Businesses may move for various reasons. They might need more land, aim to expand facilities, or simply want to get closer to a core objective. Sometimes the decision comes from the owner. Personal, tax, or strategic factors can drive relocation. Just as independence movements in Catalonia in 2017 and 2018 influenced the landscape, corporate migration often reflects broad forces rather than a single entity. Mergers, acquisitions, or political instability can also shape these moves. Each year, thousands of Spanish companies relocate their registered offices to different autonomous communities. It is a trade-off where the winners and losers are not always clear at the outset.
The Valencian Community, which recently became the second autonomous region in terms of balance, attracted more entrants than departures. That is, more companies chose to move in than leave, yet this did not automatically translate into a higher overall turnover for the region. In contrast, when larger firms relocate away, the region’s total turnover tends to fall.
This dynamic is documented in a D&B report about the trend of business migration. It shows that last year a total of 5,034 Spanish companies moved from one autonomy to another, a decline of 6.8 percent. The exchange with the community that received the most firms was Madrid, which drew in 332 more companies than those that left. Yet the most significant commercial activity occurred in the Basque Country, which reported 2,280 million euros in billing largely due to the acquisition of Pan American Energy.
From the Valencian Community’s perspective, the late period showed a favorable net balance, with 40 companies contributing to gains during the last cycle. Specifically, up to 491 merchants relocated from other parts of the country, compared with 451 who departed.
Thus, the region shows a positive net balance with Catalonia, Andalusia, Castile-La Mancha, and Galicia, among others. In contrast, it experienced losses to Murcia and, most notably, Madrid, which registered a negative balance of 35 merchants.
Alicante has welcomed 120 companies since 2019 through interprovincial transfers
However, when looking at the volume of turnover associated with these relocations, the Valencian Community did not fare as well. Departing companies generated joint annual sales of 345 million euros, while inbound firms contributed 294 million to turnover, resulting in a net loss of 51 million. In other words, the companies leaving the autonomy tended to be larger than those forming within it.
The Madrid exchange saw 429 million euros of lost turnover, while Andalusia gained 34 companies. Yet the overall movement involved a net production loss exceeding one billion euros. Conversely, the Basque Country emerged as the region earning the most from relocations, with total turnover rising to 1,115 million euros thanks to the transfer of the electricity supplier EDP Clientes accumulated by Asturias.
About 63 municipalities now host more companies than before the pandemic
The balance from 2015 onward shows that the Valencian Community added 516 traders via this route. The biggest influx occurred in 2017 and 2018, coinciding with the Catalan independence process, which led to several relocations to the region, including CaixaBank and Banco Sabadell. These shifts reflect a broader trend in the country where regional dynamics influence business locations and economic activity, shaping the competitive landscape for years to come.