In March, the number of new trading companies rose by 0.6 percent compared with March of the previous year, reaching 11,071 new firms. This marks the highest figure since April 2008 when just over 11,100 companies were established, according to data released on Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
The March uptick sits after a five month stretch of increases, but it followed a notably stronger rise in February, when company formation grew by 5.1 percent year on year.
In March, over 391 million euros were subscribed to establish the 11,071 companies, while the committed average capital dropped 7.6 percent year over year to 35,369 euros, a level 7.1 percent below the same month in 2021.
Even as new company formations increased in March, firm liquidations also rose, climbing 19.9 percent from the previous year to a total of 2,557. As a result, an average of 82 companies ceased operations every day during March in Spain.
For the first quarter of the year, there was a 3.2 percent increase in new establishments compared with the same period in 2021, totaling up to 28,503. Dissolutions grew by 13.8 percent, with 8,702 companies dissolved during the quarter.
Among the 2,557 companies that closed in March, 69.3 percent did so voluntarily, 21.3 percent closed due to mergers, and the remaining 9.4 percent for other reasons.
The third month of the year saw 19.6 percent of commercial companies focus on commerce, and 16.2 percent on real estate, finance, and insurance activities. Concerning dissolutions by main economic activity, 24.3 percent belonged to industry and energy, while 17.5 percent were in commerce.
The number of commercial companies increasing their capital dropped 2.6 percent in March to 2,865 firms. The subscribed capital in these increases exceeded 2,218 million euros, a 50.2 percent drop from March 2021, while the average capital stood at 774,218 euros, down 48.9 percent.
Madrid and Catalonia lead the ranking
Madrid tops the list of communities with the most new companies in March, with 2,484 establishments, followed by Catalonia with 2,191, and Andalusia with 1,921. The regions with the fewest new companies that month were La Rioja with 45, Navarra with 72, and Cantabria with 83.
In March, seven communities posted more company formations than in March of the previous year, while nine regions registered fewer, and one region, the Basque Country, remained unchanged. The most significant annual increases occurred in Asturias with 56.3 percent, the Balearic Islands with 30.6 percent, and the Canary Islands with 22.7 percent, while the largest declines were seen in La Rioja with 18.2 percent, Navarra with 14.3 percent, and Castilla y Leon with 13.8 percent.
Regarding dissolutions in March, Madrid registered 1,030, Andalusia 376, and Catalonia 219. In contrast, Navarra and La Rioja reported the fewest dissolved commercial companies, with 6 and 13 respectively, while Extremadura recorded 23.
Eight communities saw an increase in closures in March, led by Cantabria with 69.6 percent, Madrid with 68 percent, and Murcia with 65.6 percent. Nine communities, notably Castilla y León, experienced declines, including Navarra and La Rioja.
On a monthly basis from March to February, the creation of new companies rose 19.9 percent, marking the second-largest March increase in less than five years, following the jump in March 2021. By contrast, liquidations rose 5.2 percent from February, the first March increase since 2018 at least.