Olive Press Newspaper - Issue 209

Property www.theol

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Offices at the Puente Romano Hotel & opposite the Marbella Club Hotel Tel. (+34) 952 863 750 info@panorama.es www.panorama.es

March 19th

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2015

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

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The secret dozen leadingSpanish homes of a celebrities

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

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OLIVE PRESS OPINION

WATCHFUL EYE: Founder of Andalucian independence Blas Infante watches over OLIVE PRESS – Earpiece a Podemos rally in 4th & 18th March Ronda this week

Photo by Jon Clarke

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la Office: Avda De Manole te, Centro Plaza Nueva AndaluLocal 12-13, cia, 29660, Marbella, Tel: +34 951 Malaga 203 costadelsol@hi 986 fx.co.uk

Don’t let

The original and only English-language investigative newspaper in Andalucía

ONE party governing for a decade is unhealthy.

One party governing for 33 years is nothing short of dangerous, and a slap in the face for democracy.

Andalucia needs change, in any shape or form.

When politics has become a byword for corruption and nepotism, as it surely has at regional Junta level, it is clear that something has gone drastically wrong.

But 2015 can be the year that Andalucia begins afresh.

Podemos and Ciudadanos promise that new start, while even the PP would be better than continuing down the same one-party road, built to keep a bloated political class chugging along comfortably.

The polls suggest Susana Diaz’s PSOE will win the most seats this weekend, but without the absolute majority to govern alone.

The most recent polls by ABC, El Pais and Metroscopia put PSOE in first place with 34% of the vote, followed by the PP on 27%, Podemos with 15%, Ciudadanos with 11% and finally the IU at 7%.

A coalition, therefore, is practically a given.

It is clear that 2012’s socialist coalition with the IU – which allowed the PSOE to retain power – was not enough. This is the time for the likes of Podemos’ Teresa Rodriguez and Ciudadanos’ Juan Marin to make their mark on this diverse and beautiful part of the world.

What is certain is that change must come, one way or another.

The Olive Press is not con Susana.

See Time for Change on Page 6-7

YES YOU can

• Interview with Marbella’s first agent

Plus the celebs who made Andalucia their home See inside

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CRIME NEWS

March 19th - April 1st

Russian godfather used leading expat media companies to help launder €200 million

Mafia FM radio ONE of Europe’s biggest gangsters helped launder €200 million through a string of Costa del Sol companies, it has emerged.

Dubbed the ‘Polish Al Capone’ and the ‘CEO of organised crime’, Ricardo Fanchini headed a network which laundered the Russian mafia’s black money in Spain.

Fanchini, (above) currently in prison in America for drug trafficking, was able to launder millions

through his Malaga network fronted by Ukrainian Robert Gaspar, 55, and Armenian Robert Mani, 54.

The pair fled Spain after police clamped down on their schemes, which involved paying millions to Casares Town Hall for the illegally-built Majestic urbanisation.

The two right-hand men also set up a series of TV companies, magazines and radio stations to launder money, it has emerged after the judge lifted a secrecy order on the

ongoing case.

These included Radio Europe Mediterraneo (REM), fronted by disgraced former DJ Maurice Boland, and now rebranded as Talk Radio Europe (TRE).

Other companies Carrera Entertainments and Seabreeze Productions organised races at Mijas racecourse and even concerts, including Bryan Adams and Jamiroquai.

While Mani was arrested at Malaga airport last year, Gaspar is still the subject of an ar-

rest warrant.

The so-called Majestic case began with the arrest of Casares mayor Juan Sanchez three years ago and has seen the embargo of up to 250 homes on the Costa del Sol and five commercial premises.

Some 19 top-of-the-range cars have also been seized.

Other companies set up by the Russians include Casares golf gardens, Sol Mijas Developers and Blue Sky Television.

FIND THEM!

A paedophile, a convicted killer and two rapists are among the 10 most wanted British fugitives hiding out in Spain

By Rob Horgan

A TRIO of dangerous sex offenders have been named on the list of the 10 most wanted British fugitives hiding out in Spain.

An alleged paedophile, a convicted rapist and also a suspected sex offender are among those targeted by Operation Captura’s latest clampdown.

In particular police want to

WANTED: Alam, Buchanan and Dawson locate Mohammed Jahangir Alam, 32, who was sentenced to 14 years for rape in 2010.

They also want to track down Carlo Dawson, 52, from London, over an assault of a 12-year-old girl and other of-

fences, while Paul Buchanan is accused of attempted rape.

A convicted killer and a number of drug traffickers also make up those wanted, many of whom are believed to be hiding out on the Costa del

Operation Captura Operation Captura was launched in 2006 by Crimestoppers UK. So far 65 out of 76 suspects appealed for have been found, including violent robber Daniel Paul Johnston who was tracked down to his house in Pruna, Sevilla, by the Olive Press in 2008.

Sol.Inspector Olga Lizana, head of Spain’s fugitive unit, said the ‘easy life’ offered to runaway criminals is no longer on offer in Spain.

“There’s a big British community with its own schools, doctors, supermarkets and everything else,” she said.

“You don’t even need to know the language, so it’s a good place for them to come and hide.“But we are catching more and more, so it is not a safe place for them to be.”

Operation Captura appeals have so far helped bring 65 out of 76 suspects to justice in the UK. The others wanted are: •

Suspected drugs trafficker Jayson McDonald, who was understood to be staying in the Coin area last year

•

Drug trafficker David McDermott, 41, from Lancashire, is wanted in connection to an international €100 million cocaine smuggling operation

•

Former soldier and previously convicted killer Shane Walford, from Coventry, is thought to have fled to Spain after he broke the terms of his bail

•

Paul Monk, 54, Anthony Dennis, 47, and Scott Hughes, 34, are all wanted on drugs charges

•

Michael Roden, 25, is wanted on charges of importing cannabis

MOTLEY CREW: Dennis, Hughes, McDonald, Monk, McDermott, Roden and Walford (left to right)

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Within three days of submitting an eDenuncia, the complainant will be assigned

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NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

Apprentice star to bag a tidy €5 million profit from Marbella mansion sale

March 19th - April 1st 2015

What a hero

Sugar’s sweet deal LORD Alan Sugar is looking to downsize to a penthouse after spinning a tasty profit on his luxury Marbella villa.

The Apprentice star is set to

LUXURY: The €11 million Marbella pad counts six en suite rooms and gymnasium

double his money, 16 years after buying the 1,604m2 beachside plot for around €5 million.

A bid of €11 million has

EXCLUSIVE

By Rob Horgan

been accepted on the amazing six-bedroom home, it

Beach boys...

IN ACTION: Armin Van Buuren

LEGENDARY DJs Armin Van Buuren and Paul Kalkbrenner will be dropping beats on the beach in Almeria this summer.

Dutch disc spinner Van Buuren was the highlight of last year’s Dreambeach festival, and he is set to return to the Villaricos shindig on August 7.

Specialising in trance music,

3

he is currently rated third in DJ Magazine’s 2014 rankings but has been top a record five times.

Meanwhile, German Kalkbrenner is one of the most celebrated techno DJs in the world.

British duo Sigma Live, Headhunterz, Andy C and Noisia complete the star-studded musical line-up.

can be revealed, with the deal ‘being completed in the next few weeks’.

It means the the east-end entrepreneur will bag a tidy SEVILLA-BOUND: The Ting Tings

...And good Tings

profit of around €5 million.

Marketed through agency Luxury Villa Sales - which set up a unique website for the property - Sugar spent €1 million on the construction of the home in 2000.

A source close to the deal confirmed: “The sale is going well, it is now just a matter of completing the paperwork.

“Alan will most likely downsize to a penthouse, maybe in Spain, maybe in Florida,” he added.

Mystery

WORLD-RENOWNED German DJ Richie Hawtin and British band The Ting Tings are the latest names to be added to the Territorios Festival lineup in Sevilla.

Taking place in June, international acts including Irish rock band The Strypes and Colombia’s Bombero Estereo are already pencilled in.

Cruz control

KICKING BACK: Cruz

While the buyer so far remains a mystery, he is understood to be German, having bought through a tie-up deal with company Engel & Volkers.

The three-story villa, which went on the market earlier this year valued at €12 million, includes a 200m2 underground car park, pool and gymnasium.

There is also access to the beach and one of Marbella’s top tennis clubs.

SPANISH singer Enrique Iglesias is giving Latin American musicians a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The Hero star has teamed up with a South American scholarship program after being bowled over by a fan in Puerto Rico.

Iglesias invited the fan on stage during his recent tour of the Americas before throwing the man over his shoulder and carrying him around the stage.

Dancing for a decade DANCEWORKS dance school is to show off a decade of Sotogrande success with its tenth dazzling show, set to be the best so far.

The Teatro Juan Luis Galiardo in San Roque will come alive with over 90 international kids memorising routines from Mamma Mia to Mary Poppins under the watchful eye of selfprofessed perfectionist and RAD-trained school owner Jacqui Morgan.

The show will be held on March 21 at 6.30pm, call Jacqui on 609 841 748 for more details.

CRAFTSMEN IN PAINT AND PAPER

PENELOPE Cruz has admitted that acting turned her into ‘the world’s biggest workaholic’ but it did not fulfil her.

The Madrid actress has now decided to slow things down and relish life at a less frenetic speed.

The mother-of-two, 40, admits that, whereas she used to shoot four films per year without blinking, family life demands a different schedule.

Cruz says she has come home in more ways than one – now living in Madrid and immersing herself in Spanish cinema.

The actress, who is practically teetotal and does not smoke, has a son and a daughter with her Spanish actor hubby, Javier Bardem.

She also revealed that she had initially planned to be a ballerina or a doctor if she hadn’t become an actress. Her next film, Ma Ma, comes out in Spain in September.

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NEWS IN BRIEF Lucky let-off

Writer’s remains

Tip tragedy THE body of a newborn baby was found in an Alicante tip when a worker dumping more rubbish thought he had spotted a doll.

Robber rumbled A 40-year-old man who carried out two armed robberies in Sabinillas last month has been arrested at his home in Manilva.

Jihadi bust POLICE have detained eight people across the country suspected of belonging to an ISIS jihadi ring. The arrests took place in Barcelona, Girona, Avila and Ciudad Real.

March 19th - April 1st 2015

One punch Victor out

A PATERNITY claim against former King, Juan Carlos, was thrown out by Madrid’s Supreme Court and a DNA test denied.

A TEAM of 30 forensic scientists believe they have found Miguel de Cervantes’ remains in Madrid’s Convent of the Barefoot Trinitarians.

NEWS

BAILED: Victor Kainth

EXCLUSIVE

By Tom Powell A BILLIONAIRE property investor who avoided tax in Britain for 24 years has been tracked down to a Puerto Banus apartment by the Olive Press.

Paul ‘Boom Boom’ Bloomfield has been living in a luxury apartment in the Los Granados urbanisation ‘on and off’ for a number of years.

Bloomfield featured in a Panorama investigation into the HSBC offshore account scandal, in which he was labelled as one of the most extreme cases.

He owned a helicopter, private jet and several homes without ever filing a single tax return in over 20 years.

However, he has not been prosecuted.

The apartment in Puerto Banus is in his wife Marilyn Watt’s name, although security guards on-site claimed it

A BRITISH expat who killed a German for filming his daughter without permission is out of jail.

Victor Kainth, 40, who allegedly killed Sandro Rottman, 43, with one punch at a Sotogrande restaurant, is out on bail awaiting trial.

Algeciras police confirmed that the married father-of-three has been allowed out of Botafuego prison on ‘a number of conditions’.

While the spokesman was unable to confirm the exact terms of his release, it is understood he has had to surrender his passport and must

EXCLUSIVE

By Iona Napier report to his local police station once a week.

Residents of Sotogrande expressed surprise that he had been released, while facing at least a charge of manslaughter.

One told the Olive Press he had seen him going to a friend’s apartment with a bottle of wine in Sotogrande, while another said he had seen him leaving his gym Vanity Fitness.

INCLUDING KILLED: Sandro Rottman IVA

Boom boom in Banus Billionaire property developer who evaded tax for 20 years - is found by Olive Press in Marbella has been rented out and she has not been seen there for some years.

However, other Olive Press sources claim Bloomfield himself has been seen on the urbanisation - which boasts 24-hour security and tennis courts - several times in the

last few months.

But he has not been well and has been coping badly from severe diabetes, with his wife taking care of him.

Bloomfield, who helped organise the financing of the new Wembley stadium in 2003, met HMRC investigators in

t

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Bloomfield did have an offshore account with the bank in 1993.

Prosecu Do you Bloomfield? ted Myster Bloomknow field, who ious It comes ni helped se th Contact e newsdesk@theolive, Wembleyfinancing of theorga- ter extremcontroversiall ne st w ad press.es Isis anno ist Muslim g met HMwithiuinformation. m in 20 un RC 03 ce

, reclaim d its de investigat 2011 bu sir A or not own t told them he s in of our forel Andalus, ‘the fathers’. count, anan offshore bank did any inco y property or acBut the me of his own. have to HMR HSBC files Bloomfie C reportedly given shore ac ld did have anshow in 1993. count with the offbankCarmen Tax offic DISGRACED: believe deials are said no ni al s about no t to Marin ing any t ed he wasincome and conchavAnd ho past 20 liable for tax fo ludye r th ar e s, but he w prosecut create 4w he plans as not Have yoed. just one 0,000 job Contact u seen Bloom year press.es newsdesk@theofield?

T liv with an he O tion. y inform eFabia live Press a-

Which c Animal sanctuary killer faces e is sendin leb g Gibralta prison r’s C Ministe r

THE disgraced owner of a Torremolinos animal sanctuary faces four years in prison for animal cruelty.

Carmen Marin was arrested in 2010 after the sanctuary killed two and a half times the number of animals in a 20-month period than is legally allowed.

The Olive Press first reported in 2012 how smaller doses of anaesthetic were used - to save costs – meaning animals suffered ‘slow and agonising’ deaths.

The animals were reportedly put down ‘without veterinary supervision and with the wrong drugs, leading to unnecessary and unjustifiable suffering’, according to a police report.

In some cases, cats and dogs were put in freezers when

Gag

n See PagPicardo. e 25

they were still alive.

Now the prosecution’s investigation has found that 2,200

Dolphin trainer accused of animal cruelty found dead A DOLPHIN trainer accused of animal abuse has been found dead in Mallorca.

The body of Jose Luis Barbero, 59, was found in his car at Palma airport.

Barbero was set to become Vice President of the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, USA, when allegations of animal cruelty emerged on social media.

Georgia Aquarium owner Mike Leven criticised the ‘unnecessary’ and ‘unjust’ abuse Barbero suffered.

“He was not given the right or the privilege to be considered innocent until proven guilty,” he said.

In February, videos of Spanish trainers, including Barbero, hitting dolphins circulated online.

Despite the low quality of footage, activists blasted Barbero on Twitter and Facebook.

Barbero’s employer, Marineland Mallorca, is now planning legal action.

animals were put down in three years.

It recommends Marin is jailed for animal cruelty, unauthorised practice and falsifying documents, as well as fined €7,200 and banned from working with animals.

One employee is also charged with animal cruelty and unauthorised practice.

The Olive Press also revealed how a close relationship existed between Marin and Torremolinos Town Hall.

We discovered how court documents showed she made a series of unexplained payments totalling over €50,000 to Mayor Pedro Fernandez Montes’ brother Jose Fernandez.

Marin is also accused of using the charity’s money for hotel stays, driving lessons and spa treatments as well as favours for friends and family.

m

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OLIVE PRESS – Earpiece 4th & 18th February

Have you seen Senor Boom Boom Bloomfield?

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olive press ISLAMIC TAKEOVER The original and only English-language investigative newspaper in Andalucía

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February 19th - March 4th 2015

Google probe after Olive Press spots Algeciras is apparently still under 11th century Muslim rule

Sweet as sugar-Kane in Marbs Valentine hol See Page 3

RETURN TO

AL ANDALUS: Google turns GOOGLE has launched an back time by investigation into why it map 1000 years to site lists a key Andalucian label Algeciras town as being under Muslim a Muslim taifa rule.

It comes after the Olive Press spotted that Google Maps was labelling Algeciras as a Osama Bin Laden also made ‘Taifa’, an Islamic term un- claims to retake the former used in Spain since the mid- Moorish region for Islam. of member a if dle ages.

It is not known as the main European target.

A probe is now underway to Google’s staff is an Isis symcase’ The Taifa of Algeciras existed find out how the bizarre ‘ed- pathiser or whether an out- who spotted the ‘strangeSpan- for 23 years in 11th century while searching for a iting error’ labelled the Ca- sider is responsible. said: Moorish Andalucia, until it diz port with the title, which An embarrassed Google ish holiday destination, mys- was annexed to the Taifa of is very ceased to exist in 1058. spokesman thanked the Olive “The whole thing Sevilla.

Under Islamic rule, the Al Press for ‘flagging this mis- terious.

The reaction to the ‘editing Andalus caliphate divided its take which we have worked to “You don’t just accidentally been one of bewillabel a place ‘Taifa’ by press- error’ has regions into taifas including rectify’. key. You need derment.

Ronda, Sevilla and Granada.

She said: “This has now been ing the wrong knowledge A spokesman from Algecifixed and should start to ap- to have historical Hall told the Olive and use it deliberately,” add- ras Town is a curious error, pear on Maps soon.”

Mysterious Press: “It is not the ed the retired biologist. af- “I can confirm this she add- Isis has announced frighten- perhaps Google meant the controversially, comes, It Prosecuted work of a hacker,” or maybe ter extremist Muslim group label ing plans for one single Mus- ‘Bay of Algeciras’, Bloomfield, who helped orga- Isis announced its desire to ed, putting the strangeerror’. lim caliphate, spanning from Google was around 1000 nise the financing of the new reclaim Al Andalus, ‘the land down to a mere ‘editing Orson Morocco to China, with Spain years ago.”

Nick However, Briton Wembley stadium in 2003, of our forefathers’. met HMRC investigators in 2011 but told them he did acbank offshore not own an count, any property or have any income of his own.

But the HSBC files given to HMRC reportedly show Bloomfield did have an offshore account with the bank in 1993.

Tax officials are said not to believe denials about not havAnd how he plans to ing any income and concludcreate 40,000 jobs in ed he was liable for tax for the just one year past 20 years, but he was not prosecuted.

The Olive Press meets Have you seen Bloomfield?

Contact newsdesk@theoliveFabian Picardo. press.es with any informaSee Page 25 tion.

MULTI-MILLIONAIRE A British property investor who failed to pay taxes for 24 years is reportedly living in Spain.

Entrepreneur Paul Bloomfield enjoyed a life of luxury with several homes, a helicopter and private jet without submitting a single tax return.

Nicknamed ‘Boom Boom Bloomfield’ after his lucrative property deals in the 80s, he has now emerged as one of those who had offshore accounts with HSBC in Switzerland.The bank has been the subject of a major scandal after it came to light that thousands of its British customers were encouraged to set up offshore accounts.

Mystery behind the Sotogrande murder See Page 4

Fireman Frank saves his Sunday service See Page 53

Which celebrity is sending Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Gaga?

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FLASHBACK: Last month’s story

GOOGLE has stopped labelling Algeciras as an 11th century Muslim Kingdom on its map service, following an Olive Press expose.

However, while the ‘Taifa of Algeciras’ has now been more correctly labelled ‘Algeciras’, two new instances of Google returning Spain to Muslim rule have come to light.

Thanks to readers, we have discovered that Huelva province has a ‘Taifa of Niebla’ and

5

NEWS

As Google Maps removes the mysterious islamic ‘Taifa’ from Algeciras, two more instances of the apparent Muslim takeover come to light

The takeover continues

EXCLUSIVE

By Tom Powell

Teruel, in northern Spain, has a ‘Taifa of Albarracin’, according to Google Maps.

Neither place has been a ‘Taifa’ since it was part of the Muslim kingdom 1,000 years ago, the same kingdom which extremist group ISIS has declared it will reclaim.

Expat Bill Jones, who lives in Arcos de la Frontera, itself on the former border of A MUSLIM mother has been arrested for Christian a vicious attack on her daughter for refusand Musing to wear the veil. lim Spain, The 14-year-old victim’s injuries included told the numerous bites and a knife wound.

O l i v e Police accused the woman from BarceloPress: “I na of domestic violence, while the daughreported ter has now been made a ward of court. that Albarracin Sources close to the victim said the aswas being sault was not just because of the headslabelled carf but also connected to her possession a Taifa to of a mobile telephone.

Google after seeing

The unveiled truth

your story, but nothing has happened.

“I am now wondering which will be the next place to change, clearly there is a joker somewhere with a sense of the Islamic glory days of a millennium ago.”

Last night, a spokesman for Google insisted it was looking into the matter ‘as a priority’.

It had previously described the issue with Algeciras as a mere ‘editing error’ and denied it was the work of a hacker or extremist sympathiser.

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FEATURE

the olive press - March March19th 19th--April April1st 1st2015 2015

OPINION

All eyes are on Andalucia in the lead-up to the most fiercely-contested regional elections in decades, with new parties Podemos and Ciudadanos threatening three decades of socialist dominance. Who’s got the X factor? Iona Napier looks at the likely outcome

Safe haven IT is no surprise to discover that ten more of Britain’s most wanted fugitives are hiding out in Spain.

In this huge melting pot of nationalities, up to a million of whom are British, it is easy for these monsters to blend in and lay low.

Luckily though the vast majority of expats on the coast are law-abiding and abhor the sickening crimes of these dangerous misfits.

And, like all good citizens, the world over, they are only too happy to report them to the rightful authorities.

Building blocks IT is with great pleasure that we introduce a new product to the marketplace this issue.

After five years of recession, the property market is truly coming alive and we felt it is the ideal time to launch our own unique Property guide.

Just like all Olive Press products, it will be high on quality, full of editorial and supported by only the very best of local - and trustworthy - businesses.

We hope you enjoy it and make sure to tell the advertisers where you read about them!

TIME FOR CHANGE IT must be election time.

There are workmen on every corner and the road crews are finally filling those potholes.

Meanwhile the likes of Susana Diaz have infiltrated our everyday lives, beaming down from lofty lamppost perches every time you walk down the street.

The PP is promising this and that, including a motorway from Ronda to Antequera, the exact same promise it made the last election time… oh, and the one before that.

Rarely have last-ditch attempts to please voters been so transparent.

But take away the cheesy propaganda and far fetched promises and it is clear how crucial these elections are.

Crucial in terms of breathing new life back into the Junta, cleaning away the corruption and building towards a brighter future.

Yes, after 33 years of the same party it is time to move on.

Andalucians, you have the opportunity of change in your hands

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I

T is tipped to be the most exciting Spanish regional election for decades.

And whether you’re dusting off your protest placards or battening down the hatches, one thing is certain: with two major new contenders threatening to upset the ‘establishment’ applecart, Andalucia is preparing for battle.

D-day for political warfare is this Sunday (March 22) and, as the first region in Spain to vote, the entire country will be watching Andalucia for signs of change that could have a ripple effect throughout Spain and set the trend for the general elections later this year.

The two main newcomers are Podemos and Ciudadanos, polling around 15% and 10% respectively - and each demanding an end to the long-running corruption carve up that has loomed over the PSOE-run Junta for the last few years.

In total, it is estimated that 6.5 million people will flock to the polling stations to deliver their final verdict on the campaigners who are pushing their candidacy for power in the regional elections.

Those vying for votes? Step forward: - Susana Diaz, PSOE Junta president, conveniently pregnant, pushing the fresh face of socialism with her #YoConSusana Twitter campaign - Teresa Rodriguez, current Euro MP and candidate for anti-austerity and anti-corruption party Podemos - Juan Moreno, aiming to stop the PSOE stranglehold for Rajoy’s ruling Partido Popular - Antonio Maillo, the new face of the leftist Izquierda Unida - Juan Marin, representing the revamped, anti-corruption centre-right Ciudadanos (Citizens) party The next few days will be critical for the election campaigns

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A

Time for a change RALLY: Podemos meeting in Malaga

of these parties as, if change happens for Andalucia, the rest of Spain could well follow.

A political changeover in Andalucia would be nothing short of ground-breaking.

It has been a shoo-in for the PSOE since the Junta’s inception in 1982 – a staggering 33 years.

It is the only autonomous community in Spain that has not seen one single change in government, which makes these elections even more exciting.

But with Podemos bursting onto the scene last year and taking the political arena by

storm - polling nationally at around 22 to 25% - Diaz has seen her socialist reign put in danger.

Pablo Iglesias, the charismatic, pony-tailed leader of Podemos, expressly identified the Andalucian elections as the start of his 2015 election campaign, although he admitted he was not expecting to win.

And this was ruled a practical certainly when Diaz pulled a masterstroke on January 26 by calling a snap election for this month, surprising everyone around the region.

Coming out all whiter than

New dawn for Andalucia

NDALUCIA should wake up to an entirely new political landscape on Monday morning.

While the Socialists are expected to win the elections, they are unlikely to have enough seats to rule on their own, and with even less than in 2012.

But the parties are already brokering power deals before Sunday’s race.

Regional premier Susana Díaz seems to be heading for a pact with Ciudadanos, the up-and-coming political organisation which started in Catalonia and has been taking away much of Podemos’ steam over the last few weeks.

Ciudadanos’ candidate, Juan Marín, said his party has already drawn up red lines it will not cross if the Socialists invite him to form a partnership.

He says it is crucial to reactivate the economy, clean up the institutions of corruption and ensure people don’t have to suffer because of financial difficulties.

And, conveniently, we already have a PSOE-Ciudadanos coali-

FACE-OFF: Rodriguez (left) V Diaz

white, her strategy was to proclaim her own party’s desire to clean up corruption before Podemos had a chance to gain ground.

What remains to be seen is whether that early doors move has paid off.

It certainly looks to have done, and with Podemos not even having a candidate for the region in January, Diaz got a fabulous head start.

Latest polls put PSOE on around 35% (down 4% on 2012), with the PP trailing with 25% (down 15% from 2012).

The IU has all but been left out in the cold with merely 8% (11% in 2012) of the expected vote.

If this was the final result it would mean the PSOE would need to form a pact with either the PP, Ciudadanos or Podemos to keep the whip hand. Both extremely unlikely bedfellows for Diaz. But power is a heady drug and she will find someone to snuggle up to.

The most exciting pact would be with Podemos, which would strongly test the new party’s promise to clear up corruption.

Would getting into government mean them being able to get into the closet to find any more unpleasant PSOE ghosts, such as the ERE and the Casa Edu scandals?

Another inescapable element at play for Diaz is her pregnancy.

The 40-year-old, who is almost five months pregnant and due to give birth to her first child in July, has claimed it ‘should not be an obstacle’.

“I want to give my son a better Andalucia than the one left to us by our parents,” she has claimed, spinning the happy event in an electorally positive light.

For expats – who can vote in local and European elections but not at regional and national level without Spanish citizenship – all that remains is to sit tight and watch the drama unfold.

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tion running for three years in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, near Cadiz.

It came after independent councillor Marin (in office since 2007) merged with Albert Rivera’s Ciudadanos party in 2011, and then allied with the socialists to help them stay in power.

So it will be only a test of time if Marín can transfer the success he had in local city government to the far more challenging regional level.

The latest surveys show that Ciudadanos could gain 12 seats in the local parliament, just three seats less than Podemos… and Diaz has no intention of pacting with them.

Voters fed up with 40 years of bipartisanism is Spain have been scared off by the somewhat radical and ambiguous proposals coming from Podemos.

As a result, Ciudadanos now seem more credible.

MATTE RS

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In the running

FEATURE

March 19th - April 2015 the olive press - March 19th -1st April 1st 2015

BRACELETS FOR BATTLE

Susana Diaz, PSOE Twitter following 58.9k

WHEN Susana Diaz called for the elections to be brought forward, she took a risk.

Her official line pointed towards an unstable leftist coalition with the Izquierda Unida, but her ulterior motive was really to extinguish the Podemos fire before it grew too fierce.

Either way, the snap elections still provide Diaz with the biggest test of her career to date.

Born and educated in Sevilla, the seat of the regional government, politics runs through her veins. She became Junta President in 2013 when predecessor Jose Antonio Griñan resigned, sweeping the board with the approval of more than 21,000 members of her party.Since then she has promised to stamp out corruption once and for all, while focusing on equality and opportunity for all. However she has still come in for her fair share of criticism, in particular for not expelling former leaders Griñan and Manuel Chavez, both involved corruption investigations, from the party.

There’s just one stumbling block. In this ‘year of change’, Diaz faces a mammoth task in persuading Andalucian voters to invest in yet another term of a government that has been in power without a break for 33 years. And as if that isn’t tough enough, she is expecting the birth of her first son in July.

Juan Moreno, PP

Twitter following 19.7k FAMILY man Moreno was born in Barcelona in 1970 and has risen through the political ranks of the PP party with remarkable speed.

Affiliated with the party at 19, at 23 he was leading the party’s youth organisation, Nuevas Generaciones, in Malaga.

He held the national position of Secretary of State for Social Affairs from 2011 before becoming the PP’s Andalucia President in February 2014.

Emphasis has been placed on Moreno’s humble origins, with his grandparents having worked as ‘journaleros’ or day labourers, while his parents emigrated to Catalunya.

Sadly for him, in a recent poll, one third of Andalucians didn’t even know who he was.

Juan Marin, Ciudadanos Twitter following 3.7k

WHEN Juan Marin’s party makes its Andalucian election debut this year, it could prove to be one of the big surprises.

Promising to battle corruption and unemployment the ‘Podemos of the Right’, as the party has been dubbed, pledges to bring an end to the ‘failures and lies’ of past administrations. Although the party only launched major activity in the rest of Spain in 2013, it has been a key force in Catalunya since 2005, and crucially wants to remain in Spain.

Born in Sanlucar de Barrameda, Marin founded the Ciudadanos Independientes in 2006.

NOT WITHOUT MY BRACELET: Politician fashion

Teresa Rodriguez, Podemos Twitter following 92.3k TERESA Rodriguez has established herself as a key player in the Podemos march to political revolution. And it’s not just a ‘purple patch’.

There are high hopes that she will be the party’s first representative in regional government.

Hailing from the US naval base town of Rota, the 34-year-old former Professor of Literature established herself as a political force from her militant student days with the leftist IU party.

A member of the European Parliament, her position of influence has been visible for all to see since the anti-corruption party formed in January 2014.

Even an alleged nudist beach picture has failed to fluster the unflappable politician.

If elected, she has vowed to implement anti-corruption measures as well as operating a ‘far more transparent’ office in terms of government spending.

She may be unlikely to win outright, but Rodriguez will no doubt have more than a say in how the elections pan out.

And don’t be surprised to see the PP and PSOE battle it out for her political ‘hand in marriage’, as a coalition is highly possible.

IT has become the ultimate accessory for politicians, no matter which party.

Bracelets of all colours have been spotted in the run-up to the elections. It comes as no surprise that Podemos’ fashionable leader Pablo Iglesias is one of the key bracelet boys, sporting a Venezuelan-coloured number.

Meanwhile the head of fellow upstarts Ciudadanos, Albert Rivera, hasn’t shied away from flashing his beaded wrist-wear.

It is not simply fashion that provokes Izquierda Unida leader Alberto Garzon to wear his plain, black bracelet. Touchingly, his partner Ana, a doctor in Ronda, wears exactly the same.

ANDALUCIA: AN ELECTION FACTFILE MAKE UP: How parliament could look

The autonomous region of Andalucia was created on December 30, 1981 In its first election in 1982, the PSOE socialist party won In the last census, the population of Andalucia was 8,402,305 62% - or 3,876,780 people - voted in the last elections in 2012 There were 35,048 blank votes and 22,369 spoilt papers Over one in three Andalucians are unemployed, with an overall unemployment rate of 34.2% Unemployment for women is even higher – 37.3%

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POLITICAL NEWS

Marchwww.theolivepress.es 19th - April 1st 2015

‘Gag law’ will stifle protests CRACK DOWN: On protestors

Ronda’s road to the elections THE PP has promised to build a highway between Ronda and Antequera if its candidate for the Junta presidency, Juan Moreno, wins the regional elections.

The party promises to construct the highway, to improve the roads to San Pedro and Algeciras and widen the road to El Burgo.

Esperanza Ona, Malaga’s PP candidate, said: “It’s a firm promise and I urge Ronda’s people to join the change that Moreno represents after years of neglect to this area by the PSOE.” PSOE representatives have been quick to recall empty highway promises of Mari Paz Fernandez prior to becoming Ronda’s mayor in 2011 and to remind voters of the current €55 million Junta investment into Ronda’s access routes.Mysteriously the works for the two key junctions around the mountain town started again last month, after remaining dormant for more than a year.

THE Spanish senate has approved controversial plans to change the country’s security laws, making protesting more difficult.

Nicknamed the ‘gag law’ by human rights groups, the change in legislation will crack down on protests as well as the most vulnerable members of society, including sex workers, drug takers and the homeless.

The law is expected to be ratified this month, with fines of up to €30,000 imposed on anyone deemed to be ‘degrading public property’ or causing ‘serious disturbances of public safety’. Human Rights Watch has slammed the bill for ‘unjustifiably punishing vulnerable groups’ and ‘stifling freedom of speech’.

“The legislation undermines fundamental rights in myriad ways,” said a spokesman.

CORR UPTIO

Eye on N

Bung-gate begins HANGING HER HEAD: Ana Mato booed in to court

By Rob Horgan FORMER health minister Ana Mato was booed as she entered court for a preliminary hearing in Spain’s largest national corruption case.

Proceedings for the biggest political scandal to hit Spain since the end of the Franco era began this month, with Mato and her ex-husband, Jesus Sepulveda, the first prominent figures to appear in court.

The pair are among 40 PP members and high-profile businessmen set to stand trial

Spain’s biggest national corruption case gets underway with 40 PP members and businessmen in the dock

in the €450 million ‘Gurtel’ corruption case.

Sepulveda, the ex-mayor of Pozuelo, near Madrid, is accused of taking backhanders, while Mato resigned in November from her post, after she was charged with taking illegal cash payments of up to €30,000.

In total, the big group of politicians are charged with 12

Rajoy’s regret on corruption PRIME Minister Mariano Rajoy has admitted that corruption has ‘hurt’ the PP during his second term in office.

During an interview with radio station Onda Cero, the Spanish leader admitted that it has been hard to ‘shake off’ the image of corruption attributed to his party.

However he added that any decision to exclude election candidates involved in criminal investigations from running should be made on an individual basis.

“It depends on each person’s case,” he said. “We cannot put them on trial ahead of time.

“Every case is different, in each specific case it is necessary to make a concrete

HURT: Rajoy decision that is specific to that case alone.”

With regional, local and national elections all coming up, the PP and PSOE are trying to distance themselves from the corrupt image that up-and-coming parties such as Podemos and Ciudadanos have capitalised on.

different offences, including bribery, money laundering and tax fraud, relating to illegal kickbacks for work.

The group includes three former PP party treasurers.

The scandal has been far reaching and has tarnished the reputations of many senior politicians.

Last month, former treasurer Luis Barcenas claimed Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was among scores of party leaders who received tens of thousands of euros from a secret slush fund during the government of Jose Maria Aznar.

Both he and a number of the party’s other senior figures are said to have regularly received monthly envelopes with sums of €3000 or more in cash.

Allegedly masterminded by Valencia businessman Francisco Correa, the offences relate to a six year period between 1999 and 2005.

Correa organised taking payments from companies in return for licences and favours and then filtered the money back to Madrid through offshore Swiss bank accounts.

The case became heavily politicised when it emerged that left-leaning former superjudge Baltasar Garzon, was found guilty of illegally wire-tapping Correa, while he was awaiting trial in prison.

He was banned from working as a judge.

A further investigation is now also underway to examine the four year period from 2005 to 2009.

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NEWS IN BRIEF Ain’t no sunshine A SOLAR eclipse is set to plunge Europe into darkness. The eclipse will cover Spain between 9am and 11.30am on March 20, with the Costa del Sol seeing a 70% eclipse.

Choppy waters HALF a ton of Cocaine was recovered off the coast of Alicante. 560kg was found in the water in one of Spain’s biggest drug hauls so far this year with no arrests as yet.

Staying put THE government has refused to extradite 20 people, including former Franco officials, to Argentina where they are wanted for a number of offences.

Hero’s return AN iconic statue of an esparto grass picker has been returned to Mijas’ Plaza Virgen de la Pena after four years at a location outside the town.

Pro-life THOUSANDS of pro-life campaigners from across Spain gathered in Madrid for the Every Life Matters march against abortion laws.

NEWS

the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

Fire fighter Walking home at two in the morning, heroic boxer Sean McShea bravely entered a burning building to save the lives of its sleeping residents

All about a boy!

HERO: Expat Sean McShea and (below) in front of the apartment

CONGRATULATIONS go out to Olive Press columnist and currency expert Mark Rickard who became a father this month.

Born on March 8, Mark and mum Carlie became the proud parents to son French Stuart Charles.

And despite the welcome distraction, Mark still managed to get his column written in time for this issue.

EXCLUSIVE

By Rob Horgan A FORMER British boxer took his life into his hands to save dozens of people asleep inside a burning building.

Dubliner Sean McShea, 33, was walking home at 2am when he spotted the out-ofcontrol blaze in a block of flats in Duquesa Port.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Sean, a personal trainer who moved to Duquesa eight years ago, was inside the building tackling the blaze.

And thanks to his quickthinking, he almost certainly saved lives, claim firemen.

After scrambling around the building on his hands and knees to avoid the smoke, Sean eventually found an extinguisher and was able to put the blaze out.

“I saw the flames coming from the apartment block from quite a distance,” he said. “As I got closer it hit me that there may be women and children inside the building.

Knock it down, then cough up

“I didn’t think twice about going in, I was totally acting on adrenaline, it never occurred to me that it might be dangerous.”

Fire services arrived an

alarming half-hour later and thanked Sean for his heroic actions. An electrical fault with the fuse box was determined as the cause of the fire.

EXPATS who ended up buying illegal homes in Spain are celebrating a change in the law after a decade of campaigning.

Thousands of heart-broken homeowners invested in properties only to find their dream homes were constructed illegally and could actually be demolished without any form of compensation.

But now, thanks to years of campaigning, a change in the law states that ‘homes will not be demolished until the owner receives a payout’.

“It is great news and a long time coming,” said AUAN president Maura Hillen, who unknowingly bought an illegal house in Albox in 2007.

“We were left with paperless properties and we have been working to improve our circumstances over the years.”

AUAN is a group established by residents in Almanzora, where there are 12,697 illegal constructions alone.

It is unclear whether properties already demolished will receive any retrospective compensation.

According to AUAN, there are an estimated 300,000 illegally built homes in southern Spain.

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11

12

the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

NEWS IN BRIEF Done dealer A 35-year-old man has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply over 50g of cocaine.

Flight fight SPAIN is seeking Ukraine’s support in its plan to exclude Gibraltar from new EU aviation measures.

Tough love A 16-year-old boy will serve three weeks in prison because he has nowhere to live. His parents refused to take him back after he was arrested for burglary.

Wacky racer A WOMAN was arrested for driving with a suspended licence after she illegally overtook a police car on Middle Gibraltar Road.

Body found A BODY has been found in La Linea in connection to the search for missing Gibraltar worker Antonio Velasco Rodriguez.

Gibraltar NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

Kicking off Former Gibraltar FA boss Allen Bula seeks legal action over ‘shocking’ and ‘unfair’ sacking

SACKED: Allen Bula

By Rob Horgan SACKED football manager Allen Bula is seeking legal action against the Gibraltar FA. It has been revealed that Bula was dismissed for mak-

ing ‘derogatory comments’ against the GFA in newspaper reports and acting in an ‘aggressive manner’ during filming for a Sky documentary.

All aboard!

UP to 10 superyachts could be on their way to Ocean Village if expansion plans are given the green light.

The ₤15 million Marina Bay project will see a new tree-lined promenade erected between the Sunborn hotel and the airport runway. The works will also feature 126 short-stay rental apartments, built on stilts to avoid disturbing marine life.

Ocean Village predicts the expansion could bring in an extra ₤75 million to local businesses when at just 60% capacity.

If the plans are approved by Gibraltar’s planning committee, building could start as soon as 2016 and would take around 14 months to complete.

Bula said he is ‘shocked and disappointed’ by the decision and is now considering an unfair dismissal case.

“I would like to stress that my statement is in no way against Gibraltar’s football, but is against the unfair treatment I have received from sectors within the GFA,” he said.

An internal GFA investigation found Bula had acted aggressively towards the Football Association’s CEO and verbally abused a member of Sky’s production team. He was also found guilty of making derogatory comments in the Gibraltar Chronicle in August 2014, in which he said the Rock’s national teams ‘were sailing in opposite directions’.

Interim coach David Wilson will take charge of the team for the upcoming European qualifier against Scotland.

ON the Rock March 20-22

Dirty money iceberg THE Gibraltar government is suing a Spanish daily national over a front page story which pictured the Rock as an iceberg of dirty money.

The article, which appeared in ABC newspaper, labelled Gibraltar a ‘tax haven’ and alleged it is home to ‘15 organised crime gangs’ connected to drug smuggling, money laundering and the Russian mafia.

A defamation claim has been launched by the government, who claim the allegations are ‘wholly inaccurate and damaging to the reputation and name of Gibraltar’.

“The government is not prepared to tolerate this kind of journalism and has therefore taken legal action against ABC newspaper and its editor, calling for the publication of a correction and an apology,” said a spokesman.

ABC has so far failed to comment.

The world’s best darts players will be throwing the arrows at Tercentenary Sports Hall, Victoria Stadium, for the third Gibraltar Darts Trophy. For more information contact the Ministry of Sports, City Hall.

March 23-28 A total of 12 plays will be performed at Bayside Comprehensive School and Ince’s Hall over six days as part of the annual Gibraltar Drama Festival.

Tickets start at £5 and can be bought at John Mackintosh Hall.

March 28 10am-2pm: Craft and collectors fair in St Andrews Church offering everything from antiques to original arts and crafts, plus toys, jewellery, card and delicious home-baked treats. For information call 540 23 166

March 28 11pm: Dusk nightclub will be celebrating the one year anniversary of civil partnerships with a LGBT focussed evening. For more information call 350 200 60330

www.theolivepress.es

Hacker cracker A COMPUTER specialist from Velez-Malaga has been named the best in the world at stopping virtual hackers.

With more than 200 global online security specialists on the judging panel, Bernardo Quintero was crowned the king of preventing online crime.

The manager of Virustotal – part of Google - Quintero said it was an ‘honour’ to receive the ‘MVP award’ at an IT security conference held in Torre del Mar. “It is a dream come true,” he said. “I am humbled because it is a very special award voted on by global experts within the industry.

Quintero gave a lecture on the dangers of external attacks and virtual property theft and praised Spain’s tackling of virtual crime.

AXARQUIA

the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

Red pride

The Axarquia wine leading Andalucia’s reds with global accolade

Bucks and spades

GOLDEN SAND: Given cash boost in Nerja NERJA’S El Playazo beach is set for a million-euro revamp.

The mayor of Nerja, Jose Armjo, has announced a total of €1,019,000 has been put aside for improvements to the town’s beach area.

The Ministry of Environment have fronted €800,000 to regenerate El Playazo and perform actions related to adaptation to climate change and regeneration of the beach.

While Malaga Council has provided €219,000 for the construction of two bridges over the rio Chillar and the rio Seco near El Playazo.

producing premium wines across Spain.

After buying a farm with six acres of historic vines on the steep slopes of the small town of Sedella, Rosillo converted his personal project into a booming business.

The vineyard’s altitude (2461 ft), proximity to the Mediterranean, soil quality and Rome and Grenache vines give its wine its prowess.

The precious grapes, plant-

Crime stoppers CRIMINAL offences committed in Nerja decreased by 11.4% in 2014 - with 142 people detained - according to figures published by

Trailblazing IMPROVEMENTS will be made to rural paths and tourism routes in Torrox thanks to a €20,000 donation by the Axarquia Rural Development Group.

A RENOWNED critic has named an Axarquia wine the best red in Andalucia.

World-leading wine guru Robert Parker awarded a massive 93 points to the Sedella wine – a ranking unparalleled by any of the region’s reds.

Sedella Vinos was created in 2006 as a personal project by innovative Albacete winemaker Lauren Rosillo, already specialised in

A score of 93 from Parker will wow wine aficionados internationally

NEWS IN BRIEF

the town hall.

By Iona Napier

WINNER: Quintero

13

Job boost THE Axarquia will receive €6.5 million from the Junta in an attempt to boost youth employment figures and provide better self-employed opportunities.

ed in 1940, are fermented in French oak barrels for 16-20 months.

Manufacturing just 10,000 bottles per year, the first rate write-up from wine authority Parker is a quantum leap for Sedella.

A score of 93 from Parker’s prestigious Wine Advocate magazine will wow wine aficionados internationally.

Rosillo, who is to travel to New York to promote the wine, said: “It’s such a privilege to have this accolade from Parker.”

According to Parker, Sedella’s 2012 vintage is the best so far, and the produce of 2013 will not be available until next Christmas.

The price? Here in Spain, just €22 per bottle.

14

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Twitchers set to flock to Trocadero Island as rare species return

GREEN NEWS

March 19th - April 1st 201514

Back to life

EXCLUSIVE

By Rob Horgan A DERELICT nature reserve in Cadiz is being nursed back to life by a group of environmentalists.

Home to an eclectic range of wildlife, La Covacha saltpan – at the heart of the Trocadero Island in the Bay of Cadiz – was abandoned in a state of disrepair for decades.

However, its rejuvenation began in February 2014 when the NGO Saltare took over the site.

And now the organisation is looking to turn La Covacha into a biodiverse breeding ground attracting both avian wildlife and bird lovers alike.

“We are aware that birding trips to southern Spain are very popular in the UK and we would be more than happy for groups to visit this part of Cadiz, which is a birding haven,” a Saltare spokesman said.

“We are currently organising a crowdfunding scheme to fund structural improvements needed for La Covacha to welcome small groups of visitors.”

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LA COVACHA: Abandoned for decades

The funds will be used to build a hide, nesting platforms and artificial perches for the osprey and to build a jetty for easier access to the

island.

In 2014, La Covacha became the first non-assisted breeding area in the Bahia de Cadiz natural park for a rare species of osprey since it was declared extinct in the wild.

The aim for 2015 is to en-

Visit www.verkami.com/ projects and search ‘La Covacha’ for Saltare’s crowdfunding page.

Born with a beard

Deep blue dump THE Mediterranean sea is playing host to so much litter – particularly plastics – that it is seriously endangering most marine species.

In 79 studies since 1986, the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (ICO) has found traces of litter in almost all creatures examined.

Scientists found sea turtles and cetaceans to be the worst affected.

Creatures that eat plastic will asphyxiate and 73% of vulnerable marine species are at risk of extinction if the trend continues.

The UN environment programme claims that plastic accounts for 83% of all litter in the Mediterranean, compared with 17% from paper, metal, wood and textiles.

courage greater breeding of the osprey and continue the restoration of the natural site.

ENDANGERED: Iberian lynx

AN endangered bearded vulture has been born in Jaen’s Cazorla natural park. The rare chick was born at the Guadalentín District Breeding Centre, the same sanctuary where the oldest of its species died last year. The centre was established to increase the dwindling population, with more than 40 birds released into the wild since 2009.

Last resort for the lynx DESPERATE measures have been announced to curb the number of Iberian lynxes killed on Andalucia’s roads.

Last year alone, 21 of the 27 lynxes which died in the region were hit by motor vehicles.

The Junta and the Ministry of Public Works have announced reduced speed limits in areas where high death rates have been recorded for the lynx, the world’s most endangered feline.

Signs warning about the animals’ presence will be erected and bushes are being cut back to help visibility.

The plans follow the Junta’s decision last September to invest €1 million in a project to protect the rare species.

It is being promoted across Spain, but its main focus is Andalucia – where the majority of Spain’s Iberian lynx population lives – in Huelva’s Donana natural park and Cordoba’s Sierra Morena.

Rubbish artwork wanted THEY say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and one environmental organisation in Ronda is putting this old ditty into practice.

Andalucian environmental group, Ronda Limpia, is seeking contributions for its exhibition of recycled art.

The volunteer group is planning its second annual Dia de Ronda Limpia, to take place in the picturesque Alamada del Tajo on April 25.

Participants of all ages and abilities are invited to chip in art pieces, sculptures and re-created

utilities before April 17 – as long as they are made from recycling or rubbish.

Last year´s event included over 100 works of art from national and international participants, with the wider aim of showcasing creative uses of recycling.

To participate, send an email to the Delegacion Medio Ambiente de Ronda at mambiente@ronda.es including your name, email, address, approximate size and name of your artwork and materials and techniques used.

la cultura

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15

the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

March 19th - April 1st 2015

what’s on

Roots rockin’ Banus

DON’T turn around, Reggae legends Aswad are on their way to Puerto Banus. The British stalwarts will play a free concert at Joys Live bar on Saturday 11 April.

With number one hits including ‘Shine’ and ‘Give a little love’, they have produced 21 albums and have been playing live since the mid 1970s.

They became one of the UK’s top reggae bands in the 1980s, introducing strong R&B and soul influences to their music.

For more information visit www.joyslive.com

M

alaga. March 20.

Night tour of the glass museum. A special spring tour of the gardens and the glass museum will take place at 9pm. Tickets €5.

Who’s the Dali?

As Spain’s former King Juan Carlos slips out of his paternity suit, another Spanish icon faces his own dressing down

By Rob Horgan

ENIGMATIC: Did Dali have a secret affair?

Winter is coming SET your alarms. Canal + has announced it will broadcast the new series of Game of Thrones – partly set in Spain – simultaneously with the USA. This means the first episode will air at 3am on Monday April 13, in English but with Spanish subtitles.

Sevilla and its Alcazar palace were used as the location for the kingdom of Dorne in the show’s fifth series.

Tourism is expected to increase with Game of Thrones fanatics heading to the city.

SURREALIST painter Salvador Dali is the latest Spanish icon to become embroiled in a paternity suit.

A woman has filed a claim against the heirs of the artist, requesting her DNA be tested against the painter who died 26 years ago. The suit was filed with judges in Madrid on March 13, a day after a similar case against King Juan Carlos’ was thrown out by the Supreme Court.

The woman, María Pilar, was born on February 1, 1956.

She claims her mother, Antonia, had a secret affair with Dali during the 1950s after they met in Dali’s hometown of Port Lligat, on the Costa Brava. Pilar’s mother had previously requested a DNA test for her daughter after

M

arbella. April 11 The first of five Music of the Night shows, produced and starring Welsh Tenor Stephen LloydMorgan will take place at Andalucía Plaza Hotel, Puerto Banus. Tickets can be purchased online at www.motn2015.com or at hotel reception. Call 665 892 988 for more information.

N

erja. March 28, 9pm Patricia Guerrero, Touche. This well-known Flamenco dancer will dance accompanied by electric violin. Tickets €10. To be held at the Centro Cultural Villa de Nerja.

E

stepona. March 2729.

The second Expotattoo festival will attract 70 tattoo artists and over 2,000 visitors with a competition, music and workshops. Held at the Palacio de Congresos. Tickets €5.

Dali’s biographer commented on his resemblance to Pilar. After sending Dali DNA samples, the biographer went quiet and DNA results were never sent to Pilar.

Her lawyer, Francesc Bueno, confirmed that Pilar is filing the suit against the tax office and public administration, as well as the Dali Foundation which acts as Dali’s official estate.

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la cultura

16 16 www.theolivepress.es March 19th - April 1st 2015

Rock fall-out

Malaga on the Al Andalus Express THE exclusive Al Andalus tourist train, marketed as ‘a palace on wheels,’ is planning to add a stop-off in Malaga to its Andalucia itinerary.

Javier Diaz, Renfe’s Al Andalus Executive, has presented plans for a spectacular route stopping off in the provincial capital next year.

The train already offers luxury tours around Spain with routes through Andalucia, Extremadura, the Camino de Santiago and the Rioja wine region.

The train, which looks like something out of an Agatha Christie novel, oozes old-school elegance with Pullman-style coaches and suites originally designed for the use of the British monarchy 85 years ago.

Currently, the train’s only stop in Malaga Province is Ronda, on a five-night trip costing from €2,400 per person.

Climbers are far from jumping for joy at the new Caminito del Rey

IT may be Andalucia’s most hotly anticipated tourist attraction, but the revamped Caminito del Rey has not pleased everyone.

Dubbed the ‘world’s most dangerous walkway’, the

EXCLUSIVE

By Rob Horgan days of thrillseekers taking their lives into their own hands are well and truly over.

And for some frequent visitors, that is a ‘tragedy’.

“There were previously lots of routes above the caminito for climbers, which will now be off limits,” British climber Sarah Brown, who took on the old Caminito five times, told the Olive Press.

“Frankly, it was a death trap, but walking it felt like we were members of an exclusive club.”

Death trap

SLEEPING TIGHT: Eugenio Ampudia’s performance art

Slumber arty

ARTIST Eugenio Ampudia is making a habit of sleeping rough in the name of art.

He recently spent the night outside the contemporary art museum Gas Natural Fensa of A Coruna, and has slumbered on the hallowed doorsteps of the Prado, the Alhambra and the Palau de la Musica already.

Illumintated by projections of his work - one features a motorcycle tearing through the Prado’s corridors - his show ‘Donde Dormir’ is part of his fifth installment of performance artwork.

He was accompanied by 11 enthusiastic aficionados.

The official line is that climbers will be allowed to climb beneath the walkway but will be prohibited from climbing above due to the risk of falling rocks.

Fellow Brit Matthew Doye added: “Wherever there’s a beauty spot that gets turned into a tourist attraction, climbing gets banned.

“But at least more people will be able to enjoy it now.”

See what happenned when the Olive Press visited the Caminito over the page.

la cultura

17

17 March 19th - April 1st 2015

GORGE-OUS: The new Caminito del Rey above the old, ruined path

Fit for a king

W

ITH vultures circling above, it is hard not to think about the people who have fallen to their deaths on the Caminito del Rey. But as I took my first tentative steps on the soon-to-be re-opened cliff-hanging pathway, dubbed the ‘world’s most dangerous’, nerves gave way to sheer wonder.

There’s no two ways about it, this 3km cliff-hugging walkway is a work of wonder.

King Felipe himself is due to test out the walkway next month.

Gaps in the planks beneath your feet reveal jaw-dropping views of the gushing river and rocky gorge 100 metres below.

I wasn’t entirely sure how a hard hat was going to help me if I did go plunging into the Desfiladero del los Gaitanes gorge, but I kept it done up tightly just in case.

Perhaps the most unnerving site is the old path, just a metre below the new one, which is no more than dilapidated ruins.

At one point a crumbling bridge joins two sides of the gorge, and the mere thought of somebody crossing it had my heart pumping. But it should be said that with new sturdy beams and railings, the ‘world’s most dangerous path’ it ain’t.

The walkway does still snake

The ‘world’s most dangerous walkway’ reopens this month... Tom Powell gained an exclusive preview

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OLD AND NEW: Paths sit atop one another its way spectacularly through the gorge, passing over lush greenery clinging precariously

NERVE-WRACKING: Suspension bridge at Caminito’s finale

to the jutting cliff-face.

The path is split into two halves, providing a relaxing stroll through beautiful scenery and a great opportunity for a much-needed refuel, especially in the height of summer.

Its climax comes at the mouth of the gorge, where a hanging metal bridge connects the two sides, swaying sinisterly in the breeze.

I walked slowly, partly out of fear that I’d unbalance the bridge and go flying, and partly because I knew I wouldn’t find myself suspended above crystal blue water, between two sheer rock faces, marvelling at such sheer hair-raising beauty for a long time.

Or at least until I come back again, which if I have my way won’t be long at all.

The walkway opens to the public on March 28. Visit www.caminitodelrey.info/ en/#1 for information.

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LETTERS

the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

Blame game Dear OP, AUTHOR Rafael Yus Ramos is attacking expats for ‘urbanising non-urbanisable land’ (‘Turf war’, issue 208). Does he not read the newspapers?

Does he not realise that organisations such as SOHA have been fighting the structures which allowed this to happen for years?

It’s not expats who are to blame for ‘ecological damage’ – they bought properties which were built and approved by the compatriots of Ramos: Spanish mayors, lawyers, estate agents, builders, notaries and of course the Junta.

They all knew what was going on but turned a blind eye – there was too much money to be made – legally or illegally.

They had it good for 25 years or more and many have swollen bank accounts to prove it.

Face up to reality Ramos – without the foreigners, much of Spain would be as poverty stricken as it was in Franco’s day. You are damaging the reputation of true ecologists and environmentalists. You are neither!

Tony Randall, Axarquia

Learning the lingo I AM the headteacher at the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de

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POTTED POINTERS

White elephant or bridge to success?

ANDALUCIA RESERVOIR LEVELS

THE ‘Bridge to Nowhere’ (‘Bridging a gap’ OP issue 208) is a huge white elephant.

An ancient island city does not need a four lane motorway entering its crowded and narrow streets. There is already a decent bridge from Puerto Real and an efficient road/rail causeway. It is a vanity project paid for by corrupt EU funding.

THE bridge is a great infrastructure project and provides excellent opportunities for the business development of the port.

Plus, it looks very impressive! I can’t wait to go for my first drive on it.

Adrian Williams, Chiclana de la Frontera

Michael Jones, Tarifa

Aracena.

Our beautiful Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche – featured in the Olive Press occasionally – is home to a diverse expat community. Some of its members are good friends of our school’s and we cooperate and learn together and from each other.

The Olive Press is popular here since Lidl started distributing it and we often use it – and your website – in our language lessons. It’s great for English students to become familiar with the language via your news. We use your news, opinion articles and your ads... I must also congratulate you on your

travel guides.

Do not forget this little paradise in a hidden corner of Andalucia. You have followers you can count on here!

Jose Ramon Horrillo, Aracena

Out of tune I DON’T know why countries like Spain and England still bother entering the Eurovision Song Contest (Eurovision’s on its way, issue 208).

If you can even call it a contest… This political pointscoring exercise has become a

complete farce and it stopped being fun to watch about a decade ago. It doesn’t matter who United Kingdom send out to Vienna this year, be it Elton John, Adele or Paul McCartney, Cyprus will still hand all 12 points to its cosy neighbour Greece. If it isn’t clear, I’m not a fan. Nil point!

Janette Mackie, Benalmadena

Real respect I ACTUALLY have a lot of respect for prostitutes (Benefits for Spanish prostitutes, OP online). They should retire at retirement age, and if they change their occupation then that’s up to them. They should have regular health checks through the state as people in other types of employment are allowed. It is better they charge for sex than give it away for free.

These workers have no interest in breaking up families or contacting their clients’ partners, which is far better than those who deliberately break families up for no reason. If they are happy doing what they are doing, then good on them.

G. Kattenhorn, Fuengirola

Opportunity knockers

I REALLY cannot see what the problem is with the advert (‘Spanish job advert demands

big-breasted barmaids,’ OP online). The guy wants to maximise the people coming into the bar so he is advertising for a person that will help him achieve that. European law says he is not allowed to do that so he has to put a normal advert in the press. He then has to go through 200 plus interviews doing the motions until he gets the recruit he wanted in the first place.

He has wasted his time and he has wasted a lot of other people’s time going for an interview for a job that they will never get.

I suppose anything to please the PC brigade...

John Lightfoot, Marbella

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appears to be over.

Freddie Woodman, Marbella

Signs of life I READ your article about the A7 roundabout and nodded along in support of the ‘mystery’ that surrounds it (‘Round the bend’, issue 208).

I have passed it every day since goodness knows when and it has left me completely baffled. Why has it not been finished? Where have all the builders gone? And what are the giant ants about? Thankfully this week looks to have brought some good news! As the sun begins to bake the beaches of the Costa del Sol it appears the builders have also awakened from their slumber. Finally after three long months without a sign of life the winter hibernation

Hidden agenda WHAT has former King Juan Carlos got to lose by offering a DNA sample? (‘Paternity claim against former King dismissed’, OP online) If he is so convinced that he is not the father, and wants to dismiss the claim made by Ingrid Sartiau, why worry about giving a sample? This is all very fishy and points the spotlight back on him. What is he hiding? Other than elephant carcasses of course!

Fred Smith, Malaga

Letters should be emailed to letters@theolivepress.es. The writer’s name and address should be provided. Opinions are not necessarily those of the Editor.

CROSSMOT 53 Across 7 Man (6) * 8 Balancín (6) * 9 Gris (4) * 10 Ahogando (8) * 11 Andando (7) * 13 Vestido (5) * 15 Herida (5) * 17 Crop (7) * 20 Moliendo (8) * 21 Cinta (4) * 22 Prism (6) * 23 Líder (6).

Down 1 Strap (6) * 2 Obedecer (4) * 3 Lectura (7) * 4 These (5) * 5 Northern (3, 5) * 6 Pinturas (6) * 12 Bondad (8) * 14 Aproximadamente (7) * 16 Worker (6) * 18 Saltó (6) * 19 Cigarro (5) * 21 Brings (4).

L = 198

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March 19th - April 1st 2015

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Buying or selling property in Spain?

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Steaming ahead

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

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The secret Spanish homes of a dozen leading celebrities

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

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Property

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

Welcome to our incisive, up-to-date report WELCOME to the first edition of the Olive Press’ special Property magazine.

Appearing bi-monthly with the newspaper, it offers an incisive, in-depth look at the burgeoning property market on the Costa del Sol and inland.

Keeping you updated on the fast-moving market, with the latest statistics, changes to the law and useful up-to-date information, it will also focus on ideas for your home.

Featuring a range of articles and interviews, we hope it will become an essential tool for buying and selling your home in southern Spain.

For our launch issue, we have the latest overview of the market

by Sunday Times property writer Mark Stucklin, an interview with Marbella’s best known agent Chris Clover, of Panorama Properties, and a feature on the celebrities who have bought in this wonderful corner of Europe.

We hope you enjoy it and would like to say thanks to all the agents and advertisers for supporting this launch. We hope you will continue with us over the coming years.

Do not hesitate to contact us with feedback, ideas or to advertise in the next edition out in May. Email jon@theolivepress.es.

Yours sincerely, Jon Clarke, Publisher

Steaming ahead!

Property expert Mark Stucklin explains why there is light at the end of the tunnel for Spain’s property market - and in particular on the Costa del Sol

I

GROWTH SPURT: Malaga is leading the way with over 60% year on year growth

T’S been a slow train coming, but after seven In contrast, areas that rely heavily on local deyears of ‘la crisis’ there are finally some signs mand, like Sevilla, and Aragon, were still shrinkof light at the end of the tunnel for the Span- ing by 10% or more last year. ish property market... at least in the best areas So, a gulf is opening up between segments that of the main cities and prime parts of the coast attract foreign buyers, mainly on the coast, and where foreign buyers tend to buy. those that rely on domestic demand, mainly in Elsewhere the housing market is largely mori- the interior. bund, creating a two-tier market that could last Another big difference emerging is that between for years to come. new build and resale segments. The pipeline of After false dawns at the start of 2011 and 2013, attractive new developments is running dry all when sales appeared to increase in what turned over Spain, which explains why new home sales out to be a mirage of inflated sales created by plunged almost 20% last year, while resales ina government tinkering with the tax code, the creased by 20%. property market expanded by 10% in January, In Malaga province, new home sales fell 10%, according to monthly data from the National In- while resales rose 50%. stitute of Statistics (INE).

The market would almost certainly be more That is the first time the market has genbuoyant, especially on the Costa del Sol, uinely expanded in January since the if there were more attractive new projcrisis began. ects for sale. The biggest constraint Even more encouragingly, the is now financing for new projects, We can Spanish housing market has and it will take time to bring new thank foreign grown on an annualised basis developments to market. for five consecutive months, With increasing sales in places investors for the and in ten out of the last elevlike Marbella, house prices are en months, suggesting that responding with small gains in recovery in places the market has finally found the best areas. a floor after seven years of deData from Idealista.com, a proplike the Costa del clines. erty portal, shows that asking There were 286,408 home prices have risen 9% in Marbella Sol sales last year (excluding social since bottoming out in the second housing), up 4% compared to 2013, quarter of 2013, taking them to 83% though still down 60% compared to the of their peak prices - a peak-to-present fall peak year of 2007. of 17%, and shrinking.

And looking just at January - the latest figures We can thank foreign investors for the recovery from the National Institute of Statistics - the mar- in places like Marbella and the Costa Del Sol. ket increased by 10% in a year, and 28% in a Domestic demand is still hamstrung by high unmonth, which is all positive news for Spain. employment and mortgage restrictions, but forBut look more closely and it’s clear sales are eign demand is diversified and better financed, concentrated in various areas and in segments, and taking full advantage of today’s prices to so the good news is not evenly spread. snap up bargains.

Malaga province, home to the Costa del Sol, was Foreign demand increased 14.5% last year, to the star performer in 2014, with sales up 20% in reach a record 14% of market share, lead by the the year, compared to a national average of 4%.

British up 28%.

Based on this data it looks like the Costa del Sol It seems the British love affair with Spanish prophousing market is clearly recovering. erty is still strong if the price is right.

Other markets with big increases last year were the Balearics, the Costa de la Luz, Madrid, Bar- Mark Stucklin runs www.spanishpropertycelona, and the Canaries - all areas that appeal insight.com, a property information webto foreign investors. site.

Property

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

3 21

The British are back UK buyers lead the pack as foreign purchasers return to Malaga helping to trigger a sales rise of 28% last year

SWEET HOME zaGaleta

THEY’RE back in a big way - and the exchange rate means Britons will be buying even more Spanish property this year.

Britons bought more property than any other foreign nationality in Malaga province last year, helping trigger a 28% rise in sales. Of the 23,929 homes sold, 38% were to expats. In fact, foreigners buying property in Malaga has almost doubled in the past two years alone, from 5,140 in 2012 to 9,000 in 2014.

After the British buyers, the Scandinavians came second, while the French were third, then Benelux buy-

PROPERTY PICK ELITE CLUB: Slim and (inset) Soros, Ortega and Gates

Slim pickings

THE world’s top billionaires are all looking to Spain for a cut-price piece of the property pie.

With Bill Gates, George Soros and Spain’s richest man, retail tzar Amancio Ortega, already holding stakes in Spanish real estate companies, Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim is now eying up his own Spanish empire.

After beating off Soros to become the largest shareholder in building firm FCC in December, Slim is now set to become the second largest investor in Realia, one of Spain’s largest property developers.

US billionaire Soros took a €92 million stake in Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios, a Spanish property-investment vehicle, last March.

While Microsoft founder Bill Gates owns a 5.7% stake in Spanish builder Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas SA.

The number of building licences awarded for new homes was greater than the number rejected last year, for the first time since the onset of the crisis in 2007. ers, Germans and Russians in that order.

Meanwhile, property purchases by Spaniards also rose by 29% last year, as figures almost returned to precrisis levels.

Nearly a third of all the properties sold in Malaga province were in the so-called Golden Triangle of Marbella, Estepona and Benahavis, which saw an incredible 6,821 properties sold last year, topping the 2007 pre-crisis levels..

The last quarter of the year registered an incredible 2,030 sales alone.

Evictions soared in 2014 ALMOST 100 families were evicted from their homes per day in Spain last year. Some 119,442 foreclosures went ahead in 2014, a rise of 10% on 2013. Figures from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) showed that the regions most hard hit were Andalucia, Catalonia and Valencia.

Offices at the Puente Romano Hotel & opposite the Marbella Club Hotel Tel. (+34) 952 863 750 info@panorama.es www.panorama.es

STUNNING: Brand new, ultra-modern Zagaleta property costs €6.7 million through Panorama

Onwards and upwards January saw an upturn of 9.6% in purchases – with a total of 33,416 transactions recorded.

This is the best figure Spain has seen in 14 months, and also continues a five-month growth trend for the sector.

Second hand homes performed parHOUSE sales are expected to grow ‘moderately’ in 2015, ticularly well in January, accounting for 73.1% of home sales. estimates leading bank BBVA. The country’s economic growth prospects and more favour- Leading the charge were the Canary able financing conditions have been touted as catalysts for the Islands, where there were 126 sales per 100,000 inhabitants and La Rioja, property market.

The bank maintains that Spain’s property sector began its coming a close second at 122. recovery in 2014, and as a result of the current trend has At the bottom of the pile, Galicia and increased its economic growth forecast for this year up to Asturias, recorded just 56 and 57 sales respectively per 100,000 residents.

2.7%.

PROPERTY sales rose by almost 10% in the first month of 2015.

Bright hopes for bank

An International Associate of Savills

Enclosed: 536 m² CASCADA DE CAMOJÁN 5-bedroom Andalusian style villa Plot: 1,697 m² offering the best views to the Mediterranean coast in an established Terrace: 213 m² complex on the Golden Mile with 24-hour security. Tropical garden with Price: €1,950,000 pool. Lots of potential. Ref. 8025

Enclosed: 554 m² HACIENDA LAS CHAPAS Stunning mansion in a soughtafter residential area with 24-hour security. Built to high specifications, Plot: 2,000 m² 8 bedrooms, enormous terrace with chill out area and partial sea views, Terrace: 188 m² Price: €2,375,000 gym, garage for 4 cars and security cameras. Ref. 8543

Enclosed: 169 m² RÍO REAL Just steps to the beach! Beachfront ground floor Terrace: 98 m² apartment in a gated community with mature gardens and pool.

Price: €1,050,000 Magnificent sea views. Newly renovated, originally a 3-bedroom unit, transformed into a 2-bedroom. Garage and storeroom. Ref. 8559

Enclosed: 265 m² GOLDEN MILE Stunning 3-bedroom townhouse within an Terrace: 62,50 m² Andalusian village style complex, with communal pool and social club.

Price: €625,000 Patio and enormous basement. Excellent location, within a 10-minute walk to the beach and close to amenities! Ref. 8573

Property Now

RAFALUX

22 22the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

INTERIORS

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PRICELESS: This extraordinary, modern creation from Terra Meridiana, price on demand

Tel: 952 891 019 mueblesrafalux@rafalux.es Facebook: Muebles Rafalux Calle Bolivia 8, 29692, Sabinillas

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HETHER you’re a hotshot businessman, Saudi prince or a Hollywood starlet, the properties available on Andalucia’s sun-bathed shores are some of the world’s finest.

Stunning properties on the Costa del Sol can change hands for up to €30 million, and offering a dream combination of fantastic weather, discreet locations and every imaginable facility, it doesn’t take a genius to see why.

International architects that dream up

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

these extraordinary spaces seem to see them as works of modern art than functional living spaces, with the wow factor reverberating in every glass-fronted garage, indoor pool and cinema room.

With a single square metre selling for a staggering €5,450 in the Puerto Banus area, these creations often set in sizeable estates with stunning views can fetch a pretty penny.

Read on for Andalucia’s most amazing properties, the creme de la creme of the region...

BREATHTAKING: This €4,995,000 Sotogrande Exclusive property, with seven bedrooms, has a wine cellar, four car garage and even a staff appartment

MODERN: ish five-bedFor effortless chic, this Andalucia Droom villa is available stylevelopment w for €3,295,0 ith 00

LAVISH: This stunning estate, in the exclusive community of Madronal, has ten bedrooms, spare guest villa and all the mod cons. The price? €5,450,000 with Overseas Dreams

Facts behind the figures

T

HE latest data on property sales in Spain appears to show signs of improvement, but that’s not all.

What the numbers really reveal is that there is no such thing as a Spanish market.

There are too many massive differences between municipalities.

Last September, a wellrespected commentator on Spanish property worried he might risk a lynching if he talked about a possible market recovery. Six months on, I’m going to put my neck on the line – metaphorically speaking, before anyone below the line gets any ideas... - and say that on the Costa del Sol, especially indemand areas like Marbella, the recovery is already underway.

In 2014, according to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, there were 20% more property transactions nationwide than the year before. This was based on figures from the notaries who register all sales. Increased sales and rising prices are not uniform nationwide, however, but vary significantly from region to region and city to city.

An annual report from idealista.com, drawing on more

There is no such thing as a ‘Spanish’ property market… but the Costa del Sol’s is back, writes Adam Neale

The Propert y Insider

by Ada m Neale

of properties sold to foreign buyers and the percentage bought in cash, rather than with a mortgage. Marbella is a small market with a large potential client base, many of whom hail from overseas and rely less on financing.

In 2014, province-wide, 38% of properties sold were bought by foreigners and, in the last two years, sales to foreign buyers shot up by 80%. Sales to Spaniards also grew, but by just 29%. Most tellingly, however, last year there were 3,997 sales registered in Marbella – representing an annual increase DECEPTIVE: Reality is not as it seems in Spain’s property market of 29% in a city with a population of 150,000 – comthan 310,000 sales in 650 In Marbella (including high-end pared to 3,947 in the city of municipalities, found that the villas on the beach and bud- Malaga itself, home to nearly average sale price per square get apartments in the back- 570,000 people. metre nationwide was €1,594. streets), average prices rose When you consider the euro In San Sebastian, however, 3.7% in 2014 to reach €2,307/ has lost ground to most other you’d have to pay more than m2. Next door, in Mijas, pric- currencies, premium loca€3,750 for a square metre. es fell by more than 5%, to tions in Spain now look like While in Lleida, less than 400 €1,334/m2. Meanwhile, just great value compared to conkilometres away, the same 60 kilometres from the coast ventional safe havens like space would cost less than in Ronda, they dropped 14% to London. If you have funds in a quarter of the price, at just €972/m2. another currency and want to The most obvious reasons buy, in euros, in places like €910/m2.

In the province of Malaga, and for imbalances in the market- Marbella, then do it now… even in towns on and close to place between Marbella and both from a security and a the Costa del Sol, the differenc- elsewhere are the law of sup- return-on-investment point es can be almost as dramatic. ply and demand, the number of view.

Terra Meridiana. 77 Calle Caridad, 29680 Estepona. Tel: +34 951 318480.

Office Mob: +34 678 452109 Email: info@terrameridiana.com. http://www.terrameridiana.com

Property Now

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the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

23 23

Working in Marbella Real Estate since 1981 Tel: +34 952 816 250

Mansion - La Cerquilla, Nueva Andalucia Ref. 176-00942P

5.350.000 € Bedrooms: 5 Guest Toilets: 1 Terrace: 162

Bathrooms: 5 Plot: 2.560 Built: 976

Magnificent and totally refurbished Villa/Mansion in La Cerquilla, Nueva Andalucia. Truly a master piece of contemporary design with all the extras you can imagine.

Fantastic views over the valley, sea and mountains and Puerto Banus and the beach are just a short drive away.

The property further benefits from underfloor heating throughout, air-conditioning, Integrated sound system, cinema, spa, gym with sauna, large Jacuzzi, hydro-massage baths and showers, ultra modern Japanese toilets, gazebo with BBQ, heated salt water pool, a top range sophisticated security system, garage for two cars plus plenty of parking on the driveway, and separate guest apartment.

Ground Floor Apartment - Albatross Hill Club, Ref. 176-00920P Nueva Andalucia

Apartment - Andalucia Garden Club Nueva Andalucia Ref. R176-01040

Bedrooms: 3 Terrace: 145 Guest Toilets: 1 Community Fees: Garbage Tax: Local Rates (IBI):

Bedrooms: 2 Terrace: 20 Construct Year: Community Fees: Garbage Tax: Local Rates (IBI):

595.000 €

Bathrooms: 3 Built: 200 Construct Year: 2005 600 € /Month 180 €/Year 900 €/Year

Andalucia Development Centro Comercial Plaza 63, 29660 Nueva Andalucia, Marbella info@andadev.com

www.andadev.com

347.500 €

Bathrooms: 2 Built: 90 1975 235 € /Month 186 €/Year 970 €/Year

Property Now Property

24 624the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

Sotogrande soaring

H

OME to Premiership footballers, regularly visited by royals​, the scene of one of Europe’s most prestigious polo clubs​and Europe’s number one golf course, Valderrama, it is clear to see why Sotogrande property is so sought after.

A stone’s throw from Gibraltar, half-anhour from Marbella and up the road from Ronda, Sotogrande is perfectly placed along Spain’s southern coast.

And property expert Monique Westdo​rp, owner of Sotogrande Exclusive, predicts interest in the luxury resort will only grow.

“The market is definitely moving up,” she says. “Sotogrande didn’t suffer from the economic downturn as much as the rest of Spain, but it is still benefiting from the boom now.”

Westdorp expects to see an increase in both long-term rental and permanent sales markets, with holiday bookings also predicted to soar.

“Sotogrande is a great place for families to set up,” Westdo​rp added. “There is a great outdoors culture, and I predict couples in their forties to invest heavily in the area in the year ahead.

“With the Sotogrande International School just along the road, there is no safer and more practical place for people to buy.”

For more information contact info@sotograndexclusive.com or call 617005844

Antony Worrall Thompson’s Mijas finca TV chef Antony Worrall Thompson may have fallen from the dizzying A-list heights he reached with Ready, Steady, Cook in the 1990s, but he is still enjoying the high life, making regular trips to his avocado farm in the hills above Mijas. He’s also been busy in Gibraltar of late where he’s a judge on GBC TV’s hit reality cooking show, Rock Chef.

www.theolivepress.es

Fit for the Whether it’s a quiet life in the hills or a champagne-fuelled binge on the Costa del Sol, celebrities have been flocking to Andalucia for as long as memory can serve.

Reporter Rob Horgan takes a look around the region to see which famous faces are here today

W Glen Johnson’s Sotogrande suntrap England international and Liverpool footballer Glen Johnson can often be spotted lapping up the post-season sun in his sensational Sotogrande home. Its polo fields are a favourite divot-stomping ground for royals like Princes William and Harry. Leafy Sotogrande’s multimillion euro mansions have attracted a number of soccer stars in recent years, including Shay Given, Glenn Hoddle and Brendan Rodgers.

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

HETHER it’s ex-England footballers or Hollywood hotshots, Andalucia has that A-list appeal that keeps the celebrities coming.

From British royalty and Saudi sheikhs to the Obamas and Lady Gaga, swanky resorts like Sotogrande and Marbella are prime destinations for high-profile holidaymakers and many a famous face has decided to stay put for good.

From the early days when Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant could be spotted chatting over breakfast in Marbella, through resident ‘stalwarts’ like Antonio Banderas and ‘fallen stars’ like Max Clifford, to the current batch of publicity-hungry reality TV celebs routinely spotted falling out of clubs, the trend shows no sign of abating.

And with the region’s growing reputation for fivestar infrastructure and first-class cuisine, as well as its well-catalogued sun, sea and sangria lifestyle, it’s easy to see why.

The illustrious list of former celebs who once resided in sunny southern Spain includes Rolling Stones’ star Ronnie Wood, Irish actor Sean Connery and superstar Prince.

So who’s buying into the Costa del Sol dream today and, more importantly, where do they hang out?

Kilroy-Silk’s Casares cash cow

Former MEP and TV personality Robert Kilroy Silk has a huge mansion in the hills near Casares. The 11-bedroom converted olive mill is used as a holiday home by the former Kilroy host. When he is not in residence, he rents out the property for an eye-watering €12,700 a week.

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stars

the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015 March 19th - April 1st 2015

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Deluxe development Terry Venables’ managerial venture Just up the coast in Alicante, former England manager Terry Venables is taking on his latest managerial adventure after restoring a 500 acre olive grove into a luxury Spanish hideaway. El Tel opened up to the public in October, with guests paying a tidy €200 per night.

Rick Parfitt’s Alhaurin hideout Hidden away in the hills above the Costa del Sol in Alhaurin, Status Quo rock legend Rick Parfitt can often be found kicking back in his decadent mansion with his wife and twins, Tommy and Lily. With tennis courts, a swimming pool and a garden to rival any horticulturist’s wildest fantasy, Parfitt’s pad is the perfect hideaway.

SOME 400 luxury properties are set to be built in Estepona by developers iKasa. The first 50 homes, costing €300,00 to €600,000, will be ready by 2018.

Cilla’s Estepona eyrie

Shopping spree

The former golden girl of Saturday night TV is pushing 72 but Cilla Black still gets ‘a lorra laughs’ chilling at her luxury Estepona villa.

That was until last year when her luxury pad was struck by a fire while the ex Surprise Surprise host was in the UK. Happily, a renovation job looks to have restored the property to its former glory and our Cilla should be back for another date with the coast this summer.

BRITISH investment group INTU Properties is set to invest €450 million in a new shopping and leisure centre in Torremolinos.

and at least one crook...

Russian president Vladimir Putin is wellknown for his admiration of excess and the construction of his Benahavis mansion in the hills above Marbella is no exception.

Kitted out with two swimming pools, a cinema and a €1 million wine cellar, Vlad’s pad is one of the most enviable in Andalucia.

Road to recovery SPANISH house prices are climbing faster than they have since 2008.

Prices around Spain were up around 0.3% in 2014, comparing to a drop of 10.6% in 2013. Almost 2% more properties sold in the last quarter of 2014 than the previous year.

Villas in vogue

Vlad’s Marbella pad

David Bentley’s Benahavis bolt-hole Once dubbed the ‘next David Beckham’, the former Tottenham and England footballer David Bentley hung up his boots at the age of 29 for a new life on the Costa del Sol. Now involved in a string of hip hangouts including popular La Sala in Puerto Banus, when he’s not socialising with the clientele Bentley can regularly be spotted practising his swing on the golf courses around his beautiful family home in Benahavis (pictured left).

7 25

Gordon Goody’s Mojacar getaway One of the men behind the Great Train Robbery, criminal mastermind Gordon Goody, has gone from bad to the ‘good life’ on a farm in Almeria. While his criminal associates – Ronnie Biggs and Bruce Reynolds (to name just two) – became cult figures in the UK, Goody escaped to Spain to run beach bar Chiringuito Kon Tiki in Mojacar.

FOREIGNERS spent €6.05 billion on homes in Spain in the first nine months of last year, a 30% rise on 2013. Over 40,000 properties were purchased, with most purchases in the regions of Valencia, Andalucia and Catalunya.

Green houses A MAJOR Europe-wide study led

by Spanish project co-ordinator Bax and Willems could transform the way housing markets value ‘green’ homes.

The ‘Revalue’ project will assess the impact of energy efficiency measures on the valuation of homes.

Property Now

26 26the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

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

Property

www.theolivepress.es

www.theolivepress.es theMarch 19th -- April 1st19th 2015- April 1st 2015 olive press March

ESTUCO INTERIORS All you can wish for in interior design

9 27

I

NTERIOR design experts Estuco Interiors have opened a new flagship showroom in Centro Plaza, in Marbella, to meet their ever-expanding business needs.

Established more than 20 years ago, the Estuco team offers bespoke designs perfectly tailored to meet your needs.

Estuco’s multilingual professionals from the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Holland and Spain work together to manage every single aspect and detail of a project from conception to completion.

They have built up a trusted network of craftsmen, builders, painters, electricians and suppliers who are always on time, on spec and on budget.

The versatile team takes on residential, hospitality and restaurant projects and clients may choose from a huge range of fabrics, furniture, object d’art and the in-demand Farrow & Ball range.

Whether you are considering an entire home revamp or simply want to freshen up that bedroom, the team would love to meet you at their Nueva Andalucia premises.

Visit www.estucointeriors.com, call 952 810 633 or email info@estucointeriors. com for more details

HOMESELLERS REPORT

WANTED: Top homes for listing

Ready for the rush

We began flying hundreds of Americans over in the Sixties on inspection trips T

Pioneering surveyors Cluttons are in Marbella… and on the hunt for listings

N

OT many people have lived through five recessions. So to be running a business – particu- Olive Press editor Jon Clarke discovers how larly an estate agent – that has survived five Marbella’s longest-established estate agent downturns, you have to be doing something right.

Chris Clover is one rare businessman, who despite Chris Clover from Panorama Properties the odds, has kept his family business, Panorama started out on the Costa del Sol in 1973 Properties, not only running, but prospering for 45 years on the Costa del Sol. Since opening an office in 1970, Panorama has survived no less than five recessions, with the last one ‘definitely the worse, but fortunately we made a profit in every year’.

“It began at the end of 2007 and we only started to come out in 2012,” he explains at his well located office overlooking the Marbella Club Hotel, where modern-day Marbella commenced in the mid-50’s.

Thankfully, things today have rarely looked so rosy for agents on the Costa del Sol, and particularly the Marbella area, where sales volume shot up in 2014 by over 28% compared with the previous year.

On the day we meet, Chris is pouring over statistics for his annual property report, which is soon to come out.

What we can clearly see is the so-called ‘Golden Triangle’ comprising Marbella, Benahavis and Estepona saw more sales last year (6,821) than in the pre-crisis year of 2007.

It is excellent news and with the pound currently as strong as it has been for nearly a decade, the year ahead looks to be even better.

“Panorama made a record number of sales in STALWART: Chris Clover in Puerto Banus in the 1980s and (inset) the estate agent now 2014 and the crisis is definitely over,” he explains. serve the customers,” he explains.

“But that has been clear in the quality end of the company’s headquarters in Washington.

“Marbella was very much the place to go for the jet- He has been there ever since and with his son Alex market of the Golden Triangle for some time now.”

He puts this down to the fact that 85% of the buy- set and most of our American buyers had an affin- and daughter Katinka both on board, it means ers in this market are foreigners, with British buy- ity to Europe and were well travelled and cultured,” there have been four generations in the company, which started with his grandfather in Chicago in he says. ers very much back at the top of the pile, They found them through their US asso- 1904. and putting the Marbella area easily two ciate agent network, exhibitions and The key to success, he puts down to ‘hard work’ and a half years ahead of the recovThe British adverts in the New York Times and and despite now approaching his 70th birthday he ery of the property market in Spain Washington Post and flew them over shows few signs of slowing down. Part of his sucin general. are still the on inspection trips, the largest with cess, he says, is having a great team of 28 profes“The British are still the most immost important sionals working alongside him.

120 passengers aboard. portant singular market here and The first villas sold in the late ‘60’s He still works at weekends, always answers his it has been the same since the singular market for between $10,000 and $20,000 phone, and when pushed for what he gets up to in 1980s, with a few ups and downs, on the Costa del and after selling hundreds of them his spare time, insists he hardly has any. “I play a litof course.” they realised they needed a base on tle tennis and meet with my best friends,” he says.

But it all began for Chris way back in Sol As for his ongoing love affair with Spain, there apthe Costa del Sol. the late ‘60’s with the US market, when Chris became the natural choice to run the pears to be no end in sight. “I certainly feel very his father’s American real estate business closely connected to Spain. It is my home, I have new office. saw an opportunity to sell second homes to upper middle class Americans in southern Spain, and He had soon invested in his first property; a small my Spanish nationality, a Spanish wife and both my $10,000 beachfront villa in Bahia Dorada, be- children were born here plus I love my work. I don’t opened an office in Marbella in 1970.

After graduating with distinction from The Univer- tween Estepona and Casares. “We fixed it up and plan to go back to America.” sity of Virginia in 1969, he joined his father in the sold it in 1974 and moved to Puerto Banus. It business, moving to Marbella in 1973 from the meant I was closer to the office and could better Email info@panaroma.es or call 952 863 750

HE world’s oldest practising firm of surveyors is open for business on the Costa del Sol. To capitalise on the rejuvenated Spanish market, Cluttons has opened a new office on Marbella’s Golden Mile.

Now in its 250th year - and with offices in over 100 countries - managing director James Evans believes the company is destined for Spanish success.

“Cluttons has established itself as a forward-thinking firm with a history spanning four centuries,” Evans says.

“We are now currently on the lookout for listings to offer prospective clients on the Costa del Sol. “With the euro in its current state, and Spain undergoing a property resurgence, the timing is perfect.”

He added: “The international expertise we offer to clients really sets us apart from our competitors.

We are one of the world’s most experienced firms when it comes to offering advice.”

Established in 1765, when William Clutton took over his father-in-law’s business in Sussex, Cluttons were true pioneers of surveying.

Passed through the generations, Cluttons grew steadily through the 19th and 20th centuries before bursting onto the international arena in the 1970s.

After capitalising on the surge of property development that followed the First and Second World Wars, Cluttons paved the way for global surveying firms with a move into the Middle East.

Always a forward-thinking firm, new ventures in South Africa, India and Nigeria are driving home Cluttons’ determination to stay ahead of the pack.

For more info call 951 120 169 or email Cluttons.andalucia@cluttons.com

Property

28 10the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

Gardens of 1,500m2 3 bed, 2 Bath and furnished

Amazing value in good location.

5 bed, 2 bath furnished property

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Amazing value in good location.

3 bed, 2 bath furnished property

Large pool and gardens. 6 bed, 3 bath furnished rural location

Moving inland away from the Greasy Joe’s!

Fuente Genil

Inland Andalucia boss Graham Govier headed inland to get away from the traditional fry ups - and he hasn’t looked back

Marchena Agua Dulce

“ONE morning 15 years ago, I was sat in a cafe in Fuengirola listening to two women complain that they couldn’t get a good fry up in Spain.

“That’s when I said to myself ‘surely there must be more to life in Spain than this’”.

That was the moment property expert Graham Govier (pictured) packed his bags and headed to the hills above Malaga... and he hasn’t looked back since.

Based in both Mollina and Alcala la Real, in Jaen, Govier’s property agency Inland Andalucia has established itself as the leading, go-to property agent away from the coast for over a decade.

“Living inland is completely different to living by the coast,” Govier adds.

“The lifestyle inland is more focussed on traditional family values, there is much more of a community feel. Something we seemed to have lost in the UK and don’t experience on the coast.

“A plumber will talk to a lawyer who will be friends with a road sweeper.

Who you are or what you have doesn’t matter to people living inland.

“The thing most people don’t realise is how near everything is. From Malaga airport you can be in Antequera in just 40 minutes, whereas it can take up to 90 minutes to drive to Manilva.”

Over the last year Inland Andalucia has invested heavily in a new website and database in conjunction with Google to make it virtually possible for buyers to view a home from the comfort of their armchairs.

With full details of the properties, GPS location details and interior videos available online, potential buyers are able to walk down the street of any property. The new system also allows lawyers to log on and view all property documentation and contracts on behalf of their clients.

For more information visit www.inlandandalucia.com or call 952 741 525 (Mollina) or 953 587 040 (Alcala la Real)

Community pool, shared gardens. 3 bed, 3 bath and furnished

Fully furnished centre of town. 3 bed, 2 bath apartment

Ready to move furnished town

Cocoya Antequera

Stunning views, recently painted.

5 bed, 2 bath ready to move into

Community pool, roof terraces. 4 bed, 3 bath and furnished

Absolute bargain 3 bath furnished p

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into. 3 bed, 2 bath n location

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

Fully reformed large property. 7 bed, 2 bath with furniture

Stunning 2 bed property in quiet location. Must be seen

Stunning 3 bed property in quiet location. Must be seen

1129

3 storey property to finish off. 2 bed with garage and terraces

2 bed property in quiet location.

Close to all amenities

Martos

Priego de Cordoba

l

with this 4 bed, property

Marchena

Alcala la Real

Castillo de Locubin 5 bed property near town centre with 2 car garage. Ideal for B&B

Puerto Lope

Fully reformed centre of town. 3 bed with furniture included

Fully reformed large property. 2 bed with furniture included

Private pool, mature gardens. 3 bed, furnished

Community pool, large garden, 4 bed, 2 bath and furnished

Stunning views with large pool. 3 bed, 2 bath split level villa

Stunning views with pool, 3 bed, 2 bath. Beautiful garden

Property Now

30 30the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

MARBELLA €525,000

(£371,561) *

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REF: WW236

MARBELLA

www.theolivepress.es

March 2015

from €410,000 (£290,172) *

REF: WW230

This 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom ground floor apartment is located in a beautiful complex which is ideally located between Calahonda and Marbella, in a frontline beach location, offering not only outstanding views of the sea and Cabopoino port, but also benefiting from many on-site facilities including both indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts gymnasium, 24 hour security and wireless internet.

This is an exclusive development of 24 luxury apartments in the San Pedro area of Marbella.

This fantastic development is being built by a renowned English developer and will include 2 & 3 bedroom apartments set amongst landscaped gardens with a communal pool just 100 metres from the beach.

BENAHAVIS

FUENGIROLA

from €305,000 (£215,859)*

REF: WW188

from €241,000 (£170,564)*

REF: WW234

A fantastic development in Los Arqueros Golf & Country Club, this modern development is beautifully set in the hills of Benahavis. Located just a 10 minute drive from the luxury yachting marina of Puerto Banus. Only 10 units of 2 and 3 bedroom apartments remain.

The first three phases have already sold out.

A fantastic opportunity to purchase a brand new, modern townhouse in Fuengirola, walking distance to local amenities and just a few minutes from the beach. The 3 bedroom properties have sunny terraces, great views, underground parking and a communal pool.

MARBELLA

MARBELLA

from €284,000 (£200,997)*

REF: WW180

Situated in the heart of the golf valley surrounded by Los Naranjos, Las Brisas, Aloha and La Quinta golf courses, this complex comprises of 48 spacious and beautifully appointed 2, 3 and 4 bedroom apartments, each with its own sun-drenched private terrace. Only 15 units left. Reduced by 58%.

from €650,000 (£460,028)*

REF: WW112

These luxury 2, 3 & 4 bedroom apartments are located in a private urbanization of 58 contemporary style, luxury apartments in the exclusive and highly sought after area of Sierra Blanca, Marbella, just 5 minutes from the luxury yachting marina of Puerto Banus.

tel: +34 952 880 941 info@winkworth.es www.winkworth.es

* Disclaimer exchange rate correct at time of going to press.

Property

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Kicking on!

K.O. the kickbacks

AN Olive Press campaign to expose the unethical practice of lawyers giving estate agents ‘kickbacks’ for using them has gained the support of a number of legal firms.

Launched this month, our ongoing probe aims to stop the bent practice of lawyers paying estate agents unethical commissions of up to 20% for awarding work.

And the appeal for clean lawyers to step forward has already gained momentum.

“I am very pleased that someone is finally exposing this,” said lawyer Adolfo Martos Gross from Gutierrez del Alamo & Martos Abogados, in Marbella.

“I believe that up to 70% of the top firms offer commissions to agencies and it should be stopped.”

Fellow lawyer Javier Lopez from MT Lawyers in Fuengirola

Campaign to clean up unethical carve up between estate agents and lawyers gathers speed

added: “Apart from being against our ethical professional rules, such practices spoil the reputation of Spanish lawyers.

“It generates mistrust in the Spanish economy and rewards unprofessional agents who are more concerned about their commission than in providing an independent quality service: “It is in absolutely everybody’s interest that the practice ends.”

Other law firms also adding weight to our campaign include My Lawyer in Spain, Lawbird, Anderson PCL, Temple Cambria, Poveda & Associates Lawyers and Paradigm Family Law.

Our 180th birthday

Founded in 1835 to serve London’s elite, Winkworth is is now conquering Spain

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HIS year estate agency Winkworth is celebrating its 180th anniversary.

Having opened its doors in 1835, the company has lived through wars, recessions, coronations, diamond jubilees, and man landing on the moon. And not only has it survived, it has grown into one of the UK’s leading, and London’s largest, estate agency with a strong international presence.

In fact, last year alone, the agency opened six new offices including an exciting new venture in Guadalmina on the Costa del Sol. Capitalising on its strong footing in the European property market, the new Spanish office has made brilliant progress already, taking on exclusive properties along the coast. A beautiful seven-bedroom home in Estepona, costing €15 million, being one of the highlights.

With the success of this latest foreign expedition, it is worth remembering how it all began as a family affair.

Winkworth was founded in 1835 by Henry Winkworth. The original head office was located in Curzon Street, Mayfair, and there was also a country office in Brighton, which was run by Henry’s

brother Edward. The main business involved selling residential property to an exclusive client list and letting houses in Mayfair to the landed gentry for ‘the season’ – a time when the elite of society held debutante balls, dinner parties and large charity events.

Since then, Winkworth has gone from strength to strength and now stands at over 90 offices strong around the world. It also offers services from its head office – still based in Mayfair - such as Country House, International and China Desk team.

Yet throughout this time the core values of the company have remained engrained in its work. Expert knowledge on the local area, property market and industry are something all Winkworth agents pride themselves on, as well as offering a tailored service and unique perspective to ensure that clients get exactly what they need, whether they are looking to buy or sell.

That’s why if you need expert property advice you should speak to your local Winkworth Team. You can contact Winkworth Guadalmina on 952 880 941 or visit winkworth.es

Appeal While we are still appealing for lawyers to step forward, we are now extending our appeal to gain the support of clean estate agents.

Agents already supporting the campaign include Panorama Properties, Cluttons and Terra Meridiana.

To add your support email newsdesk@ theolivepress.es or call 951 273 575

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Buyers beware

PROPERTY is almost certainly the biggest purchase anyone will make outside their home country. And yet, for a lot of people, the cautious a p p ro a c h that would be adopted at home often disappears under the time constraints of buying abroad.

But it is essential - whether acquiring modern or older property - to know what potential problems you are buying in to.

In order to achieve this it is essential to have a professionally conducted survey prior to committing to the purchase.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is an internationally recognised body which ensures that its members are capable of carrying out this function.

Gibson Gale Chartered Surveyors has experienced surveyors working independently to estate agents, banks and owners to ensure the best unconflicted advice.

In the current market where real bargains can be found and where building standards are not always as high as in northern Europe, buyers must beware.

Houses which may look fine on the surface often have problems which lurk unseen.

A survey ensures peace of mind and stops a purchase turning into a money pit.

Call Gibson Gale Chartered Surveyors on 00350 2007551

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Property

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Market gaining speed

I

F you’ve been toying with the idea of buying Expert Peter a luxury home, upgrading your property or investing in a buy-to-let deal on the Costa del Bowerman explains Sol, then there has never been a better time why there is a to do so.

The signs of recovery are aligning and investors renewed interest and construction companies are once again in Costa Del Sol back in the market.

Southern Spain’s luxurious coastline - often property dubbed the ‘California of Europe’ - is returning to its former glory as Europe’s top destination for the so-called ‘promised lands’ can also suffer second homes. from cold, wet winters of -5 degrees and searing With luxury homes in Marbella and Puerto Banus desert heatwaves. at around 50% of their original value, it is no sur- Spain now has a land registry system very similar prise the buyers are flooding back. to that of the UK, so with the right agent and lawSales increased by 30% at the end of 2014 and yer, buying a property in southern Spain should the latest Eurostat figures show construction is be easy and risk-free. up by an amazing 16%.

With only 10% of payments usually needed beAs tourism increases, more people are opting to fore completion, bank guarantees protect paypurchase a holiday pad for regular getaways. ments.

A recent survey found that 50% of visitors stay in On top of this, mortgage rates are down to 3-4% their own, or rented, holiday homes - great news and loans of up to 80% can be arranged subject for the buy-to-holiday-let market. to status and valuation.

And things are set to get better, particularly with It is a fact that due to infrastructure improveBritish buyers curments and betrently seeing the ter lifestyle facilbest exchange ities, there has rate in a decade been a huge and making them, influx of young, once again, the professional exleading purchaspatriate families ers on the Costa coming to live del Sol, followed in this dynamic

by Scandinavians, land of opportuBelgians, French, nities.

Dutch and GerNo surprise, mans. privileged resiInvesting in a secdents enjoy a ond home is well comprehenwithin the grasp sive choice of of many people healthy outdoor and no longer sports and leia secret just for sure activities wealthy investors LUXURY: Lifestyle and properties all year round. and entrepreneurs.

There are dozens of golf courses and plenty of The main criteria for an overseas buyer - and opportunities for watersports. investor - is usually good climate, good local Rained-off barbecues and cancelled beach parfacilities, a safe environment and a secure and ties are simply unheard of. stress-free transaction.

And when it comes to nightlife. Well, you’ve got Demand for property is proportional to the qual- Puerto Banus, Marbella, Estepona and Benality of life you can expect to enjoy there. madena marina - all buzzing many nights of the The Costa del Sol has a great availability of low- week. cost flights, a good infrastructure, hi-tech com- Investing in bricks and mortar has historically almunications, top healthcare, excellent schools ways shown good long term capital growth. and, of course, 320 days of sunshine a year.

So if you’re contemplating buying, instead of Can all this be said for countries like Bulgaria, renting or upgrading to a better property while Dubai, Morocco, Turkey and Egypt, who have all prices are low, now is the best time to do so. seen a property boom over the past decade, but For more information on buying or selling propequally suffer from instability, organised crime erty on the Costa del Sol, contact Peter or any of and low standards of living. his team on Tel: (0034) 951 551 444 or Email: Also, while they do generally have plenty of sun, info@OverseasDreams.com Peter Bowerman is the managing director of Overseas Dreams estate agency in Marbella and La Cala de Mijas. He is a frequent contributor to the UK press and is one of the panel of experts for the Overseas Property Professional Magazine

Grand designs

FROM laying the foundations of the World Trade Center in Gibraltar to shoring up landslip affected luxury villas on the Costa del Sol, Roger Bullivant has built a reputation as one of Europe’s leading construction firms.

Working in Gibraltar since 2003, the firm has delivered a wide range of piling, underpinning and engineering solutions for the Government of Gibraltar and many of the Rock’s leading commercial organisations.

Whether providing ground engineering solutions at Gibraltar International Airport or designing and installing the civil engineering for the Sunborn Luxury Floating Hotel (pictured above), Roger Bullivant is in high demand for complex, challenging projects.

“With a unique understanding of the variables, constraints and hurdles to successful project delivery, our specialist teams will ensure that your project is completed to your exacting specifications and to the absolute highest standards of quality,” said Andrew McGowan, Director.

Other high profile projects include installing a Geothermal heating system for the luxury beachside El Presidente Urbanisation and completely reforming a luxury villa at Marbella’s Monte Mayor resort.

For more information on our services please call our office telephone 952 883 248/620 461 288 or visit our website www.rogerbullivant.eu

GREAT DEALS: At www.overseasdreams.com

Property

34 16the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

www.theolivepress.es

March 19th - Aprilwww.theolivepress.es 1st 2015

Strong foundations UK construction giant Taylor Wimpey is set to deliver 20% more units this year CONSTRUCTION giant Taylor Wimpey is capitalizing on the upturn in Andalucia’s property market.

The celebrated UK real estate developer is planning to deliver 120 homes in 2015, some 20 more than last year.

“We started to plan for this when we saw an upturn in the market AMBITIOUS: Plans made by Taylor Wimpey’s Ignacio Osle nine months ago,” explains Ignacio Osle, Regional Director for der development this year and velopment is a 48 luxury home expect this to increase in 2016.” development in Marbella in San Taylor Wimpey in Andalucia.

“We have around 300 units un- Among the projects under de- Pedro called Jade Beach, and a 60 unit project in Mijas.

Incredibly, all 36 units of a project in Estepona have sold in just one year.

Such was the speed of sales, the company ended up increasEARLY a decade ago, Richard Woodland realised the ing the prices by 8% because of ultimate expat dream: he bought some land and condemand. structed his own finca.

“Much of this growth has been It has all helped to build up solid relationships with local due to a big British return to tradesmen and, in turn, a thriving property business in Coin the market, which is excellent to show for it. news,” continues Osle, who was Property Overseas Group now has an inland office in Coin born in Pamplona, but lives bedealing with sales and rentals in Coin, Monda, Guaro, Tolox tween Jerez and Marbella. and Alhaurin el Grande.

“We now only have five properRichard has unparalleled experience and knowledge of buyties left in the La Floresta Phase ing and selling property inland, offering a complete property 2 development in Elviria and 11 service - as well as knowing which architects, lawyers and builders you should trust. available in Miraval Phase 2 in La The Property Overseas Group office can be found opposite La Cala Golf Resort, in Mijas.

Trocha commercial centre in Coin.

“Other than that we are pretty Contact Richard on 952814780 or visit www.propertyomuch sold out and we are trying verseasgroup.com to acquire more land to build more.”

Living the dream

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Property

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Fantastic deals in Duquesa Village

LIFE’S A BEACH: If you do all your homework before buying

BARGAIN: Prices from €95,000

Brit future for homes market

R

EAL estate is back in business on the Costa del Sol, say the property pros at Hamilton Homes.

The Sabinillas estate agents forecast that 2015 will be the year of the mortgage and the British property buyer both scarcer than hens’ teeth since the property bubble burst.

Plus, with the Manilva area offering what the company believes is the best price/ quality ratio on the coast, it is expecting a busy year.

Banks are keen to lend money again and the strong pound is likely to see the British market back in its number one slot, ahead of the French, German and Scandinavians who have been keeping sales ticking over, says director Andrew Bacarese Hamilton.

And with property prices 50 to 70% lower than they were at the height of the boom in 2007, now is a great time to buy.

However, banks are cracking down on paperwork and purchasers will need expert help to cut through the extra red tape.

Working closely with financial institutions, the team at Hamilton Homes is in the perfect position to help buyers negotiate a hassle-free mortgage.

“The banks over-lent in the heyday of the market and we all suffered from their overexuberance,” says Andrew.

“Understandably they don’t want to get back into that situation so, as a result, there’s a lot of paperwork, a lot of regulation, and it can be overwhelming for people who haven’t been through the system before.”

Seeking the help of an expert has got to be worth it with the amazing local bargains around.

Luxurious penthouse apartments at Finca Cortesin that originally sold for €500,000 are now changing hands for

It will be a golden year for Spanish property, British buyers and, yes, mortgages too - but now with even more red tape, reckons Sabinillas estate agent Hamilton Homes just €250,000.

Dream properties are flying off the shelves as they come on the market - think a threebedroom townhouse in idyllic Casares for just €99,000, but don’t think about it for too long! Analysing properties along the entire coast from Gibraltar to Malaga, Manilva is the zone which is currently offering the best price/quality ratio, says Andrew.

Here is his advice for new buyers:

Where to start To buy a property the first thing you need is an NIE. This little number costs under €10 and once you have it, it’s for life.

Hamilton Homes can help set up your NIE appointment and guide you through the entire purchase process in a friendly, personal way.

Ideally, give them at least two to three weeks notice to set the appointment up before meeting them. You’ll find your experience with Spanish bureaucracy can be dramatically easier.

Number crunching

Having worked for Citibank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Credit Agricole and Barclays between them, Andrew and his partner Shanalle know a thing or two about property financing.

Not only will they help you find the perfect place, they’ll secure the perfect mortgage.

They set up their company in 2003, having identified a serious gap in the market for agents with strong financial backgrounds.

Together with you, they can

analyse, plan and budget to make your purchasing experience free of fuss and unwanted costs down the line.

What you need to know Your age (it affects the length of mortgage you are entitled to) Your income (that’s net income, minus any debts and existing loans) Your funds (how much you are willing to invest in the property).

Figuring it out If you don’t know the precise state of your finances, don’t panic. It’s far more common than people think.

Clients are frequently unsure of what they can really afford.

“That’s what we’re here for,” says Andrew. “You don’t have to come up with a magic figure yourself.

“Over a coffee or over the phone, we can go through your finances on a case-bycase basis, and work out the perfect place for you.”

The financial analysis balances what you have with what you need, so you will only be shown properties you can afford.

This avoids disappointment and unrealistic expectations.

Although in some cases, people discover they can afford more than they imagined!

Market forces Despite the supply being there, the backlog means banks are inundated with sales and the process of buying in Spain is taking longer

DUQUESA Village is an enclosed residential complex with landscaped communal gardens and designed in a typically Andalucian rustic style.

The urbanization, just a 15 minute walk from the beach, is a holidaymaker’s paradise; with five communal pools, a children’s pool, paddle tennis court and located on the prestigious Duquesa Golf Course.

Specifications: The apartments have high quality specifications including: · · · · · · ·

Fully-fitted kitchen with granite worktop and utility area Master Bedroom with jacuzzi bath Air/conditioning and heating (fully fitted) Marble flooring throughout Electric Blinds Lock-up storage room Private underground parking

Prices start from €95,000 Contact Hamilton Homes for more details

IN THE KNOW: The Hamiltons

than normal.

If the entire process of securing a property with a mortgage used to take two months, Andrew estimates that now it can take as long as four.

Prospective purchasers should be delighted, however, as the longer wait is a result of much improved checks against money laundering and ensuring the market’s foundations are solid.

Andrew believes the market has bottomed out. But, as Hamilton Homes has unprecedented access to properties that the banks are trying to sell, the deals now are better than ever.

High-quality homes are going for staggeringly-low prices, and 2015 looks to be a great year for Spain’s property market, he predicts.

Hamilton Homes specialises in sales across the region, including Alcaidesa, Sotogrande, La Duquesa, Sabinillas and Estepona.

To get in touch, contact Hamilton Homes on +34 952 890 444 or email olive@hamiltonhomes.com

To get in touch, contact Hamilton Homes on +34 952 890 444 or email olive@hamilton-homes.com

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Property

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

DEVELOPING ANDALUCIA

Ulf Hessedahl and his Andalucia Development ‘one stop-shop’ have been involved in property for over 30 years FOUNDER: Kjell Hessedahl

T

HE Costa del Sol has seen an explosion of growth over recent decades and in order to be savvy with the market, it’s essential to speak to people who know their stuff.

The small but very well-established Scandinavian team at Andalucia Development, in Marbella, has a wealth of experience in the Spanish and international real estate market.

Since the company was set up by Kjell Hessedahl, Ulf’s father, back in 1981, it has been perfectly 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 selling a house.

Nurturing solid relationships with clients, law-

yers, building and property management companies 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 customers 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, welcoming workforce for whom nothing is too much trouble, the team at Andalucia Development would love to see you – drop in if you find yourself in the area!

You can find them in Centro Plaza, Local 63, Nueva Andalucia, Marbella, or call them at 952 816 250 or email info@andadev.com

www.theolivepress.es

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Property Now

38 38the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

www.theolivepress.es

March 2015

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March 2015

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39 39

Pirates of the Mediterranean PIRACY PLUNDER: €1.7 billion

Spain revealed as one of Europe’s worst offenders for illegal internet downloads

By Tom Powell AN overwhelming 88% of online content watched in Spain is streamed illegally, according to a new study.

This makes the country one of Europe’s worst offenders for enjoying pirated films, TV shows and music.

The digital consumption habits study found that some 4.3

Spanish streams THE days of watching your favourite TV shows through a dodgy stream could soon be a thing of the past.

Online streaming site Netflix is reportedly in advanced negotiations for an autumn launch in Spain.

With a working date of September 1 tabled, shows such as Breaking Bad, House of Cards and Orange is the New Black could soon hit living rooms across the country.

Netflix has remained quiet, yet the reports are consistent with its planned ‘global expansion’ into 200 countries in two years.

But don’t get too excited just yet... Netflix came close to launching in Spain four years ago but pulled out at the last minute because of the country’s tough privacy laws.

billion connections to pirated content caused an estimated loss of €1.7 billion for rights holders.

The Coalicion de Creadores – the association behind the study – announced the results were a new ‘piracy record’.

“The level of piracy in Spain is overwhelming. Therefore we are asking that illegal pages are blocked like they are in France, Italy and Germany… countries which see cultural consumption as a means of economic growth,” said director Carlota Navarrete.

Films are Spain’s worst hit industry; forming 38% of all illegal downloads. TV series account for 26%, followed by music at 24%.

Meanwhile, a total of 139 million football matches were watched illegally in more than 1.8 million Spanish homes in 2014.

And the problem with illegal streaming and downloads is only getting worse, as the number accessing illegal online content has risen by 4% from 2013.

Sound as a pound

BRITS are cashing in as holiday costs plummet due to the strength of the pound.

Two years ago, the average British holidaymaker would spend £628.51 on holiday, but now it could cost them half this with the same spending power.

Travel money firm Centtrip also revealed that the pound has seen a 107.3% increase against the Russian rouble.

Sterling has increased in value against 14 other major currencies, rising in value between 2.25% and 107%.

Turn to Page 43 to read currency expert Mark Rickard’s analysis.

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the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015 Advertorial

WHY YOUR HUSBAND WILL NEVER BE YOUR GIRLFRIEND Frank Arndt on the strains put on relationships when families move abroad – and how you should deal with any potential splits

W

HEN was the last time you wanted to talk to your husband about the culture shock you felt when you arrived abroad?

I had clients telling me that they felt lonely and had no one to talk to. Their husband had to work long hours and had to get up to speed in his new job. Some told me that they felt that the biggest challenge was the quiet moments, when their husband was away, the kids were in bed, the house was clean and all the bills were paid.

That was the time when they felt that their minds could wander into places it should not. Sometimes thinking of all the things which needed to be done in the ‘new world’ was more exhausting than actually doing them.

At the end of a working day, your partner comes home and he wants to relax and not think about the office, and you want to hear every last detail; or you just asked him to fix the wifi connection or help you to set up the Skype account, so that you can talk to your friends and family at home.

You noticed that you became needier than you were at home. You asked yourself: Why is that? Why is it that you sometimes feel invisible in a new place where you don’t know anyone, no one knows you and you are completely dependent on your husband; financially and emotionally. It feels like you are joining the ranks of thousands of other women who have been in similar circumstances and have had their husbands tell them that they were acting irrationally.

He, on the other hand, has his new challenge in the job, has new colleagues and a new job title. His identity has not disappeared and his career is taking off.

Most of these women tell me how their husbands suggest they go out in the new community and join networks to help. But this struggle to make themselves visible means that having to build some history in the new location. It doesn’t happen overnight and you’ve just mastered the challenge to find the way to the children’s new school without getting lost.

Most of the women feel lousy for the first year after they move. They constantly question if the move has been worth it and you have asked yourself the same question over and over again.

A study shows that in the first year of moving abroad, the majority of expat wives feel that they do not receive the proper recognition and acknowledgement for the part they are playing in the relocation. The man on the other hand feels exactly the opposite - over 80% of the husbands say that their self-esteem increased in the first year of the move.

These two extreme positions can cause significant friction in a relationship and it is the time when financial arguments often start. They are usually over how money will be spent and who’s controlling it. Talking about these subjects creates tension, but also avoiding them altogether creates more tension.

I find that establishing a way to communicate is the only thing that will help you and your partner sail through these stormy and difficult waters. The US based Institute for Equality in Marriage suggests some ways as to

how women can become more knowledgeable about the finances. Sharing the responsibility can be rewarding and make your partnership more balanced and fulfilled. This is why I advise my clients that they should be involved in all financial planning before and during the relocation.

If the spouse does not insist on this, then there is a huge risk. There are cases where the spouse might even be stranded abroad with no financial support at all and the dream of the life abroad becomes a nightmare.

As Eleanor Roosevelt said: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”.

But what should you do when all goes wrong?

Finance issues are not always the number one reason.

The increasing number of clients who tell me that their husband committed adultery is extremely high. Sometimes I hear that their husbands became ‘just plain stupid’ when they become promoted, they start to accept short term assignments away from home or start to travel constantly.

I find that this is especially the case where an employee works and travels with an attractive colleague who isn’t whining all day about the loss of her career, friends or family. This is the time when you need advice, how to separate without the stress.

your children’s emotional health is your mutual priority.

No matter the reasons for the breakdown of the marriage, you will always be the father and your spouse will always be the mother. Keep reaffirming this to yourself and to her and always put your children’s interests first.

2- At the first sign of conflict, there is an increased risk that mothers will simply flee the country rather than risk being subject to local law. This will have a traumatic effect on the whole family and in particular the children. It is your responsibility as a father to reduce this trauma. One way is to seek international mediation and resolve the issues through constructive approach and a fair Memorandum of Understanding.

3- The choice of jurisdiction on divorce can lead to dra-

matic differences in outcome in terms of division of assets and income and pension. Jurisdiction will largely depend on the nationality, domicile and habitual residence of both parties. Take at a very early stage advice from a specialist international family lawyer, with a network of international, experienced lawyers.

In my view if you are a woman abroad and want to come home, please consider this first: At Paradigm Family Law we believe that separating abroad does not need to be stressful. Frank Arndt our

1- First and foremost it is essential to be and remain International Family Lawyer has experience in all arears

child focused. Your child has a right to have a relationship with both of you; this includes your spouse. It is easy to forget the emotional impact family separation can have on a child. If you have young children then you will be co-parenting with your ex–husband for years to come.

2- Your initial reaction is often to return to your home country to the safety of your family. It is important to note that taking a child from their country of residence without your husband’s consent can constitute child abduction. Many countries, including potentially your own home country, may return abducted children to the place where they have been resident, even just as an expat. Speak to an experience international family lawyer about child abduction issues, safeguards and other arrangements that can be put in place.

3- Divorce can be an incredibly tough time in your life and for everybody involved. Surround yourself with friends and family who can help you and support you in this traumatic time. Don’t assume you are alone.

For husbands, if you are separated abroad and your wife wants to relocate home, please do not forget to consider this first:1- Agree at a very early stage with your spouse that

of international family law. He established an international network including international mediators, which can help you.

His experience can help you to control all stages until you are safely home with your children or until you reach a resolution with your spouse, which puts your children first.

Paradigm Family Law also gives you control over what you spend on your legal fees. Having control is about knowing what your fees will be from the outset.

Will you take control over the most important step in your life and do you want to be visible again?

Please contact Frank Arndt, Managing Partner at Paradigm Family Law on +44 845 6020422 or e-mail frank@paradigmfamilylaw.co.uk or visit us on: www.paradigmfamilylaw.co.uk

For your Clean Break ‌.

Visit us at www.paradigmfamilylaw.co.uk

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BUSINESS IN BRIEF

Acciona stations SPANISH firm Acciona has won the contract to construct Norway’s new €1 billion high-speed railway network.

Bidding billions BRITAIN’S seventh biggest lender TSB has received a €2.4 billion takeover approach from Spanish bank Sabadell.

Meals-onwheels BANNED car ride service Uber is extending restaurant delivery service to Spain with operations beginning in Barcelona.

Shipping boost MALAGA port is to be included in Sallaum Lines network of freight traffic that links major ports in Europe with the west coast of Africa.

the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

Frozen out

PROBLEMATIC: Imserso scheme for pensioners

Costa hotels threaten strike action over government’s pensioner discount plans

By Rob Horgan LOW-cost Costa del Sol hotels are threatening to strike next winter over plans to give them the cold shoulder.

A number of two and three star hotels have reacted angrily to the government’s plan to offer around one million pensioners discounted deals at four-star resorts for winter 2015.

The hotel owners claim that, with a depleted winter foot-

fall, they will be forced to close for the entire season.

The Imserso scheme has been in operation for 25 years but the government’s latest plan will see higher-rated hotels given preferential treatment.

Antonio Aranda, head of the Costa del Sol Hotels Association (Aehcos), claimed lower

cost hotels lack the infrastructure to deal with the extra demands of the scheme.

“They have not contacted tour operators or left enough time to look for alternatives,: he said.

Last season, 199,000 hotel places were filled by the Imserso scheme.

AGONY ANT YOUR LEGAL PROBLEMS ADDRESSED BY ANTONIO FLORES

Liability and the lawyer

Antonio Flores on the importance of a lawyer when purchasing property SPANISH lawyers assisting investors in the purchase of property have been regularly charging the fairly standardised fee of 1% plus Vat. For many, this is an unnecessary expense that can easily be avoided. Instead they opt for the help of a family friend, a local ‘gestor’ or even the real estate agency. Their arguments are varied: lawyers charge too much for what they do, they are bad at communicating with clients and if something goes wrong, they don’t want to know.

To a certain extent, I can sympathise with detractors of legal professionals who represent property buyers; they believe that because we have Notary Publics and a Land Registry system, investors should be protected and minor legal guidance should suffice. In an ideal world this sounds fine, but not in the real one.

I naturally advocate using lawyers to buy property, and so does the claimant in the civil liability case that was brought against a firm of lawyers based in Marbella and their insurers. For this cli-

ent, the fee of 1% plus Vat has possibly turned out to be the best investment he ever made. For he has recovered, from the Law Society insurers (Caser Seguros), €107,000 for two failed off-plan apartments, paid 15 years ago - plus interest.

The mistake made by these property conveyance lawyers was not small: when they demanded bank certificates guaranteeing the investments, mandatory under Spanish law, the property developer managed to get away with flogging them fake insurance policies issued by a shelf company, Compagnies del Guaranties, run by an Italian fraudster.

Just by searching ‘Compagnies Des Guaranties’ one would have seen them prominently featuring on a blacklist compiled by the Dirección General de Seguros.

Granted, you don’t need to pay a lawyer to do this simple job, but how many investors would have noticed the con? At least, in a quirk of fate, those who hired a negligent lawyer will get paid!

Email Antonio at aflores@lawbird.es

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the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

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the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

Ghostbusters Ryanair to fly to Castellon ‘ghost airport’

BUDGET airline Ryanair is set to offer a lifeline to Spain’s ‘ghost airport’ in Castellon.

The Irish-based carrier has announced plans to fly from the airport, which has stood empty since its €150 million construction took place four years ago.

Widely regarded as a symbol of the country’s economic strife, the airport was one of many gratuitous building projects born out of a pre-recession property boom.

Flights will link the UK and other northern European countries to the airport, just north of Valencia. The white elephant project was commissioned by the leader of Castellon province, Carlos Fabra, despite there already being two airports nearby.

(With effect from 6th April.)

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INCE writing nearly one month ago, Europe’s prodigal child ‘Greece’ has been saved from the lions by Germany, once again. It has been flirting with its wealthier Eurozone family members, with trips to London ‘schmoozing’ with limited success, and now it seems to be knocking on the door of the ECB again. The ‘Greek can’ is well and truly back on the road, but this time there is an unwillingness to kick it!

On top of this ugly truth, the ECB’s QE programme has kicked in, and the troubled euro has weakened further, as of writing this, Sterling can buy almost 1.41 euros.

Naturally the media are predicting a bumper holiday season for the Costas…

San Miguel, famous Spanish brands, and the sunbed sellers of course, will be rubbing their hands. The UK’s economy seems tireless in its quest to lead as the shining recession-beating example, and I think the big Eurozone countries are enjoying the beginnings of a recovery. The DAX, CAC and FTSE have been reflecting

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Spain’s sunbed sellers are rubbing their hands in anticipation thanks to the pound, just don’t mention the Greeks... writes currencies expert Mark Rickard the positivity oozing into the economies, and let’s not forget the DOW and NASDAQ across the pond.

While Sterling is on a high, we have seen many expats securing exchange rates for the rest of the year with ‘forward contracts’. It could be a political headache for the incumbent government if the pound gets

+34 951 120 321 mark.rickard@plutusmoney.co.uk

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All political parties will be keeping a canny eye on this as Britain leads up to a general election. Currency is always a topic that gets the public’s attention… and I’m sure Farage will be puffing his chest out with talk about protecting the pound and so on. By next month we will have seen a few party political broadcasts, perhaps a debate or two declaring some of the cards each party will play?

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Top Dollar

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the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

Busted

SUCCESS: Zuckerberg

Be your own boss FACEBOOK founder Mark Zuckerberg revealed the secret of his employment policy at a Barcelona talk... and the social media mogul’s ‘one rule’ is surprisingly simple.

Forget glitzy CVs or polished shoes, Zuckerberg looks for something more rounded when interviewing prospective employees. “I will only hire someone to work directly for me if I would work for that person,” Zuckerberg told an audience at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress.

“It’s a pretty good test and I think this rule has served me well.”

The 30-year-old Facebook chief executive is estimated to be worth €32bn and his company employs a workforce of 10,000.

Private lender files for bankruptcy after parent company faces money laundering allegations SPANISH lender Banco de Madrid has filed for bankruptcy after its Andorran parent company was accused of laundering money for organised crime groups.

Spain’s central bank stepped in after Banco de Madrid was rocked by client withdrawals following the allegations against parent company BPA. A spokesman for the Spanish lender said it had undergone a ‘sharp deterioration in its economic and financial situation’ due to its its parent company being named a ‘primary laundering concern’ by the US government.

The US government’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network named BPA a ‘money-

laundering concern’ at the beginning of March.

The network alleged that BPA’s managers knowingly facilitated transactions for organised crime groups across Europe.

In response, a BPA spokesman said that the company is ‘working with the Andorran financial regulator to uncover any wrongdoing’.

He added that the allegations ‘will quickly disappear’.

Banco de Madrid is a small player in Spain’s banking sector that targets high net worth clients with deposits of more than €500,000.

The lender has an estimated 15,000 clients and 21 offices throughout the country.

Hilton’s return

THE Hilton hotel chain is set to return to the Costa del Sol after a 40-year absence.

The American company has signed a partnership to turn the Higueron hotel in Benalmadena into a health spa hotel, following lengthy negotiations.

The Costa del Sol’s tourism councillor, Carlos Conde, highlighted the potential boost in American visitors.

While the mayors of Benalmadena and Fuengirola, Ana Mula and Paloma García respectively, praised the ‘higher quality’ of tourism Hilton can offer.

“The Hilton brand name is an important one for this area, it has become a benchmark for quality tourism,” said Mula.

www.theolivepress.es

45

GOLF In the swing of it

the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

Ze Germans are coming!

Andalucia woos German market to the Costa del Sol’s perfect greens

GUTEN TAG: Seve Ballesteros with German golfer Bernard Langer and the Ryder Cup

AS the Costa del Sol’s golfers gear up for another year on the greens, the region’s tourism experts are tapping into an emerging market.

The keen coastal golfers dusting off their caddy bags and polishing their irons could soon be joined on the fairways by a large German contingent.

A €63,000 plan to strengthen Andalucia’s golfing appeal to the German market has been set in motion by Minister of Tourism Luciano Alonso.

“The plan consists of several performance-based schemes exclusively designed to target the golf tourism industry in Germany,” he said.

“A total of 840 golf clubs

By Rob Horgan and over 650,000 federated players, half of which usually travel at least once a year to practise this sport, will be targeted as part of the scheme.”

Alongside attracting more German golfers to Spanish shores, the scheme also aims to improve wholesaler relationships between the two European countries.

Tournament sponsorship proposals and specialised fairs between Germany and Spain are to be tabled by the Royal Spanish Golf Federation at a meeting in London, UK.

Young swingers GROWING up on the Costa del Sol gives youngsters the best chance to hammer home

Veterans of the green

their golf swing… and it is about to get even easier.

Mijas Town Hall is giving would-be Tiger Woods the opportunity to hone their skills for free.

In partnership with La Cala resort, children aged between five and 16 will be treated to top training tips throughout March and April without charge.

Free classes will run every weekend.

To sign up call the tourism department on 952 589 034 or email turismo@mijas.es

THE latest instalment of the qualifying tournament for the Andalucian Senior Cup has taken place in Jerez.

More than 93 players from across the region battled it out at the Sherry Golf club.

Claiming the top gong in the ladies competition was Felicity Jordan with a score of 38, while Hern Mun Suk and Jose Atalaya won the two men’s categories. The next round of the Senior Circuit will be held in La Garza (Jaén) on April 18.

STARTING YOUNG: Under-16s to receive free golf lessons

45

the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

Swing like an Egyptian A STRONG competitor to the Costa del Golf has emerged... and it isn’t where you’d expect.

Egypt has launched a campaign through its tourism authority to attract golfers from around the world.

Red sea resorts such as Madinat Makadi Golf resort offer state-of-the-art facilities in idyllic settings.

The African nation is specifically being lauded as the ideal destination for golfers traveling with their instructors, with various analysis tools and software installed on the resorts.

Golf Breakfast & Buggy Hire!

46

the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

Columnists

Russian invasion LAST Sunday I discovered that spring is officially here. Up here at the Casita there are many tell-tale signs that winter is over.

The days get longer, the wildlife starts to emerge from hibernation (often briefly, as spring also heightens 50 Shades’ already psychotic killer instinct, with inevitable and bloody results).

The biggest indication that spring is here, however, is that the Russian fishermen are back at the lake.

It is only in the past decade that the Russians have appeared on the coast in numbers, but boy, have they made their presence felt.

Marbella being Marbella, the town welcomed the new visitors as another bunch of guiris to be taken advantage of and held various events to promote (ie, take as much money as possible from) the new relationship.

I was once invited to Moscow Marbella Friendship Week. The press conference was at 9am and as I arrived with my phobookshop - olive press Post Boxes:Layout 1 12/02/2015 14:36 Page 1 tographer, I couldn’t help but notice that the large contingent

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www.theolivepress.es 46 the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

Ah, springtime at last – sunlight, flowers in bloom and… brawling fishermen of Russian journalists – fresh from Moscow that morning – were already getting stuck into HATSKI: Giles taking fashion tips from Russian the vodka. visitors It set the tone for the day. to the 4x4 to fetch more vodka.

At the gala dinner that evening open the vodka.

I was seated next to a Soviet The rest of the day follows the Growing up in the later stages Air Force pilot who had served set pattern of lots of joking and of the Cold War we were told to in Afghanistan. He spoke no happy singing after about two be afraid of the Russians and hours; some- even more so of the Sting song English and one leaping of the same name. We needn’t I no Rusin the lake to have bothered, however, as sian, but as I glanced over to much hilarity they were all probably lying in each guest at the four hour a vodka-induced coma someat the gala see a Russian at the mark; mourn- where or just far too hungover was providful singing as to invade. ed with half duck gate, taking a dusk falls and The fact that spring had arrived a bottle of pee into my hedge then shouts was confirmed this morning vodka each, and the sound when, enjoying the first café by the end of punches be- solo of the day on my terrace, of the eveing thrown at I glanced over to see a Russian ning we unmidnight. at the duck gate, taking a pee derstood each other perfectly.

It is the same with the fisher- Dawn breaks to reveal the into my hedge. men at the lake. They tend to scene of various bodies sleep- Let’s just say that my reaction arrive mid-morning, set up their ing where they fell, save for made him hop off faster than a rods and nets, and then crack one, who is normally heading ballerina at the Bolshoi!

Finding Arcadia in Algeciras

Belinda Beckett, aka the Mistress of Sizzle, discovers paradise... eventually

NEXT weekend, some of the world’s top natural history experts will gather at Huerta Grande Eco-Resort for the El Estrecho Nature Fair.

There will be lectures and workshops, whale and dolphin trips and front row seats at the greatest aerial show on earth: the annual spring bird migration.

Let’s hope no one has as much trouble finding the place as we did!

You’d think it would be easy to locate the entrance to Europe’s most southerly natural park – El Estrecho, 30 ELUSIVE: The park entrance times the area of Gibraltar – and its neighbour, Los Alcornocales, the world’s largest cork forest, twice the size of Barcelona!

But if you blink you’ll miss the turn-off to Huerta Grande Visitors’ Centre on the A l g e c i r a s - t o -Ta r i f a coast road, where you can get maps for hiking and biking trails.

The signpost is illegible from a moving car, even when you’re looking for it. We overshot it three times!

When you finally figure it out (take a sharp right turn up a one-in-four gradient into Pelayo village, a sharp left turn into a tunnel under the coast road, then along a service road to a proper sign), you’ll be very glad you did.

I thought Arcadia only existed in classical paintings and Greek and Roman mythology. But if any place could be a model for that mythical pastoral paradise, it’s El Estrecho in springtime, tumbling down the cliffs like a natural Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Butterflies, wild flowers and IMAX cinema views of wheeling kites and buzzards, projected against the blue screen of the sky, are added attractions at this time of year.

How odd to find Arcadia on the doorstep of Algeciras, said by some (but not me) to be the ugliest city in Europe.

Quirky Huerta Grande was once a summer holiday camp for military top brass, the park warden told us; and an open prison for General Milán del Bosch, one of the ringleaders in 1981’s failed coup against King Juan Carlos.

The warden showed us: · The nest of the largest arachnid in Europe, nicknamed the bull spider because it lifts up its front legs like horns to scare prey (not everything in the garden is lovely ...) · The largest remaining laurel forest in Europe (much more pungent than the dried bay leaves you get in the supermarket) · The habitat of the mammoth wasp, which grows to 6cm long · The Spy’s House, where Italian and German secret agents monitored shipping movements in the Strait during WWII. Today you can rent it for holidays There’s a refuge for injured birds, an observatory with bird feeders, a rock-climbing wall, a cafe and a 3D mosaic model of the coastline, designed in the style of Gaudi.

El Estrecho and Los Alcornocales are part of the Mediterranean’s much bigger Transcontinental Biosphere Reserve, an area five times the size of Madrid. The parks lie at the crossroads between two continents and two seas – the Land’s End of Europe!

Have you seen how many signposts Land’s End has? Just one (decent-sized) sign for Huerta Grande wouldn’t go amiss...

Don’t miss the Estrecho Nature Fair, on from March 27-29 ... if you can find it!

Visit www.huertagrande.com for more info.

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Memory lapse Fernando Alonso ‘woke up in 1995’ after Barcelona crash SPANISH Formula One driver Fernando Alonso allegedly ‘woke up in 1995’ after his Barcelona crash, unable to remember anything past the age of 13.

The 33-year-old suffered a shocking memory lapse after crashing his car during preseason testing at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya on February 22.

It has been claimed he woke up believing the year was 1995, when he was a 13-yearold schoolboy.

When asked who he was, Alonso replied: “I’m Fer-

Calle Gutemberg, Nave 5

Poligono Industrial de Estepona

CRASH: F1 driver Alonso

nando, I drive go-karts and I want to be a Formula One driver.”

However, his manager Flavio Briatore has since tried to play down the effects of the crash. He claimed that while the double world champion had suffered memory loss, it had only been for ‘two or three days’.

Meanwhile Alonso has been ruled out of the opening race

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of the 2015 F1 season, in what McLaren insists is a mere precaution.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Web traffic THE Guardia Civil’s traffic department has launched an English-language website to keep the country’s expats informed of what’s happening on the roads.

Police officers publish traffic related articles on the site each day, alongside road laws explained and other information.

With articles ranging from road offences to tips on how to save at the pumps, more than 7,000 people have already liked the site’s Facebook page.

“The idea was to provide accurate information to foreign drivers as to both the rules of the road here in Spain, as well as changes to the law that they may not be aware of,” Guardia Civil traffic officer Francisco Morales told the Olive Press.

“Our overall concept is very much in its infancy, and we are hoping to develop audio and video podcasts shortly to further enhance the user experience.

“At the end of the day we want to help keep residents, visitors and holidaymakers that little bit safer when they are on the roads in Spain.”

For more information visit www.n332.es

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Future food Printed food could soon be on menus

TASTY: 3D printed food

Greek fiesta TATZIKI, feta and chicken souvlaki had the party bouncing at Yamas Greek Fusion restaurant as it celebrated its one-year anniversary this weekend.

The family-run restaurant enjoyed a night of music and buffet food with more than 400 guests, not to mention the free-flowing bubbly.

“It was a fantastic night, a great way to celebrate our year anniversary and we hope everyone had a great time,” owner Hayley Mallia told the Olive Press, which did not pass up the chance to send reporters down to enjoy (Ed: report on) the party.

DRESSED TO IMPRESS: Owner Hayley with reporters Tom Powell and Rob Horgan

51

essential marbella magazine

PUT away your pots and pans, because a Spanish technology company is pioneering printed food.

3D printing has revolutionised the way computer parts are made and could be about to change the culinary world.

Natural Machines is marketing its 3D food printer – the Foodini – as an automated meal-assembly machine that creates homemade meals faster and more efficiently than mere mortals ever could.

Microwaves

Technophobes will no doubt turn their nose up at this latest technological development, but Natural Machines founder Lynette Kucsma remains bullish about her idea.

“When people first heard about microwaves they didn’t understand the technology, but now 90% of households have microwaves,” she said.

“We see the same thing happening with 3D food printing, but on a much faster scale because we adopt technology faster and the technology advances faster.”

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52

Boob job A SPANISH bar owner has faced a barrage of abuse following his job advertisement for a new waitress... with ‘big breasts necessary’.

The owner of the bar in Asturias in the north of Spain, posted the advert on website milanuncios.com but was forced to remove it after 24 hours of outrage.

The ad read: “I am seeking a young girl to be a waitress in a small bar – I ask that she

Asturias bar under fire for this controversial employment advert have a nice appearance and is attention-grabbing.”

The sexist and discriminatory job announcement sparked outrage among women, yet a spokesman for the bar de-

Big bottle is watching THE days of taking a quick swig from dad’s whiskey bottle may soon be a thing of the past.

Drinks company Johnnie Walker have previewed their ‘smart bottle’ – designed to foil sneaky drinkers – at the Mobile World Congress forum in Barcelona.

The bottle uses thin, printed sensor tags that can detect whether the bottle is sealed or open.

When opened it sends an update to the owner’s smartphone.

Other drinks companies including Smirnoff, Crown Royal and Captain Morgan are now set to follow suit and introduce their own versions of the smart bottle.

FORGET YOUR CV: Bar after DD’s instead fended the decision to the local media.

He said: “Our clientele have certain tastes and we want to

UK thirsty for Rioja THE British are getting a taste of Spain, in the form of red wine.

Imports of Rioja into the UK increased by 10% in 2014 – to a staggering 36.2 million litres – meaning Britain now accounts for one-third of all Rioja sales worldwide.

Obedience

Eddie the hotel dog may appear to be obedient, but who’s really the boss at Molino del Santo?

G

IVEN his age, I am quite proud of he-who-must-be-obeyed.

My master does still take me out every day and often to great, really smelly, places.

I must point out that the first sentence is misleading since as it is hugely ironic. I am not in the habit of obeying anyone unless it suits me.

He calls me a bad dog because I do just as I please. Well if you could get away with it, wouldn’t you?

I come to his side when he calls, only if there is nothing else I want to be doing. It makes me laugh because when I ‘do as I’m told’ I get praised.

Imagine getting praised for doing whatever you want. He doesn’t realise I ‘do as I’m told’ when his command happens to be what I wanted to do anyway. It’s called pure coincidence.

When I am disobedient he doesn’t usually bother to reproach me. He

EDDIE: Making no bones about it

cater to them.”

A total of 13 applications were made to the bar before the advert was withdrawn.

A dog’s life,

by Eddie the hotel hound

really has no idea of how to train a dog. It’s not my fault I am his only friend and he’s scared that if he upsets me I won’t be his chum either.

He-who-must-be-obeyed has two daughters (for any dog readers, these are basically human puppies).

The elder one, called Carmy, read a book when she was a little pup called ‘The Most Obedient Dog in the World’.

She thought it would be amusing to compile a book about me with the title altered from ‘Obedient’ to ‘Disobedient’. He keeps it in pride of place on his desk.

Sad. Very sad. It’s amazing that I am as well-adjusted as I am.

Must dash – a bag of pork bones has just appeared from the hotel kitchens.

Writing a column is a priority. Dealing with warm bones rates ever so slightly higher.

To get in touch with Eddie, contact his owners Andy and Pauline at the Hotel Molino del Santo. Bda Estacion s/n, 29370 Benaojan, Malaga. 952 167 151 - 952 167 927. info@molinodelsanto.com

RESTAURANTE at

Hotel Molino del Puente

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Open for lunch on Saturday & Sunday and dinner Tuesday to Sunday

The bar is open on Monday nights - FREE tapa with every drink!

Tel: 952 874 164 or visit www.hotelmolinodelpuente.com 5 mins from Ronda on the A374 Ronda/Sevilla Road

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53

DO YOU LOVE THE PEACE OF THE MOUNTAINS? DO YOU VALUE EXCELLENT SERVICE? DO YOU ENJOY REALLY IMAGINATIVE FOOD? DO YOU APPRECIATE STUNNING SCENERY?

of

W

ITH Spring finally upon us (well almost) there are few nicer places for an al fresco lunch than at Molino del Santo, near Ronda.

And it is not just blossoming flowers – but the dishes themselves – that are bringing plenty of colour to the restaurant’s terrace.

A fantastic range of fresh vegetables and art-

the Molino

DO YOU LIKE TRAIN JOURNEYS? (Free information sheet available)

istry by chef Alberto Guzman, who trained in Bilbao, are all part of the offering.

Artichoke and purple cabbage broth is a surefire winner, as is the zingy tomato and carrot soup.

And if you’re lucky you might also get a glimpse of Andalucia’s most famous hotel dog Eddie (see left).

HOLY BATTLE: Over right to Mezquita beer

Then you MUST visit the Hotel and Restaurant at Molino del Santo in Benaoján, just ten minutes from Ronda. Award-wnning Hotel – with the same owners since 1987.

Ale storm

By Tom Powell A BITTER row has been brewing in Cordoba between the cathedral and Spanish beer company Mahou.

Cathedral authorities were caught on the hop by the brewery giant when they tried to register their famous

Call or e-mail NOW to book hotel rooms from 98 euros or make restaurant reservations for lunch or dinner. Open every day.

Tel. 952 16 71 51 or e-mail info@molinodelsanto.com English-speaking staff always available to help you.

Cordoba Mezquita loses court battle over beer trademark Mezquita as a trademark.

Because, as it turns out, Mahou produces a beer called Mezquita.

Now the Supreme Court in Madrid has ruled against the cathedral and ordered it to

Bottoms up!

SPAIN has become the world’s biggest wine exporter, with bottles of ‘cheap plonk’ flying off the shelves.

Last year, a massive 22 million hectolitres of Spanish vino was exported, outstripping both France and Italy.

However, sales revenues were down 2.2% because of bulk sales with small margins, despite a 22% rise in the volume shipped out.

Surprisingly, France is now the biggest buyer of Spanish wines, importing and bottling – often as French wine – 5.8m hectolitres in 2014, 40% up on the previous year.

pay €1,500 in costs to Mahou.

The Mezquita insists that there were no plans to go into the brewing trade, just to safeguard the name.

The problem arose when the famous mosque-cathedral, a World Heritage Site, began registering trademarks for everything from cosmetics and furniture to toys and tea.

They ignored the fact that a Mezquita beer was already produced by Mahou, who appealed to the Patents office and the case ended up in court.

Mezquita spokesman José Jiménez Giieto insisted that the trademarks were registered without any ‘economic intent’.

He claimed it is done so that anybody else attempting to use the name must first gain the cathedral’s consent.

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54 54the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

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Homegrown goldmine...

EASTERN EXPORT: Spanish olive is a big hit in China

MALAGA’S olive oil is in such Olive oil sales soar as the East gets demand that it is now being exported to shores as far- a taste for Malaga’s golden export flung as China.

Montexaquez Oliva, a family company founded in Mon- groves and has been export- said the competition in Spain tejaque in the Serrania de ing to China for three years was so fierce that to approach Ronda three years ago is also already. the international market – marketing its liquid gold in ‘Vinas Vijas’ branded oil – which pays more for quality India, Bahrain and Kazakh- made from a combination of products and buys in bulk – stan. the ‘hojiblanca’ and ‘lechin’ was a wise move and that the This small company produces trees – is also sold domesti- company will expand further 30,000 litres of oilIssue per 5year cally

by Sabor a Malaga. in the gourmet market this Local issue 50:The Local 12/01/15 13:00 Page 84 from just 16 hectares of olive Manager, Cristina Garcia, year.

Where meat meets mustard......

55

the olive press - March 19th - April 1st 2015

THREATENED: Olive trees

In grove danger?

A KILLER disease that has already wiped out a million olive trees in Italy could spread to Spain.

The Xylella fastidiosa bacterium has decimated around 570,000 acres of olive groves in Puglia, southern Italy, since first detected in 2013.

Warning of the threat to crops in Spain and Greece, Giovanni Melcarne, president of an oil-producing consortium in Italy said: “If it expands its range further, the entire Mediterranean basin risks being contaminated.”

“We are calling for politicians to sit up and notice what is happening and to take necessary actions.”

There have been calls to create a mile-wide cordon across the region, to contain the disease.

Spain produces around 50% of the world’s olive oil, with 70% of that produced in Andalucia.

Last summer’s drought reduced Spanish production by around one million tonnes to 700,000 tonnes.

Combined with the diseased crops in Italy the price of the golden liquid could be set to soar across the continent.

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Supermarket swoop THOUSANDS of Spanish supermarkets are under investigation for breaking trading laws.

More than 1,800 stores are being inspected by the government’s AICA agency in relation to the cost of olive oil and milk.

A total of 145 stores have already been singled out for selling the products at a cost lower than fair trading laws allow.

The country’s minister for food and agriculture, Isabel Tejerina, has now outlined a new code of practice for supermarkets, expected to be rolled out at the end of this month.

55

Mr Giggles A PARODY sketch by Spanish comedian Juan Joya Borja - known as ‘the giggles’ - has gone viral with more than 1.8 million people watching the clip on Youtube.

Padel protest

FINAL WORDS

MERIDA residents are fighting a padel tournament set to take place in its historic amphitheatre, saying it is an ‘affront to history’.

Taking the piss AN off-duty policeman has had his wrists slapped for making fun of, and urinating on, the ‘estelada’ Catalanindependence flag in a bar in Catalunya.

Star on tour SPAIN’S Eurovision entry, Edurne, has been offered a tour of Manchester by a councillor after she said the city was ‘uglier than the back of a fridge’.

Slip-up SPAIN has dropped out of FIFA’s top 10 rankings for the first time since 2007.

the

E RE

Covering Andalucia in 2014 with over 200,000 papers (130,000 digital) and around 500,000 visits to the website each month… The Olive Press just keeps growing!

olive press F

Telephone: 951 273 575 DEATH-DEFYING Norwegian Eskil Ronningsbakken has been living life on the edge in Ronda recently, shooting a new television series.

Here he is seen performing a balancing feat – without any safety nets or life lines – over the world-famous gorge from the 150 metre high Puente Nuevo.

The Norwegian combines art and acrobatic skills and has performed in over 100 countries and attracts TV audiences in their millions.

March 19th - April 1st 2015

www.theolivepress.es

RECRUITMENT DRIVE: Nuns

What on earth are you doing there?

Poverty, chastity and Facebook

BBC: Leave our Bale alone!

UK and Spanish media lock horns over ‘lazy’ €100 million footballer Gareth Bale

By Tom Powell

A WAR of words has broken out between the BBC and Spanish sports newspaper Marca.

It began when the BBC published an article accusing Marca of unfairly singling out Welsh footballer Gareth

Sick of Spaniards?

MYSTERIOUS billboard adverts with angry-looking foreigners and the caption “I’m sick of Spaniards” (‘Estoy harto de los espanoles’) have been baffling people on the streets of Spain.

All that connected British kite surfer Jo Ciastula, American game developer Bill Murphy and French perfume maker Daniel Josie were the scowls on their faces.

The ads prompted a Twitter storm of befuddled Spaniards, some offering olive branches and others contempt.

The Clear Channel campaign of three parts saw a second set of billboards unveiled showing Spanish faces with the text: “Spaniards. Made of talent” (‘Espanoles. Hechos de talento’) It is called ‘Proyecto Talento’ and, in collaboration with the business school ESIC, is aiming to challenge Spaniards to consider how foreigners see them and to recognise unsung heroes.

The third stage is to come…

Bale for his role in Real Madrid’s recent poor form.

Spain’s leading football paper had accused him of being ‘lazy’ and not scoring enough goals.

They also labelled him a ‘loner’ and a ‘waste of money’.

When the BBC defended him, Marca responded with a scathing tirade at the highlyrespected organisation, titled ‘The BBC’s reprehensiBale smear campaign’.

The article accused the BBC of shoddy journalism, bizarrely then bringing up a cover-up over paedophile presenter Jimmy Savile.

It said: “Marca does not engage in campaigns; it informs readers. Rigorously. Something that apparently can no longer be said of the BBC which, like ITV, seems to be all about drama,” it added.

The last laugh should ultimately go to Bale himself after he scored both goals in his team’s 2-0 victory over Levante at the weekend.

SPANISH convents are making use of social media to recruit nuns due to numbers of women joining religious orders dropping from 6,500 in 1966 to just 250 last year.

Modernised marketing methods can be seen on the colourful website buscoalgomas. com - literally translated as ‘I’m seeking something more’ - as well as on Facebook.

The pioneer is Noemi Saiz who, after trying out life as a nun, decided she was better suited to helping archaic religious institutions get their heads around marketing for the younger generation.

Costa del cops BOOZY brits abroad could soon be kept in check by a familiar foe.

Spanish officials are hoping to see British police officers on the beat in holiday hotspots Ibiza and Magaluf this summer. Up to a dozen British officers could join up with their Spanish counterparts to help combat the loutish reputation of some British tourists.

“The arrival of these officers will increase the security we want to offer both tourists and residents,” said the mayor of Ibiza’s leading resort San Antonio.

Some hotel owners have even offered travelling officers free accommodation.

Last summer, officers from France and Germany were called upon to keep watch over their respective holidaymakers with great success.

British police have previously been deployed to keep football hooligans in check, but have never before travelled abroad to keep an eye on tourists.