ing times aren’t at the mercy of

the siesta in the same way as Spain’s.Most shops open on Sundays, especially when there is a cruise ship in town - an increasingly fre-quent occurrence, with 232 calls due this year.Many Main Street shops are run by the direct descendants of the families who founded Gibraltar as a trading destination during the 1800s, thanks to its strategic location.Jewellry dynasty the Budhrani family, opened their first shop, Es-sardas on Main Street, in 1918 and now have seven branches in town. In contrast, the ICC Centre - where you will find the excellent Aimee Jay shop - offers undercover mall shopping, spread over two floors, with multi-storey parking on top.

shop around the Rock!

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IT’S like something out of a fairytale.Purples, greens and blues interchange in the

cavernous depths of St Mi-chael’s Cave, with stalac-tites like the pipes of an or-gan and stalagmites so tall they touch the ceiling.This fascinating cave, lo-cated in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve near Jew’s Gate, feels a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of the town centre.The largest of the cham-bers, named the Cathe-dral Cave, currently serves as an auditorium and has seen the likes of Patti Bou-laye and Paul Isola perform-ing in recent years.But visitors to the cave alone number an estimated 1 million a year, with tour-ists flocking in from Spain and cruise ships.Tickets include entrance to the Great Siege Tunnels and Moorish Castle, for a highly reasonable £10 .Tours can also be arranged in the lower part of the caves, with a guide taking

And other fun activities on the Rock

THE medieval for-tification known as Moorish Castle looms over Case-mates Square like an ancient watchman, and is particularly at-tractive when lit up at night. A trip around the Tower of Hom-age and Gate House make for a fascinat-ing trip back in time.

m o o r i s h CastleFairytale cave

St Michael’s Cave is a weird and wonderful place not to be missedgroups of up to ten on a three-hour expedition. Safety helmets are provid-

ed and comfortable non-slip shoes are highly recom-mended. STUNNING: St Michael’s Cave

med stepsTHOSE looking to stretch their legs will find no better path than the Med Steps, a fantas-tically varied old route which twists and turns up the Rock starting from Jew’s Gate. It takes in tunnels, hundreds of old stone steps and magical views across the Straits of Gi-braltar to Morocco.

Catalan bayTHE quaint fishing village of Catalan Bay is the antithesis of modern, buzz-ing Ocean Village. Located on the eastern side of the Rock, it consists of a motley collection of coloured homes bookended by the classy Caleta ho-tel. It is the perfect place to escape the humdrum and unwind with a quiet drink overlooking a charming beach. unless it’s summer, when the place is positively packed!

alameda gardensAT the heart of Gibraltar is the oasis that is Alameda Gardens, also known as the Botanical Gardens. They ooze tranquility and are im-maculately maintained, pro-viding a wonderful shaded spot to stroll.

Europa pointTHE windswept south-ern tip of Gibraltar is the polar opposite of the busy town centre. Think quaint light-house, cottages, aban-doned cricket pitch and wide open spaces, with a small cafe and play park next to the bus stop. New last year, this is also now the lo-cation of Gibraltar’s university.



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GibraltarAll about 51

“Gibraltar has its own unique characteristics, history, culture, and has developed on its own path,” the report states.“A modern, compliant, British jurisdiction, Gibral-tar offers community and safety that makes it an appealing place in which to live.”The Rock’s location makes it attractive for both business and leisure by giving it the characteris-tics of both a city and a resort.“When the crisis struck, there were a lot of devel-opments under construction, and building con-tinued until 2010,” says Cruz-Armstrong.“Then there was no construction for about four years. Building resumed at the end of 2014 and, so far, more than 800 units have been sold off plan, but many won’t be completed until 2017-2018.”

The report explains that entirely new market tiers have opened up, attracting the globally wealthy.The hybrid nature of Gibraltar as a conurbation, destination and recreation location diversifies risk while maximising the market for property.Cruz-Armstrong is quick to praise the ‘sharp, precise research document’ that will assist in putting Gibraltar on the map and is distributed throughout 700 global offices of Savills.“It is a great instrument for selling Gibraltar and compares us very favourably to other similar type jurisdictions,” she says.Gibraltar topped a list of 14 worldwide territories, rated cheapest in terms of house prices ahead of territories including the Bahamas and the Cay-man Islands.

Shining the spotlight

The Rock is flying high while still offering surprisingly good value for money, according to a new report by Savills

THE Rock’s buoyant econ-omy and limited housing stock have been the driv-ing force behind Gibral-

tar’s property market.According to the report Spot-light: Gibraltar Residential Mar-ket, commissioned by Savills, the prime apartment prices in Gibraltar rose by 15% between 2013 and 2015.Prices now stand at about 30% above their 2009 peak.It could not be more different to the trials and tribulations that have burdened the proper-ty market in Spain since 2007.“It turns out that the Gibral-tar residential market is good value for money and 12 times cheaper than Monaco,” ex-plains Sammy Cruz-Armstrong, Director of Savills Gibraltar. The Spotlight survey praised Gibraltar’s diverse, low-taxa-tion economy with the property market offering ‘value when compared to rival jurisdictions’. ALL SMILES: For Savills director Armstrong and Picardo

52 www.theolivepress.esthe Olive Press November 14th - 25th 2016 Top Dollar


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December 10th - 22nd 2015Top Dollar 53


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Property53 Property53 AGONY ANTYOUR LEGAL PROBLEMS AD-DRESSED BY ANTONIO FLORES

Email Antonio at [email protected]

A FORTNIGHT ago I was attending a radio station’s legal clinic when a listener, who happened to be Myra Azzopardi from the

Citizens Advice Bureau Spain, mentioned a widely unknown tax that nobody ever pays: transfer tax on rental property.While only a minority of lawyers asked will ad-mit to knowing it, or even having heard of it, the majority of the population is oblivious to its existence.Older people do recall that once upon a time, landlords would buy tenancy template con-tracts from any tobacconist (below), where the applicable transfer tax was inserted. This has gone out of fashion in a big way and nobody bothers.In Madrid, the regional tax office has started a massive campaign to remind tenants of their obligation to pay this tax, following technical upgrades to their IT systems that enables them to cross-reference data. The revenue received in 2015 was still min-ute: around €600,000 for the year.In Andalucia, I am yet to find a tenant who has ever paid even if, by comparison to other forms

of revenue, the tax is negligible. For instance, a five-year contract where the tenant pays €850 month will attract €204 for the full contract duration, and a further €40-80 for every year it gets extended.The law also states that owners can be made responsible for pay-ment of this tax if the tenant fails to do so. Article Nine of the applicable law confirms this: “In tenancy agreements, owners will be held liable if he/she have collected the first rental without demanding proof of payment of tax.”Bizarrely, the law gives the tenant 30 days to submit the tax declaration from exchanging contracts, which we do know always coincides with the first rental payment. With such conflicting rules, no wonder no one can be bothered.

the tax nobody pays The curious case of Tax on Rental

Contracts in Andalucia

A-LISTER celebrities swooping into Ibiza in their private planes are no longer the only ones.Longstanding visitors Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell (pictured) and Paris Hilton will be in good company as air-port execs claim they will handle up to 120 private jets per day this summer.

And to cater for the celebrity jet-set-ting demand, AENA has recently an-nounced the private jet runway will be expanded to 80,000 square metres.It will accommodate 58 planes, in-cluding 34 jets whereas there is cur-rently only room for 25 jets of 18 metre wingspan.

The demand is real for Ibiza’s main airport, Eivissa, which experiences anything from 80 to 120 planes coming and going each day during July and August, with the highest number at weekends.And with Spain’s most expensive property La Fortaleza (worth €40

million) featuring in UK series The Night Watchman, the visitors will continue to flock in.A one-way ticket from London to Ibiza on a private jet can fetch as much as €25,500 while an economy ticket with British airways costs around €65.

Set for jetsSpanish island braces itself for influx of private jets

MORE than two million Span-iards want to work more hours.The 2.2 million workers make up 12.2% of Spain’s overall number of employees.The figure is down from 13.6% in 2014.Murcia (19%) is the region with the highest percentage of work-ers hoping for more hours.In Andalucia the figure is 12.7%.

Hour power

TOURISM accounted for 16.2% of all Spanish jobs in 2015, a new study has shown.In total, 937,500 jobs in Spain were directly linked to tour-ism last year, 5.2% of the overall number, according to The

TOURIST TRAIL

World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).When jobs that are indirectly linked to the tourism indus-try, such as ho-tel suppliers or airport catering, are included the figure reaches 2.9 million.The WTTC pre-dicts the overall number will rise by 2.4% in 2016 to 2,970,500 jobs.BIG BOOST: Tourism

FOREIGN investment in Spain grew by 11% in 2015, a new study shows.Overseas companies sunk more than €21.7 billion into the country’s economy, up from €19.5 billion in 2014, according to government figures.Luxembourg (16.5%, €3.58 billion) and Holland (12.8%, €2.77 billion) provided the most foreign in-vestment.Construction (€4.7 billion), industrial manufacturing (€3.38 billion) and estate agents (€2.99 billion) were the sectors which experienced the highest investment.

Overseas funds rocket in 2015

House music THE biggest nightclub group in Spain, Pacha, is set to open 25 hotels and 50 restaurants in Europe, South Amer-ica and Asia over the next nine years.

Amazing!AMAZON is open-ing its new Euro-pean HQ in Madrid and will employ a team of 50 Amazon software engineers to improve custom-ers’ shopping expe-riences.

Bright eyedSPECSAVERS Op-ticas in Marbella is celebrating its 10th anniversary in April and May with special offers, events and its Spectacle Wearer of the Year Competition.

Inland investmentTHE Junta is to boost tourism in inland An-dalucia by investing €231 million in 700 towns and villages with a population un-der 100,000.

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56 www.theolivepress.esthe Olive Press November 14th - 25th 2016 Columnists56


kiwi capersThe land way down under is another world

WHATEVER I expected on my trip to New Zealand, it wasn’t a human Kiwi (my part-

ner Dave) getting lost in the kiwi house at Auckland Zoo.It was pitch dark, which the noc-turnal kiwi likes, but as we re-volved through the glass doors I went to the left and, due to a reactolight specs malfunction, Dave spun off to the right. He was still going round in cir-cles 10 minutes later.The funny part was (although Dave didn’t see it that way) at first he thought he was look-ing at a keeper tending kiwis in their enclosure, and watched for a while. It was only when he noticed that the keeper’s looks and movements bore an uncanny resemblance to his own that

the light dawned. He had been staring at his own reflection! Well, he is from the South Island. Eventually, through the Stygian gloom, we did spot something rustling in the undergrowth that might have been a kiwi. But the Tasmanian Devils next door were far better value with their pink pointy ears and Drac-ula fangs.More elusive than kiwis or sun-shine during our early summer visit to Aotearoa - Land of the Long White Cloud in Maori - was anywhere to indulge in my one Spanish vice: morning cof-fee and brandy. Ask for alcohol in any café and they look at you as if you’d just ordered crystal meth.We were based in Waiuku which boasts New Zealand’s

oldest pub. With its clap-board front and hitching rail, it looked like Ian Mc-Shane’s place in Deadwood and I’d love to have burst through the saloon doors like Calam-ity Jane but it didn’t open until high noon.

Nor do supermarkets in New Zealand sell spirits. You have to go to a liquor store and even I didn’t have the bot-tle to ask where I’d find one of those at nine o’clock on a Mon-day morning. Cigarettes are kept under lock and key in a cabinet and sold furtively, as if Prohibition was in force – at prohibitive prices. One packet costs the same as five in Gibraltar.Smokers will soon join kiwis on the endangered list as lighting up anywhere within Auckland city limits is to be outlawed - even on infamous Karanga-hape Road, where everything else is permitted. ‘K’ Road’, as the locals call it, is the red light and LGBT district where a rainbow crowd strut their flamboyant stuff. And I mean flamboyant. We saw one LGBT-er (not sure

which) literally ‘lighting up’ in a dress made of fairy light bulbs.There’s lots to love about New Zealand, although there’s a reason it’s so green… And neither Frodo nor Bilbo Bag-gins were at home on our visit to Middle-earth. You can’t go beyond the door of the Hobbit holes, they’re just a ‘front’.But where in the world could you take off in a Cessna with-out filing a flight plan, land in a farmer’s field free of charge and grab lunch and a few Moa beers at a green lipped mussel farm in the middle of nowhere? Only in New Zealand where, outside the main towns, there’s just one human to one square km or large herd of sheep.But will I be emigrating? As I sit in my patio enjoying the win-ter and a morning coffee and brandy - I think you know the answer to that one.

THE past two decades have seen the rise and fall of the metrosexual. Journalist Mark Simpson first coined the term back in 1994 and identified

male model, perennial paparazzi prey, sarong lover and occasional England footballer David Beckham, as the typical metrosexual.“So what modern-day woman doesn’t appre-ciate a man who works out, can prepare rack of lamb, doesn’t mind shopping with you on a Saturday afternoon while the match is on, ex-hibits fashion sense and trims his nose hairs? I want a metrosexual! “ I hear you shriek.But you’d be behind the times. The world has moved on from the metrosex-ual’s heady heyday of the mid nineties and I’d like to be the first to introduce you to the backlash. Ladies, meet the neo-Neanderthal.Forget your morning exfoliating, cleansing and moisturising regime. My grandfather used an old-fashioned cut throat razor. He certainly didn’t need a four-bladed bit of technological tosh in luminous green with an inbuilt MP3 player and Sat Nav system. After his expert shave, he would slap on an old-fashioned aftershave that probably defies the modern moratorium on chemical weapons. When his eyes had stopped streaming, he would apply Brylcream to his hair and this certainly made him attractive to the ladies. I’m second generation living proof.As for other aspects of male grooming, stay well clear of waxing. Only Premiership footballers and cyclists have themselves waxed (and the cyclists are too out-of-it on performance-enhancing drugs to feel anything anyway).Neo-Neanderthal takes the less is more ap-proach to fashion. He needs one suit (for weddings, funerals, in-terviews and court appearances) three pairs of shoes (black, brown and trainers for the weekend) five shirts (for the working week,

white or blue) and his weekend outfit.During my long and distinguished journalistic career I have had the opportunity to attend dozens of launches, openings, exhibitions and conferences and normally grade them on the type of freebie handed out.More than anything else, however, clothing is always warmly welcomed, and I’ve collected baseball caps, T-shirts and rugby shirts by the sack-load, causing someone to ask me if I was sponsored by a pub chain.Food and drink play an important part in both the metrosexual and the neo-Neanderthal’s life. But while the metrosexual is more con-cerned with creating the perfect cocktail and slicing his own sushi in the comfort of his de-signer apartment, the Neo-Neanderthal views food and drink as a social activity with others, preferably during a sporting event.As every good host will tell you, the most im-portant aspect to hosting a dinner party is the guests, and the Neo-Neanderthal does this by getting the boys around for a few beers and takeaway pizza while watching the match. Due to this, the most important items of furni-ture in the living room - apart from a really, re-ally BIG television, are a sofa that can seat four and a coffee table that can bear the weight of four pairs of trainers, 20 or so beers and a se-lection of Italian/Indian takeaway containers.There is only one style of music for the Neo-Neanderthal - LOUD. It’s not all macho music stuff, however, and the Neo-Neanderthal is quite content to watch any DVD featuring Beyonce, Rihanna and Shakira.So ladies, look out for your nearest neo-Ne-anderthal. And don’t be afraid that he won’t appreciate you. Because, as James Brown (no relation, by the way) once sang:“This is a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s WorldBut it wouldn’t be nothing, nothingWithout a woman or a girl.”

all manLadies and gentlemen, meet the Neo-Neanderthal

FLYING HIGH: But will Belinda emigrate?

HOBBIT-LAND: Just a front

57www.theolivepress.es the Olive Press November 11th - 25th 2015the olive press’ monthly youth and education sectionXtremeOP

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I THINK it is fair to say that every parent wants to be the best parent they can possibly be. The trouble is, it’s not that easy. There are no formal qualifications required

or training provided to new mums or dads. Few parents have the time to read lots of books on the subject of parenting and rely on friends and family for help and advice. Some people simply use the ‘role model’ pro-vided by their parents to bring up their own child/children.Sadly that is not always the best approach. For example my parents thought children should be ‘seen and not heard’. They thought all learning happened in school and their job was to feed me and keep me safe. How things have changed. Today children are growing up in a complex, fast changing world. The internet is still in its infancy and the rate of technological change is staggering. Most of the jobs children in nursery school to-day will do when they become adults have not been invented yet. Change is the new norm! However some things remain the same. Over the next few weeks I shall be talking about the BASICS. That is, belonging, aspirations, safety, identity, challenge and success.In my view the most precious thing you can give your child is your time. And it all begins with the basics! Everyone needs to belong. Children need to feel valued and loved, both at home and at school. This requires parents to make time to be with

your child and listen to them. But there is more to this than just showing you care. You should establish family routines, e.g eating meals together, reading with your child and bed-time routines. Find time to discuss events of the day. Your child will know how you expect them to be-have. This will help them to feel a sense of secu-rity and belonging. Children with a strong sense of belonging are more likely to make friends with those children who also have clear guidance from their families. They will be more trusting in making friend-ships and less likely to be shy. Children at any age need to know they can talk to their parents and their parents will listen to them. Absolutely vital for those of you with teenage children. Tips for developing a sense of belonging· show your child what you want them to do, rather than criticising them· show your child unconditional love· Remind your child that they are loved for who they are and not what they do· be positive and praise them when de-served Being a good parent is not easy. However it is, arguably, the most important job in the world and the most rewarding. Good luck!

Contact Stephen Coventry on [email protected]

Parenting abC

x

Teachers tips+-

with Stephen Coventry

Former Gibraltar headteacher Stephen Coventry discusses the fundamentals of parenting

BREXIT could make it dif-ficult for British students to come and study in Spain and abroad, education experts have revealed.British undergraduates could

Br-education exit?

A LEADING academic is citing the education system as a key argu-ment for Catalan independence.Antonio Cabrales, professor of eco-

nomics at UCL, left the same post at Carlos III University of Madrid because of ‘Spain’s stagnant uni-versity system’.

INDEPENDENT THINKING

Studying in Spain at the mercy of a Brexit

have problems benefiting from Erasmus, which has facilitated 200,000 students of EU member states to study abroad since its cre-ation in 1987.

According to Helen Drake, Europe expert and chair of the UACES (University As-sociation of Contemporary European Studies), ‘British universities could experi-

ence an unprecedented fall in overseas student recruitment, with many incoming Eras-mus students not turning up and outgoing students having their places withdrawn’.Universities UK revealed there is ‘great uncertainty and an exit would obviously lead to lengthy negotiations’.The body has also comment-ed on the ‘overwhelmingly positive’ impact of the EU on higher education.“We’re stronger IN because being in the EU makes it easier for universities to at-tract some of the world’s most talented people to come to the UK and contribute to the UK’s cultural and academic life,” said Lucy Shackleton policy manager for the EU membership campaign.But Erasmus+, the umbrella body which manages fund-ing and training, refused to speculate on the debate.

BENEFICIAL: Erasmus

A GROUP of British teen-agers have been flown out to Andalucia in a free trip of a lifetime.Nine students from Bath College will spend six weeks in Sevilla working as tour guides and learning Spanish with all-expenses-paid by Erasmus plus.The lucky globetrotters, aged around 18, went

“Catalonia has managed to rise above some of the bu-reaucratic challenges that have plagued Spain’s uni-versities but institutions in the region are still choking under the straitjacket of organisational laws,” said Barcelona Pompeu Fabra University economics pro-fessor Mas-Colell.He cited the example that all professors in Spanish universities must be civil servants, while others com-plained of poor salaries and red tape preventing interna-tional recruitment.

Into the frying pan

through a tough selection process and will be in the Andalucian capital until mid-April.

LUCKY: Students

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What is specsavers opticas?IT is the Spanish branch of the world’s larg-est privately-owned optical group which has revolutionised the eyecare industry. Founded 31 years ago in the UK, Specsavers is now an international retailer with more than 1,600 stores across 10 countries, and is the third largest optical group in the world. Specsavers Opticas benefits from economies of scale by being part of this optical group, bringing low-cost, high-quality optics to the market. When did specsavers come to spain?The first Specsavers Opticas opened in Javea on the Costa Blanca in April 2006 to provide customers with quality, professional eyecare at low prices. Their qualified optometrists use the latest technology to provide a comprehen-sive eye examination, including digital retinal

photography to capture images of the back of the eye. Digital Precision Eyecare technology is also used to calculate important measure-ments needed to fit your lenses.How are you celebrating this 10 year milestone?Specsavers Opticas in Marbella and Fuengiro-la will be offering free eye tests, special offers such as glasses for just €10, and a chance to enter the popular Spectacle Wearer of the Year competition throughout April and May. how can we take part?To join in the celebrations and enter the com-petition, pop into your nearest store, either on Ricardo Soriano in Marbella or on Avenida Ramon y Cajal in Fuengirola. Alternatively visit the website www.specsavers.es or Specsaver-sOpticas on Facebook.

Life storyAs Specsavers Opticas celebrates its 10th anniversary in Spain this month, Fuengirola Store Director Amrik Sappal looks back on the history of this global group

A WOMAN has been arrested after trying to steal five babies from two different hospitals. Disguised as a nurse, the 21-year-old Spaniard was ar-rested at a Valencian hospital after she was stopped by the father of a newborn she had attempted to snatch.Earlier in the day she had tried to take two other babies

Baby snatcher nickedWoman arrested after failed child-nabbing spree

REGULATORY bodies are demanding greater control of Spain’s dental clin-ics.The largest 19 dental chains have more than 1,000 centres in Spain, according to the General Council of Dental Colleges in Spain.And following the closure of the Fun-nydent chain, the board is insist-

ing more needs to be done to license these surgeries.“We have seen adverts from dental chains at petrol stations that offer ‘free fillings’ or orthodontists offer-ing free fillings for children with the purchase of textbooks.“All this is not regulated by the law,” said council president Castro Reino.

A GROUP of female taxi driv-ers are launching a campaign to fight cancer.The kind-hearted cabbies are selling bracelets to raise mon-ey for the charity Cris Cancer, which funds investigations into a cure for the disease.The 90 drivers, 20 based in Malaga, have raised more than €50,000 in the past three years.The secretary of the Fed-eration of Autonomous Taxi Drivers, Eva Torres, revealed that for the first two years the cabbies sold calendars, but switched to bracelets as they can be sold all year round.“We made them ourselves be-tween fares, or when we were at home watching the televi-sion,” she said.

A HEART defect that affects only males has been discov-ered by Spanish doctors.The genetic disease has had a particular impact on families in Tenerife.A study of 52 families by doc-tors from four Spanish hospi-tals identified the mutation, which causes dilated cardio-myopathy.The report showed that 13 of the families come from the same small region of north-western Tenerife and are descended from the same person first identified as suf-fering the mutation."For years we have seen that Tenerife has a high number of cases of this disease, 80% concentrated in the northwest of the island in the mountains of Teno, but we did not know why,” said Tenerife cardiolo-gist José Javier Grillo.

EXPOSURE to passive smoking increases the risk of children developing respiratory problems by up to 29%, a new study shows.The investigation examined 27,993 mothers and their children from 15 European countries, including Spain.One of the report’s authors, Manolis Kogevinas, said that previous studies ‘had studied the ef-fects on the foetus of a smoking mother, but not the result of passive smoking during pregnancy, nor with such a range of people and in so many countries’.Unborn babies whose mothers are exposed to smoke up until their delivery stand a 29% chance of developing breathing difficulties within two years, the study shows.

No smoke without fear

Cabbies’ cancer campaign

More teeth to cap dentists

from a medical centre in Cart-agena, some 170 miles away. Police then discovered that she had carried out three more failed kidnappings at Valencia’s La Fe hospital be-fore being stopped. The father who stopped her – a doctor – became suspicious after the ‘nurse’ claimed she needed to conduct a second

heel prick test on the baby, just hours after birth. After being rumbled she fled into the toilets and attempted to hide her nurse’s uniform. Specialist officers are now trying to establish if she acted

alone or with the help of ac-complices.“The incident occurred on Sunday evening when a wom-an dressed in a white gown entered a hospital room in Valencia saying she needed to perform tests on the child,” a police spokesman said.“She took the child from a rel-ative’s arms but its father be-came suspicious and started to ask her about the supposed test, receiving incoherent an-swers in return.“He snatched his child from her arms and the woman fled the room.”Security at both hospitals has been increased following the scare.

AT RISK?: Newborn baby

In the genes

CARING: Taxi drivers

EXPERT: Doctors


March 2nd - March 15th 2016

We kut the mustard...

Reservations recommended

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FooD, DRink The only English newspaper in Spain

with a dedicated food, drink & travel section

every issue& tRaVEl

A SPANISH food critic has pulled no punches in a brutal assessment of some of the world’s top chefs. In a hilariously damning review, Ana Vega has slammed Brits Gordon Ramsay, Ja-mie Oliver and Marco Pierre White as well as having a dig at many internationally-acclaimed chefs. Dismissing Ramsay’s 14 Michelin-starred past, Vega labels his take on paella as ‘something that does not even deserve to fall into the category of rice with stuff in it’.The host of Kitchen Nightmares is then lambasted for confusing Mexican ingredi-

ents and Spanish cuisine. Next up, pukka-chef Oliver receives a pasting from the El Pais critic for his ‘Spanglish paella’ and his ‘sad hue-co-loured’ gazpacho. Meanwhile, Pierre White is damned for saying the ‘best paella in Spain is from the north’. And Australian celebrity-chef John Toro-de is mocked for ‘cooking to the sound of Spanish guitar chords, while attempting to find his inner Spaniard’. Making up Vega’s hit list are David Chang for his noddle-based Fideuá and Sanjeev Kapoor for his psychedelic tortilla.

Cut to pieces!

On Gordon Ramsay:In best Kitchen Nightmares style, Ramsay strikes his perfect “I-know-what-I’m-doing” pose. Then he launches into making a “pa-ella” with (what else?) cho-rizo, chicken, shrimp, squid and clams. He then jazzes it up with a generous squirt of sherry, as well as a few chili peppers – because it’s never too late to confuse Spain with Mexico.

On Jamie Oliver:

Jamie Oliver has made Spanglish food something of a personal trademark. He enthusiastically adds cho-rizo to pretty much every-thing, and his odd “Made in Spain” combinations make for a good laugh for any Spaniard watching his pro-gram.

On John Torode:Then, when the rice is done, he shakes it up passionately one more time, because he knows that a good paella needs to be mushy and that the rice grains should be crushed so that it is an un-appetizing eyesore.

Top celebrity chefs blasted for butchering classic Spanish dishes

CELEBRITY chef Omar Allibhoy has fallen in love with a British classic on his quest to bring a taste Spain to the UK.Founder of the Tapas Rev-olution group Omar Allib-hoy has admitted ‘falling in love’ with chip butties since he opened his first restaurant in London in 2011. The former elBulli chef also owned up to partak-ing in fish and chip Fridays and being partial to a Sun-day roast dinner. His latest Tapas Revolu-tion bar opened in Shef-field this month.

Revolution chip butty

THE country’s orange indus-try is feeling the squeeze. Spain’s biggest fruit and veg group has warned that the country’s orange trade faces ‘permanent and irreparable’ damage. Anecoop highlighted produc-ers plight in its annual report, with prices down 2% on the previous year - representing five years of decline within the citrus industry. To combat the price fears, the group has set up a committee to ‘prevent abusive practices’.

TANGOED!

TRUE BRIT: Chef

Damning reviews:

BLASTED: (From left) Ramsay, Oliver and Torode

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Fresh, vibrant, healthy home cooking from the mediterranean

Corredera 55, Vejer de la Frontera, CádizReservations: 956 451 848

CalifaVejer.com

Plaza de España 16, Vejer de la Frontera, CádizReservations: 956 451 706 CalifaVejer.com

Moroccan and middle eastern fine dining

Come and enjoyhistoric Cape Trafalgar with us

Avda. Trafalgar 102,Los Caños de Meca, Costa de la Luztel: 956 437 255CalifaVejer.com

THE charming converted railway storeroom that is El Muelle is well worth a jour-ney to Arriate alone, as many people do all the way from Estepona and Marbella for a night out.Run by a talented Dutchman Frank Rottgering, it has truly come of age since opening in 2012, offering a superb mix of local and international dishes.All home cooked by a team led by the gifted Isa from nearby Alcala del Valle, there are not many places in Andalucia where you eat blinis with foie and a gazpacho made out of cherries. And best of all on warm days and evenings you sit out with incredible views towards the soaring distant Grazalema mountains… and if you’re lucky the odd local train might steam past.

SSPRING is finally here and dining tables are emigrating out-doors to take advantage of the balmy March weather.Restaurateurs who have battled their way through the winter - or closed up - are finally back with smiles on their

faces.Easter marks the start of the tourist season officially. It is when tens of thousands of tourists swap rainy northern Europe for sunny Andalucia, T-shirts and shorts at the ready.Be it the British, the Germans, or the Scandinavians, they are all yearning for some springtime sun, reminiscent of August back home… and, above all, the perfect outdoor table. As tables in town squares get harder to come by and the beach chiringuitos finally start to open again, it is clear that the al fresco dining season is underway.With a tapa in one hand and a chilled drink in the other, you may well ask yourself if there is any place in the world you’d rather be right now.“Lets face it where else in Europe can you be sitting outdoors in glorious sunshine at this time of year?” asks restaurateur Mona Crites, of charming outdoor dining spot Al Lago, in Zahara de la Sierra, near Ronda.“The spring flowers and blossom is out, the views, the colours, it feels like you are alive again after a long, hard winter.”Dining outside is certainly one of life’s simple pleasures in this part of the world.It helps to titillate the taste buds and loosens the tongue.And in Spain, eating in the aire libre promises some of the best people-watching in all of Europe.With extended Spanish families all gathered around the com-munal table - grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and their im-maculately turned-out little ones - you really do see life on a plate!Whether you head inland to the Guadalhorce Valley or the Serra-nia de Ronda’s numerous rural restaurants - including Molino del Santo or el Muelle de Arriate - there are so many fabulous dining terrace options.

The great outdoors!It’s time to soak up the spring vibes on a dining terrace near your, writes Dining Secrets of Andalucia editor Jon Clarke

Full steam ahead - to El Muelle, in Arriate

spRingtimE piCk

AL FRESCO LIFE: WIne and olives at Al Lago

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More information of any kind [email protected]

www.molinodelsanto.com | [email protected] | 952 16 71 51ESTACIÓN DE BENAOJÁN, NEAR RONDA, MÁLAGA

You will find a great experience waiting for you at Hotel and Restaurant Molino del Santo in Benaoján near Ronda.

If you haven’t “done” it yet, you really should this spring. It’s highly rated by The Times, Trip Advisor, Michelin, Lonely Planet amongst many others.

It’s tucked in the mountains near Ronda but easy to find.

It’s large enough to be efficient and flexible, small enough to offer personal service. Satisfaction levels are very high and 70% of hotel residents and

restaurant visitors have been before.

Molino del Santo is just over an hour from San Roque by train and makes a great day out – or come to stay. There are 18 comfortable rooms and an award-

winning restaurant. Special rates available if you mention “The Olive Press” - and a welcome present if you tell us it’s your first time.

“We count ourselves so lucky to have found such a delicious lunch. We have already booked rooms to return with friends next month.”

“The welcome was extraordinary… it felt like coming home.”

SOME QUESTIONS:

Have you ever done it?

Is it as good as they say?

Is it difficult the first time?

Does size matter?

Do men and women both enjoy it?

Should I do it more than once?

Do I need to train?

SOME ANSWERS:

If you haven’t done it already, it’s probably time you did.

Most people say it is even better than they expected.

Ask for instructions – most people discover the secret quite easily.

There are advantages to being neither tiny or huge

Most definitely when it’s done by experts.

Most people do.

Training is one way to get there.

IF there is one place to guar-antee fine dining it is the Costa de la Luz, meaning Coast of Light, just a short

drive to the West.An abundance of organic homegrown produce added to the coast’s fabulous tuna and retinto beef, has created the perfect storm for foodies.Add in a bunch of dynamic in-ternational restaurant owners who’ve added their own dash of creativity and hey presto!Its culinary epicentre is most definitely Vejer de la Frontera, which has developed - like a slow cooked cocido - into a true hive of dining delights.One of the best established restaurants is award-win-ning El Jardin del Califa, reached through the labyrin-thine corridors of the 16th century Califa hotel.Its exquisite palm courtyard is enclosed by ancient walls and is lit with Moroccan lamps after dark radiating a 1001 Nights buzz.If you aren’t hypnotised by the scent of frangipani, jas-mine and incense, wait until you try the menu, a heavenly harem of authentic flavours from north Africa and the Middle East: delights such as babaganoush, shish taouk, pastela filled with chicken, almonds and cinnamon and tempting tagines.

The great outdoors!In the Axarquia look no further than Frigiliana’s amazing El Jardin restaurant, or Las Orquideas, near Lake Vinuela.Then you might prefer to wriggle your toes in the sand at a relaxed beach café on the Costa de la Luz, or on the Costa del Sol, where stand out spots include The Beach House in Elviria.And don’t forget the cities such as Sevilla and Cordoba, or Malaga, which has been dubbed

‘the new Barcelona’ (you read it first in the Olive Press).Even if you’re dining ‘in’ (meaning at home), shift the dining table onto your patio or balcony and light those candles in celebration of the new season.Just don’t blame us when your green-with-envy Instagram friends decide to book a table chez vous and descend for the whole of the summer!

Here Dining Secrets of Andalu-cia, the region’s top website for restaurants, picks out a favou-rite place to visit for outdoor din-ing in Vejer and a top pick for an outdoor table, near Ronda.Through the month of April we will be doing a special focus on outdoor dining each issue, picking out its highlights and some top tips.Visit www.diningsecretsofan-dalucia.com for more informa-tion of the best places to eat in Andalucia.

SPECIAL FOCUS ON: VEJER DE LA FRONTERA

If you would like to ad-vertise your fantastic outdoor spot, contact [email protected] or call 691831399.

let in the light!

A wonderful spot to stay, right on the coast in nearby Canos de Meca, 10 minutes from Vejer, is Madreselva.Sitting on a fantastic beach with its own pool and atmospheric courtyard, this small bou-tique hotel takes some beating.Comfortable rooms each with their own quiet

back patios, are complimented with a cool re-ception where you take your breakfast.Best of all, you are just a short walk to two of Andalucia’s most emblematic beaches and the famous Trafalgar Lighthouse.Visit www.califavejer.com for more informa-tion.

Another equally fabulous spot is Corredera 55, which has a fantastic outdoor dining terrace overlooking a landscape of roll-ing hills, Quixotic windmills and spectacular sunsets. The menu is a fusion of world flavours with bouillabaisse soup or the carrillada (pigs cheeks) braised for five hours in vino de Jerez and served with cinnamon-scented cauliflower puree.

SOMEWHERE TO STAY:

DINING IN STYLE: In the sunshine at Corredera 55

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THE Spanish Open is heading back to Anda-lucia for the 11th time in April.Real Club Valderrama and the Sergio García Foundation are join-ing forces for the pres-tigious tournament, which was last held in the region in Sevilla in 2012.Angel Gallardo was the first Spaniard to win in Andalucia when he was victorious at Marbella’s RCG Las Brisas in 1970.Alvaro Quiros won the 2010 Open, which was also held at Real Club de Golf de Sevilla.

Andalucia again for Open

VICTORIOUS: Angel Gallardo

AN irate mother has land-ed her son’s football club in trouble after she took on the referee. Manchester 62 football club is under investiga-

MUM TAKES ON REFEREEEXCLUSIVE

BARCELONA’S Nou Camp could be renamed in honour of Johan Cruyff, who died from cancer last week.The extraordinary gesture is being discussed by the club’s directors following a ‘thun-dering cry’ from the La Liga champions’ fans.A survey of the Blaugrana faithful showed 65% in favour of renaming the stadium in honour of the Dutch legend, who graced the Catalan giants as a player and a manager.His son Jordi, who also played for Barca, met with the club’s vice president Jordi Cardoner on Sunday to discuss possible forms of tribute.Renaming the stadium came well above other suggested honours, such as a statue or

Nou Camp’s Cruyff turn?Barca fans vote to rename stadium in honour of Dutch legend

LEGEND: Cruyff remembered fondly in Barcelona

A SPANISH footballer was badly injured after being stabbed by opposition play-ers.Playing for Alhaurin de la Torre's B team, Samuel Ga-lan. was rushed to hospital after being stabbed in the chest by players from El Pa-lo's B team.Undergoing emergency sur-gery at Malaga's Carlos Haya hospital, 24-year-old ‘Samu’ is said to be in a 'stable but serious condition'.The young footballer was set upon by a group of 10 fans and players after he had an on-field scuffle with a mem-ber of El Palo's side.Staff managed to get ‘Samu’ into the changing room where he collapsed from his injuries.The two players handed themselves into police in the days following the attack.

NAIRO Quintana has won the Volta a Catalunya after a gruelling final stage on Barcelona’s Montjuic.The Colombian ace fended off attacks from Spanish riders Alberto Contador and Joaquim Rodriguez during eight circuits of the punchy 6km route to seal overall victory.Last year’s Vuelta a Espana winner Fabio Aru attempt-ed to seize control of the race from the Movistar rider, but his 30-second breakaway was pulled back in, as was an attack by Chris Froome.

retiring the No14 jersey.In 1974, Cruyff helped Barce-lona to their first La Liga title in 14 years during his first season at the club.He also captured Catalan hearts when he named his son Jordi after Catalunya's patron saint, which was forbidden under Franco's dictatorship.He returned to manage the club in 1988 winning four La Liga titles, with his crown-ing achievement the 1992 Euro-pean Cup victory at Wembley, the first time Barce-lona had claimed Europe's top prize.

Footballer stabbed

IN ACTION: Samu

Nairo’s Montjuic magic

Katusha’s Alexey Tsatevich took the stage win with Quin-tana’s final margin of victory seven seconds.

tion after the female fan confronted officials dur-ing a youth game against Lynx.

The woman allegedly jumped the wall between spectators and the pitch to take on the referee after the match official award-ed a free-kick against her son. Grass roots officer at Lynx, Raymond Gomez, confirmed the incident took place in an under-15 match. “A woman had to be re-strained after she jumped on to the pitch and ap-proached the referee,” Go-mez told the Olive Press. “The coach reported the incident to me and now it is up to the FA to deal with it if they see fit.” The woman is believed to be the mother of one of Manchester 62’s young stars. Gibraltar FA is assessing the situation. Manchester 62 is yet to respond to Ol-ive Press questions.

64 www.theolivepress.esthe Olive Press November 14th - 25th 2016 Covering Andalucia in 2016 with over 200,000 papers (130,000 digital) and around 500,000 visits to the

website each month… The Olive Press just keeps growing!FREE

Telephone: 951 273 575 March 30th - April 12th 2016 www.theolivepress.es

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BUDDING Luke Skywalkers can now learn how to bran-dish a lightsaber.Spain has opened its first ever ‘lightsaber school’ as it pursues this futuristic sport born in Italy a decade ago and now boasting players in eight countries including the UK.The Force has found its way to LudoSport Madrid where Star Wars lovers have only one choice: whether they want to be on the dark side or not.

Fight like a Jedi

Foul play?UEFA faces match-fixing questions over ‘strange incidents’ in Gibraltar friendly

EXCLUSIVEBy Tom Powell

UEFA has been alerted to alle-gations of match-fixing in Gi-braltar’s 0-0 friendly draw with Lichtenstein.Websites and social media us-ers have questioned how Welsh referee Ryan Stewart disal-lowed two Lichtenstein goals,

including one seemingly legiti-mate free-kick.Numerous Twitter comments have been posted about the match, questioning the result.

CADIZ Mayor Jose Maria Gonzalez juggled mayoral duty with personal penitence during the Semana San-ta processions.But the Podemos politician, known as ‘Kichi’, refused to lead the procession, opting merely to take part in-sisting he wanted Easter ‘as normal as possible’.During an outing with his Santa Maria brotherhood, he accompanied his mother and partner Teresa Rodrí-guez, who is the leader of Podemos in Andalucia.

A MAN who has played Je-sus in Semana Santa parades for 30 years has been banned from the ritual because he is gay, he insists.Ramon Fossati (right) from Valencia has been barred from participating until 2019 because he ‘exposed a naked shoulder’ and ‘waved his arms ostentatiously’ last year.The ‘deeply religious’ man was also fined €300 after last year’s parade ‘for no reason’ but the amount was reduced to €60 after he appealed, in-sisting he was simply waving

...Not playing ball

Not wanted...

One user, Alexis Zorba, pointed out that an unusu-ally high £421,000 had been placed on the game with gaming site Betfair alone.In contrast, only around £250,000 was placed on Monday evening’s match be-tween Wales and Ukraine.Websites including whoa-teallthepies.com and dream-teamfc.com have highlighted the ‘strange’ incidents, in-cluding a seemingly non-existent ‘obstruction’ that led to the second disallowed goal from a free kick.A number of fans have now raised questions with UEFA over the match that was the smallest UEFA game ever played in terms of the popu-lations of two nations.A UEFA spokesman told the Olive Press: “We do not give details on investigations un-less a disciplinary case has been opened or a decision has officially been taken.”A spokesman for the Gibral-tar FA did not reply to ques-tions as we went to press.

to the crowd.“Maybe it was punishment for being gay,” he suggested.

A RETIRED pub landlord had the ‘shock of his life’ after dis-covering a human skeleton in his new holiday home.Welshman Terry Nash, 70, called in police when he dis-covered the remains in the cellar of the three-bed prop-erty he has recently pur-chased in Mijas.

BonesThe skeleton was discovered by builders during restora-tion work and the bones have now been removed to deter-mine their age. “One of the workmen knocked on my door while I was mak-ing lunch and told me they had found a body in my cel-lar,” said Nash.“I was pretty horrified as you can imagine, especially because I knew the previous owners had dug out the base-ment to turn it into a utility room around ten years ago and the woman’s husband died around six years ago.”He added: “It was only when I saw the skeleton that I re-alised it was much older.”

BODY IN THE BASEMENT

FOUND: Mijas skeleton

Watch the olive press’ Behind the Scenes footage of Se-mana Santa on www.theolivepress.es

Cake and cashTHE richest man in Spain Amancio Ortega has celebrated turning 80 by moving up one place on Forbes rich list to be the second wealth-iest person alive.

Sad SpainSPAIN came in at a dismal 37th in the 2016 World Happi-ness Report, behind Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and 14 places behind the UK.

Dunce DadA MAN has been ar-rested after he left his daughter, 7, sleeping in his car while he went to a Malaga bar. The girl left the car in search of her father at 4.30am.

Olive Press Newspaper - Issue 236

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