Catalonia ranks third in Spain for British investment with €111m in first half of 2024

Catalonia is the third autonomous community in Spain receiving the most British investment, with €111 million in the first half of 2024.

Madrid stands out as the main recipient of British investment, concentrating €1.64 billion, 65% of the total.

The Spanish capital is followed by Asturias, with €486 million. After Catalonia, in the third spot, is Castilla-La Mancha with €92 million, the Valencian Community with €50 million, and Aragon with €35 million.

These are the findings of the 'IX Barometer on Climate and Prospects for British Investment in Spain' by the British Chamber of Commerce in Spain, prepared by Analistas Financieros Internacionales (AFI), presented on Wednesday in Barcelona.

The report has found that since 1993, Catalonia has accumulated €9.8 billion in investment, 10% of the total for Spain, especially in wholesale trade and real estate.

Across Spain, British investment reached €2.5 billion by June, nearly two-thirds of the total for the previous year.

Regarding sectors, British investment in Spain has primarily focused on wholesale trade and telecommunications. These two sectors account for 40% of British investment in Spain since 1993.

In Madrid, investment has grown particularly in technical services for architecture and engineering, while in Catalonia, it has done so in real estate activities.

Currently, the United Kingdom has €57.65 billion invested in Spain, 13.8% of the country’s total investment, and is the third-largest investor in the State, surpassed only by the United States and France.

Directly or indirectly, the British country creates 260,000 jobs in Spain, of which 43,000 are in Catalonia.

“UK companies find a reliable partner in Catalonia,” said Lloyd Milen, British Consul in Catalonia, during the report’s presentation.

Milen celebrated that the United Kingdom is the third-largest investing country in Catalonia by investment volume and the fourth in the number of projects, emphasizing that British products find a “solid market” in Catalonia and that exports, especially machinery and cars, are “highly valued” there.

Miquel Nadal, director of the Cercle d’Economia, stated that the results show that the presence of British companies continues to be “very important,” despite Brexit creating the perception that they were moving away from Europe.

Similarly, Isabel Perea, president of the British Chamber of Commerce in Spain, described the report as “very positive,” highlighting that Spain remains an attractive country for foreign investors.

The report also reveals that two out of three British companies plan to increase their investment in Spain by 5% to 10% next year.