BaRCElona annUal REpoRt
Entrepreneurs come together
While Barcelona´s M&A market is
picking up as smaller companies
join forces in order to enter
international markets, it has also
fuelled the belief that many of
the city´s businesses lack the
depth of resources needed to be
competitive in the long term. For
Barcelona´s lawyers, while M&A
deals present more opportunities,
clients are negotiating hard on
fees and showing an increasing
preference for law firm tenders.
flourish and are always vulnerable to
fluctuations in the economy.
So what does this all mean for the
city´s legal sector? On one hand there
are considerable opportunities for
Barcelona´s law firms. New investors
are looking to make acquisitions in
the sector and are now turning their
attention to assets that are performing
well, rather than just those in distress,
lawyers say. Meanwhile, there are
Catalonian companies who need advice
on strengthening their international
presence. Tax lawyers also expect an
increase in instructions in relation to
contentious matters as the authorities – in
their search for extra financial resources
– increase the number of tax inspections
that are carried out.
Law firm tenders are an increasing
trend, according to lawyers. While clients´
On the face of it, things are looking up
demands for long term strategic advice
for the Barcelona economy. Lawyers
means law firms are increasingly being
talk of confidence having been restored
forced to reorganise themselves along
and a greater appetite on the part of
industry sector lines. There is also a
clients to invest in the city – in fact, some
greater resistance among clients to being
say that investors are diverting their
attention away from Madrid and towards charged hourly rates.
Miquel Montañá, Partner at Clifford
Barcelona. There is a feeling in some
quarters that M&A activity is picking up, Chance, says confidence is returning to
the Barcelona market. “The confidence
particularly in the real estate, food and
health sectors. However, it is worth noting factor has been restored, but it´s
difficult to highlight specific sectors,”
that lawyers say the potential acquirers
are generally foreign investors rather than he says. “Spain is pretty competitive.”
That said, Montañá adds that some
Spanish clients. Real estate is proving
sectors are continuing to struggle. “The
to be particularly attractive especially
pharmaceutical and automotive sectors
to funds from the US, China, India and
Mexico. Lawyers also speak of Barcelona´s are having a hard time,” he says. Joan
Roca Sagarra, Managing Partner of Roca
reputation as a centre of innovation, and
Junyent Abogados, says the economy has
say that there is a thriving community of
been flat for the last two years, but now
entrepreneurs driving the city forward.
But it would be a little simplistic to say Barcelona is attracting investment because
that Barcelona is a city that has completely it has become a “good gate through
which investors can enter the Spanish
recovered from the economic problems
market”. He adds: “It is an innovative
which have plagued it – and indeed the
city, there are a lot of technical or biomed
whole of Spain – in recent years. There is
start-ups.” Antonio Herrera, Partner at
a commonly held view among lawyers
Uría Menéndez, says that Barcelona´s
that the pharmaceutical industry, for
example, is struggling. In addition, while entrepreneurial culture means it is at the
forefront of industrial development and
some talk of recovery in the tourism
that consequently he expects to see more
sector, others argue that it is an industry
that is too fragile to have the hopes of the transactions taking place.
Daniel Marín, Managing Partner of
city´s economic resurgence resting on
the Barcelona office of Gómez-Acebo &
it. Meanwhile, some lawyers claim that
while Barcelona´s reputation as a place of Pombo, says what is new is that some
clients are making acquisitions in the
innovation and entrepreneurial spirit is
city. “Clients had been investing in
often held up as a source of great pride,
Madrid, but now they´re investing in
the downside is that it is also the city´s
Barcelona,” he says. “We´re also seeing
downfall. The argument put forward
clients divesting non-core assets as well
by the doubters is that Barcelona´s
as international deals involving foreign
companies are too small to really
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March / April 2014 • IBERIAN LAWYER • 39