One of the points in the agreement between PSOE and Junts regarding the appointment of Pedro Sánchez notes that the Catalonia-based flight of companies suffered greatly, especially in 2017, after the referendum declared illegal by the Constitutional Court. The document states: “A plan to facilitate and encourage a return to Catalonia for headquarters that moved to other regions in recent years.”
Since phase 1-O, about 5,200 offices have left Catalonia and roughly 2,500 have established themselves elsewhere. In the same period, the Community of Madrid followed the opposite path; 1,749 offices showed a positive balance. During this period, 8,037 arrived and 6,288 left Madrid.
What mechanism facilitated the relocation of offices in 2017?
A real situation emerged with the October 1, 2017 referendum. There was a notable exodus of company headquarters from Catalonia. The large movement lasted through October and November that year. Among these cases, the banks that belonged to La Caixa pressed the then Minister of Economy, Luis de Guindos, for a legal change to ease the move. A royal decree approved by the government of Mariano Rajoy (PP) allowed a company to change its residence quickly so that the board of directors could decide without the need for a shareholders meeting, even if the company’s charter did not provide otherwise. CaixaBank moved its headquarters to Valencia and Bank Sabadell to Alicante.
Which companies initiated the change of residence?
It all began on October 4, 2017, when the biotechnology company founded by Carlos Buesa announced it would relocate its headquarters to Madrid. This company was followed by Bank Sabadell, which on October 5 announced the move to Alicante, taking advantage of the former CAM headquarters. Like CaixaBank, the firm chose to establish its headquarters in the former Banco de Valencia area and set itself up in Valencia after taking over Bankia. On October 7, CaixaBank Foundation and the company it invests in, Criteria, announced they would move their headquarters to Palma de Mallorca, and on the same day Agbar moved to Madrid, though September 2018 saw its parent SGAB return its headquarters to Barcelona. Abertis, Cellnex, and Colonial also preferred Madrid. Advertisements continued, with Gaesco, SegurCaixa Adeslas, and VidaCaixa following suit; on October 9, Catalana Occident (today Occident), Planeta, Indukern, and Edreams all chose Madrid; Idilia Foods (Cola-Cao, Nocilla) picked Valencia on October 11. The relocation wave persisted with Iberia, Apps to Madrid; Codorniu moved to Haro in La Rioja; Bruixa d’Or, to Pamplona; Rooster Group to El Carpio in Córdoba; and Ordesa Laboratories to Huesca; Cementos Molins to Madrid, among other cases, sometimes amid family shareholder disputes.
What happened next?
The worst year was 2017. Currently, the balance between offices leaving and entering the community continues to favor departures. So far this year, 679 companies have moved out by September 30, while registrars’ data show 571 moving into Catalonia, creating a negative balance of 108. In total for the same period, the Community of Madrid recorded a net increase of 17 venues, with 1,293 arrivals and 1,276 departures by September 30, despite a slowdown in gains in the second quarter. According to Trade Registry data, more than 5,200 offices have left since 2017, the year of the 1-O referendum, while more than 2,500 chose to locate in Catalonia during this period. In Madrid, the opposite trend prevailed, except last year when the change resumed in the second quarter, showing 376 departures and 373 arrivals in the last quarter. The capital region posted a surplus of 1,749 registered offices, and the data show 8,037 arrivals to date and 6,288 departures. (Source attribution: Catalan Newspaper)
Have attempts been made to attract those who will move?
Initially, the current president Pere Aragones considered taking targeted actions toward companies that shifted headquarters, but those ideas were later rejected. The Generalitat argued that such moves could be discriminatory toward Catalan-headquartered firms. For example, two Ibex companies, Fluidra and Grifols, among many others, chose to stay. Still, this is an issue that continues to worry the business world, as it affects corporate decision-making and the location of governing bodies. The new president of the Barcelona Chamber, Josep Santacreu, believes it is necessary to draw the attention of companies relocating their headquarters. Josep Sánchez Llibre, president of Foment del Treball, recently stated during the presentation of honorary awards that the focus should be on an economic balance for companies that changed headquarters after the October 1 referendum and aimed to return to Catalonia. He reiterated his stance after last year’s elections, declaring that “this is the place to be.” The discussion remains ongoing and contested.