Business

|   Business & economic news from Barcelona and Catalonia  

Cirque du Soleil and PortAventura might work together again after a successful summer show

ACN

Cirque du Soleil and PortAventura theme park have announced that they are pleased with the success of the show 'Kooza', which the Canadian circus company has been performing at the Catalan resort every day this summer, and will consider future collaborations together. PortAventura was the first resort in Europe to host a show from this world-famous entertainment company. From July the 11th this year up until last Saturday, more than 100,000 people attended the show performed by Cirque du Soleil. As a result of this success, the two companies have agreed to meet again soon to talk about future collaborations. For PortAventura, with nearly 4 million attendees per year, this cooperation is a step towards consolidating its overriding strategy of attracting more international brands and consolidating its position as one of the best family entertainment destinations in Europe.

September 4, 2014 09:00 PM

Registered unemployment drops 6.6% in annual terms in Catalonia but grows 0.6% on last month

ACN

At the end of August there were 571,616 people registered as unemployed in Catalonia, which represents 40,042 fewer job-seekers than the previous year, a 6.55% reduction, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security. This is the 14th consecutive month registering unemployment drops in annual terms. However, coinciding with the end of the summer holiday's peak, the number of job-seekers increased in monthly terms. At the end of August there were 3,385 more unemployed people than at the end of July, which represents a 0.6% growth. In the whole of Spain registered unemployment increased by 8,070 individuals, reaching 4,427,930 people. At the same time, the affiliation to Social Security has decreased for the first time in 6 months, dropping by 97,582 people.

September 2, 2014 08:16 PM

CaixaBank buys Barclays' Spanish unit for €800 million, with estimated restructuring costs of €300 million

ACN

Barcelona-based Caixabank has come to an agreement with Barclays Bank PLC to buy Barclays Bank SAU for €800 million. The purchase of Spain's banking business of the UK company includes 550,000 new customers, a network of 270 branches and nearly 2,400 employees. However, the agreement excludes Barclay's Spanish investment banking business and Barclaycard, which will remain in the hands of the British entity. It is expected that the transaction will become effective later this year. The restructuring process following this acquisition will cost CaixaBank an estimated €300 million. However, the elimination of duplications is expected to save the Catalan bank €70 billion gross in 2015, €80 billion in 2016 and €150 million a year from then on.

September 1, 2014 09:37 PM

Housing prices rise again in annual terms after 6 years of continuously dropping in Spain

ACN

The real estate market has stopped its downward trend and has started its recovery in Spain. Housing prices already registered an increase in September of 2013 in quarterly terms, but now the prices grew for the first time in annual terms, a phenomenon not registered for the last 6 years. By the end of June 2014, prices grew by 0.97% compared to June 2013. In quarterly terms, housing prices increased by 1.53% compared to March 2014. Since the start of the economic crisis in 2008, housing prices have plummeted an average of 32% throughout Spain, with prices equivalent to those registered in 2003. In the second quarter of 2014, Catalonia was the Autonomous Community with the second highest number of housing sales, registering 11,980 operations.

September 1, 2014 07:17 PM

30,000 cardiologists arrive in Barcelona for the world's largest heart specialist conference

ACN

This Saturday the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the most world's most important heart specialist conference, will begin in Barcelona. Up until the 3rd of September the Catalan capital will host 30,000 cardiology specialist participants in a summit where 4,500 new studies will be presented about the latest discoveries in vascular diseases, which cause 47% of deaths in Europe. The Catalan Minister for Health, Boi Ruiz, said that efforts should be concentrated on reducing the "inequality" between different areas of the world which register mortality rates that are "unreasonably different".

August 29, 2014 07:26 PM

Catalonia leads the way in foreign tourist spending between January and July in Spain

ACN

Catalonia is at the forefront of international tourist spending within Spain in the first seven months of this year with €8.151million, a 5.3% increase over the same period of last year, according to the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. In Spain as a whole, international tourists spent €34.497 million between January and July, a 7% interannual increase from 2013 and the highest ever figure recorded in this period. Catalonia also accounted for 23.6% of the total figure for Spain during this period of the year.

August 27, 2014 09:28 PM

Barcelona-based fashion company Desigual increases profit by 50% in the first half of the year

ACN

The Catalan urban clothing firm Desigual posted a €66.4 million profit in the first six months of 2014, which represents a 47.9% increase on the same period of the previous year. The fashion company registered a turnover of €452.9 million between January and June, 23.1% higher than the figure registered in 2013 during the same period. "The results confirm the company's growth, strength and good financial position", stated Desigual on Tuesday via a press release. The firm led by Thomas Meyer underlined that during the last few years they have been focusing on their international expansion. Following this strategy, the Catalan brand opened 45 new shops during the first half of 2014, entering into new markets in Latin America (Peru and Brazil) and increasing its presence in Asia (in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore).

August 26, 2014 06:17 PM

Startupbootcamp accelerator lands in Barcelona to develop Internet of Things business projects

ACN

Barcelona will host one of the main and most innovative business accelerators in the world, Startupbootcamp, which is winner of Europe's 2014 Best Startup Accelerator and specialises in new technologies. The German company will select 10 start-ups from all around the world to help them develop their projects specifically related to the so-called Internet of Things (IoT), which is the technology connecting electronic devices to each other in order to improve quality of life. Startupbootcamp will set up its office in the 22@ technological and business district, which occupies the revamped Poblenou old industrial neighbourhood. During 3 months it will select the projects from the Media TIC building, where the Mobile World Capital has its main offices, which is the foundation that aims to transform Barcelona into the capital for the world's cell-phone and mobility industry, after organising the Mobile World Congress each year.

August 19, 2014 08:29 PM

Catalan exports in June grow by 0.1% while Spain's drop by 1.2%

ACN

Exports from Catalonia between January and June 2014 reached €29,769.5 million, which represent a 1.8% increase compared to the same period last year. They also represented 24.9% of Spain's total exports, which reached €119,265 million, a 0.5% growth on the previous year's figures. However, despite growing at a slower pace, Spain's total exports posted a new historical record since comparable figures started to be registered in 1971. Considering just the June figures, the export sector seemed to be affected by the negative economic figures from France and Germany. Catalan exports only grew by 0.1% in June compared to the figures registered in the same month of 2013, while Spain's total exports during the first sixth months of the year decreased by 1.2%.

August 19, 2014 08:18 PM

Catalan inflation rate fell this July, placing the interannual CPI at 0%

ACN

In Catalonia prices fell by 8 decimal points this July compared to a year ago and interanual inflation rate stood at 0%, according to the Spain's Statistical Institute (INE). This is a contrast to Spain as a whole, where prices fell by 9 decimal points in July, placing the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in negative figures, as low as -0.3%. This level of negative inflation has not been recorded in the country since September 2010, when the CPI lay at -0.7%. This contrast in inflation rates indicates that the Catalan CPI is able to resist falling into negative numbers, despite what has happened to Spain's economy this year, which already registered negative CPI statistics this March. 

August 13, 2014 09:52 PM

Barcelona El Prat airport exceeds 4 million passengers in one month for the first time ever

ACN

This July, Barcelona El Prat Airport broke a new record by surpassing 4 million passengers in one month. 4,027,585 travellers passed through the main Catalan airport last month, an increase of 4.9% from July 2013. This makes Barcelona's airport the second busiest in Spain, only just beaten by Madrid Barajas Airport, which registered 37,831 passengers more than El Prat this month, a total of 4,065,416. There has also been good news from Girona Costa Brava Airport, which reported a 5.5% growth in aeroplane capacity utilisation this year, despite the falling passengers numbers overall. The amount of airport passengers in Spain as a whole has now increased for the 9th consecutive month and represents a 4% rise from this time last year. 

August 8, 2014 08:58 PM

Catalan Grup Peralada is pre-accepted in the tender to win a BCN World mega-casino license

ACN

The Catalan Government has issued a provisional list of the companies that might be granted a license to build and run one of the 6 mega-casinos of the $6 billion BCN World resort to be developed next to Port-Aventura theme park. The surprises are that Catalonia-based Grup Peralada -which runs casinos, luxury hotels, an international performing arts festival and vineyards- is one of the contenders and that the offer with Caesars Entertainment has not been initially accepted. Veremonte, which promotes the entire BCN World project, announced that it had initially presented a total of 3 offers to get 3 casino licenses in association with Melco, Hard Rock and Caesars Entertainment. In addition, there were two non-disclosed additional bids: one from Grup Peralada and one presented by Melco by itself. The Veremonte-Hard Rock and Veremonte-Melco offers have also been pre-accepted, but a third offer from Veremonte and Caesars would be out of the tender, although an appeal might be filed.

August 6, 2014 08:40 PM

Catalonia's economic recovery gets stronger as GDP grew by 0.6% between April and June 2014

ACN

The Catalan economy grew by 1.3% from July 2013 to June 2014. However, the economic recovery has particularly sped up and got stronger over the second quarter of 2014, when it grew by 0.6% in quarterly terms, according to data released on Wednesday by the Catalan Statistics Institute (Idescat) and the Catalan Finance Ministry. The GDP growth between April and June was higher than the one registered during the first quarter of the year, set at 0.4%. With the 0.6% registered at the end of June, Catalonia has achieved 5 consecutive quarters of posting positive figures, leaving the recession more than a year behind. Regarding economic sectors, services have led the economic recovery, posting a 1.8% annual growth at the end of the first half of 2014.

August 6, 2014 07:14 PM

Registered unemployment in Catalonia falls by 1,983 people in July and equals rates from December 2010

ACN

568,231 unemployed people were registered with the Catalan Public Employment Service (SOC) this July, 1,983 less than in June, which represents a 0.35% reduction. This is 42,198 less unemployed people than in July 2013, or a 6.91% annual reduction. All of the Catalan provinces have seen a drop in unemployment over the past month. In addition, there has been an increase of Catalans registering with Social Security, a 12% rise in hiring rate and nearly all sectors in Catalonia are creating new jobs. In Spain as a whole the number of people looking for work stands at 4,419,860 people, 281,478 fewer than the previous year, which represents a 5.94% annual drop. 

August 4, 2014 09:21 PM

Catalan economic recovery accelerates even faster in the second quarter and posts a 1.3% annual growth

ACN

The pace of the Catalan economic recovery is "accelerating" according to Miquel Valls, the President of Barcelona's Chamber of Commerce. This is especially apparent in the second quarter of this year, which saw the interannual GDP grow by 1.3%, compared to the 0.4% growth registered in the first quarter of 2014. This rapid acceleration will oblige the Chamber to review in its autumn report its economic forecasts for Catalonia in 2014 and 2015, which are currently set at 1.2% and 1.5% respectively. Although there is still uncertainty to exactly what shape the new economic climate will take, the new predictions of growth could be above 1.5% for 2014 and 2% in 2015, indicated Valls.

August 1, 2014 09:01 PM

Read the latest updates and breaking news on business and economic matters from Barcelona and Catalonia here. Keep up to date with how the Catalan economy is performing, inflation levels, employment and unemployment, major business mergers, important company announcements, and the latest on Catalonia’s biggest enterprises such as Vueling, Wallbox, Grifols, Mango, and plenty of start-ups and international firms based here too.