The commercial unit is Ibiza's least glamorous asset and, in many cases, its most profitable. Where a villa demands management, seasons and wear and tear, a well-located unit let to a solid operator produces steady income with minimal operations. The key is understanding that here you do not buy by the square metre: you buy the street, the licence and the tenant.
Indicative rents by area
Typical monthly rent ranges per square metre for street-level units. Orders of magnitude to orient yourself, not a valuation:
| Area | €/m² per month | Dominant profile |
|---|---|---|
| Marina and Ibiza port | 35 – 70 | Hospitality and luxury, intense season |
| Dalt Vila and the old town | 25 – 45 | Boutiques and characterful restaurants |
| Vara de Rey and the city centre | 30 – 55 | Retail and services all year |
| Santa Eulalia promenade | 20 – 40 | Family dining and residents |
| San Antonio port and sunset strip | 25 – 50 | Highly seasonal leisure |
| Playa d'en Bossa | 30 – 60 | Large-format tourist hospitality |
| Santa Gertrudis | 25 – 45 | Premium dining and boutiques |
| Industrial estates and airport road | 8 – 15 | Showroom, logistics and services |
What yield is reasonable to expect
| Asset type | Indicative gross yield |
|---|---|
| Prime unit let to an established operator | 5% – 7% |
| Secondary-area unit with a good lease | 7% – 9% |
| Warehouse or industrial-estate unit | 7% – 9% |
| Unit where you run the business yourself | 10%+ (with operating risk) |
The better the location, the lower the yield on price and the safer the rent. It is the usual trade-off: on the best streets you are paying for certainty.
What drives the value of a unit
- Real footfall, counted at different hours and in different months — not what a May viewing suggests.
- Linear metres of frontage and window: they matter more than total floor area.
- The activity licence granted and which uses it allows, especially whether food and drink is permitted.
- Legalised kitchen extraction, which multiplies the universe of possible tenants.
- The terrace authorisation and how many tables it covers.
- Storage, ceiling height and delivery access.
- Tenant solvency and the number of lease years still to run.
- The street's seasonality: twelve months of trade is worth more than one spectacular August.
The tenant is part of the asset
In commercial property, buying a unit means buying a lease. The same space is worth very different amounts empty, occupied by a local business with two years left, or held by an established operator with ten years signed and guarantees in place. Before closing, always review the lease, how long the business has traded, the payment history and the deposits held.
Twelve months beat the August peak
Ibiza rewards areas that work all year. A city-centre street with residents, offices and everyday retail makes fewer headlines than the port in August, but it sustains stable rents from October to May. For an income-focused investor that continuity is usually worth more than a very high seasonal peak followed by seven months of shutters down.
Mistakes new investors make
- Comparing prices per square metre between streets that have nothing in common.
- Buying without checking whether the intended activity is legally possible in that unit.
- Ignoring seasonality and budgeting twelve months of rent on a five-month street.
- Forgetting property tax, community fees, levies and void periods between tenants.
- Assuming the terrace is a given — it is usually the biggest contributor to rent and the least guaranteed.
How we analyse a unit before recommending it
- A footfall study and a read of the street's retail mix.
- Verification of licences, permitted uses, extraction and terrace.
- Analysis of the lease in force and the tenant's solvency.
- Net yield calculation, with real taxes and costs included.
- An exit scenario: to whom, and at what price, it can be resold.
Conclusion
In Ibiza the commercial square metre is only the starting point. What decides the yield is the street, the licence, the terrace and the lease behind it.
At GZ Ibiza Properties we work the island's commercial market: units for sale and to let, lease transfers and tenanted investment assets. Tell us what you are after and we will put together a shortlist with the numbers on the table.
Note: the figures in this article are indicative market ranges and constitute neither an official valuation nor investment advice.
