Alcalá de Henares hosted a public holiday, yet the engines at the Escribano Mechanical & Engineering headquarters kept humming at full tilt. Records from the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) show that the company disclosed a strategic move: acquiring a 3% stake in Indra. The ambition is to climb to a 10% holding within the next year, a stake currently valued around 200 million euros. Ángel Escribano explains that the objective is to reinforce Spain’s defense industry. If the firm aims to sit across the table with European leaders like Thales or Rheinmetall, it must invest and participate at a meaningful scale, he notes. A notary report later confirmed the CEO’s statements, and the president of the group is Ángel’s brother, Javier Escribano, with both brothers owning the entire equity of the defense-focused enterprise.
Today, Indra’s major shares are concentrated in the hands of SEPI, which holds 28 percent, with Sapa Placencia controlling up to 8 percent. Escribano’s stake sits at 3 percent. The company traces its roots to the late 1980s, founded by the father of Ángel and Javier Escribano. “Back then, the board was basically the kitchen table,” recalls the president. The firm’s transition to a formal corporate structure accelerated in 2015, a move that included auditing a major advisor and establishing a nine-person board consisting of Ángel, his brother, and other directors from the group, he adds.
The guidance for the enterprise is clear: to invest in and expand its footprint within the defense sector. Ángel Escribano emphasizes that Indra’s operation marks a peak in the company’s professional journey and represents one of its largest investments. The plan is not to undertake new moves that would be handed to the next generation; instead, the founders foresee their two nephews taking the helm in four to five years after finishing their studies. The entry into Indra was financed with personal capital, totaling about 65 million euros. “We keep things simple and traditional,” Ángel says. “While other sectors could be more profitable in the short term, we want to stay within what we know well.”
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Since 2010, Escribano has prioritized robust investments in research and development and in strengthening industrial capabilities. Today the group employs around 700 people, the majority engineers, operates five buildings in Alcalá de Henares, and plans a future expansion to Córdoba to be near the Army’s logistics base being developed. In 2022 the company reported billing of about 90 million euros.
The firm develops a wide range of defense products, from electronic boards to infrared cameras, from chargers to remote weapon controls. All of these processes occur within the company’s own facilities, with full control over production and quality. With this approach, Escribano aims to push turnover toward 250 million euros by 2026 and has contracts worth up to 700 million euros committed over the next six years, signaling ambitious growth for the group within the defense sector.