Business formation declined by 6.7% in June when compared with the same month in 2023. A total of 9,528 mercantile entities were formed. At the same time, the number of closures decreased, with 5.9% fewer companies shutting down in June than in the previous year. Additionally, the capital required to establish companies rose during the period.
From a territorial perspective, Castilla y León led in new company formations over the past year, showing a 25% year-on-year increase. Murcia followed with a 23.8% rise, while Cantabria registered a 19% increase. Asturias stood at 13%, and the Basque Country posted substantial gains as well, around 5.3%; Aragón and Galicia grew more modestly at roughly 5% and 0.5%, respectively.
Across the autonomous communities, more than half reported a year‑on‑year decline in newly created mercantile companies. La Rioja led the pack with a 35.1% drop compared with the prior year. Extremadura followed with a 28.9% decrease, and Andalucía trailed with an 11.8% reduction. Valencian Community fell by 9.6%, Catalonia by 9.5%, Navarra by 8.9%, Madrid by 8.7%, Balearic Islands by 6.4%, Canary Islands by 3.5%, and Castilla-La Mancha by 0.7% (INE data).
More capital is needed
The subscribed capital for new company formations rose by 27.5% year over year, while the average capital increased by 36.6%. In contrast, 2,168 companies expanded their capital, which is 9% fewer than in 2023, according to the latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
In terms of where the capital is concentrated, the real estate, financial, and insurance sectors led with a total capital of 238.59 million euros. By comparison, the information and communications sector reported the smallest capital, at 2.63 million euros.
By sectors
Three sectors stood out for mercantile company formation. Leading the way is commerce, which accounts for 18.1% of all newly formed companies. The second-highest share belongs to real estate, finance, and insurance activities, representing 16.9%. Third comes construction, comprising 13.7% of the total. Conversely, only 2.1% of new companies fall under transportation and storage, and 2.5% are in fishing and agriculture.
The same sectors that excel in formation also account for most dissolutions. Commerce tops the list with 22% of closures. Construction follows with 15.7%, and the real estate, financial, and insurance activities sector shows a 12.6% dissolution rate. Agriculture and fishing account for just 1.3%. Transportation and storage fall by 3.1%, and information and communications closures reach 3.8% (INE data).