Laurence Dollimore
SPAIN-UK trade relations are only improving since last year’s Brexit referendum.
Despite the pound’s depreciation, Spanish exports to the UK reached a record high of €19 billion in 2016.
Meanwhile, a staggering one in four Brits came to Spain for their holidays, making them the largest contributor to the €77 billion the country made from its tourism industry.
While Santander’s UK business saw net profit fall by 14.7% due to the weaker pound, like most other multinationals, it has not signalled that it will decrease their investments into the country.
The UK is still the number two destination for Spanish foreign investment, with Spain multinationals holding a €60 billion stock of investments in the country.
Iberdrola chairman Ignacio Sánchez Galán has assured the company will continue to invest in Scottish Power and in the numerous projects underway in the UK.
Ana Botin, who headed up Santander’s business in the UK (23% of total group net profit) before taking over from her father, stated she remains ‘as committed as always’ to this market.
The same goes for Sabadell chairman Josep Oliu.
He repeated his colleagues message: “A risk in the short term, yes, but the trend will be positive in the medium and long-term.”
