Companies on upNUMBERS of new registered companies hit a seven-year high during the first four months of 2015, with Andalucia close to the top of the list.

A 4% year-on-year increase saw a total of 9,903 new companies being created during March alone, according to the National Statistics Institute.

One out of five companies registered were based in Madrid, while a total of 1,760 new companies were registered in Andalucia.

Leading the way, 22% of new businesses are trade-related while 18% are in the construction sector.

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10 COMMENTS

  1. Given that it’s expensive to incorporate a company in Spain, things must be going well if we’re seeing a 4% y-o-y increase. Unless of course there are other reasons why this is happening? Where are Fred/Mike/Bryan/Marion to give us the knee-jerk anti Spain reason for this?

  2. @Squiddy, I am not anti-Spain. I have a successful business here, unlike yourself, who failed in business in Spain, remember? However, I would rather not reside here as it is a very bad place for entrepreneurs, indeed I have already purchased elsewhere in Europe and have done tens time more business in the same time I was in Spain in just a couple of years elsewhere. I would not advise anyone to start a business in Spain.

    Spain made company formations easier a year or so ago I recall, “fast-tracking” the process (if there is such a thing in Spain). Because unemployment is going to remain high for some time, people often start companies because there are no proper long-term jobs. Most of the “businesses” will be the unregulated estate agents who are springing up everywhere like weeds. Same old.

    • Raymond, it is not a matter of being happier in one country over another, there are just some things Spain doesn’t do as well as other countries, and being an entrpreneur is one of them. Doing business here is like pulling teeth, and I know many business owners who tell me the same thing. Taxes, employment laws, salaries, qualifications, business support – all a minefield in Spain and significantly more stressful. Nothing to do with “being happy”, that’s the simpletons answer to everything.

  3. It’s not about being either pro or anti Spain, it’s about highlighting things that are wrong and not working properly and after all, this is a comments section. Regarding this story, it was a definite step in the right direction to make it cheaper and easier to set up a new business – the previous social security tariff for self employed people made it prohibitively expensive. Spain needs to be business friendly and competitive so let’s have some more initiatives like this.

  4. Interesting also that the number of foreign residents contributing to the Social Security system in Spain rose by 2.85%, or 44,540 contributors, in April from the previous month, to now stand at 1,607,883. And no, this was not mainly Brits. Leading nationalities were 288,000 Romanians, 202,000 Moroccans and 92,000 Chinese. Brit contributors amounted to 57,000.

  5. Interesting, but not surprising. The job situation in Spain is so dire that people have no choice but to become self-employed (autonomo). A main reason for this is because there is no other way to get access to the health service. Many people don’t realise that you have to pay even if you are unemployed. Autonomo fees can be as much as around 250 euros a month. People moving to Spain to work had better realise this, as it comes as a shock to many.

  6. Yes, people in the UK need to realise that it is not a level playing field and health care in Spain is not free to all residents (as it is in the UK) unless you are over 60. In Spain, simply being resident and paying tax is not enough to get free health care, you have to pay social security to qualify and that is expensive. It is also worth noting that the personal allowance is much lower and rate of income tax higher in Spain so you will end up paying more. However, private health insurance is very reasonably priced and also very good so well worth considering.

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