Barcelona annual report
Firms in Barcelona have an opportunity to grow with
their entrepreneurial clients
The city’s dynamic economy is cultivating a wave of new technology, which law firms can learn from
and consequently start doing business differently
Barcelona has a very innovative
economy that is ushering in new
technology and this gives law firms a
great opportunity to learn from, and
grow with, entrepreneurial clients,
says Toni de Weest Prat, managing
partner of Andersen Tax & Legal in
Barcelona.
“Taking into account the current
environment, the biggest opportunity
for law firms is the fact that we are in
a very dynamic economy which means
we can do things in a way that is a little
different to how they have been done
in the past,” De Weest Prat explains.
“We are seeing a market that is very
active in start-ups and new technology,
and which allows lawyers to invest in
people and technology and learn from
our clients and at the same time grow
with them, and that is a little different
to other parts of Spain,” he says.
world” as well as determining how much
investment they will make in technology
and people, and how they will approach
such investment in terms of both money
and time. He adds: “Barcelona is sexy,
it’s a city that is connected to the world
and it’s a gateway to the southern
European market.”
Watch at Iberian Lawyer TV
`Sexy´ Barcelona
De Weest Prat adds that the challenge
for law firms is adapting to this “new
Barcelona offering ‘more opportunities for investors’
than Madrid
Barcelona currently offers more
opportunities for foreign investors
than Madrid, according to Agustín
Bou, partner at Jausas.
“These cities have always been
viewed as complementary but
different,” Bou explains. “Madrid is a
place where all the financial acti vity
takes place, while in Barcelona
there is more activity in industrial
services, tourism and telecoms.”
He adds: “However, as the focus of
financial markets in Madrid is on big
enterprises, there are not so many
business opportunities, whereas in
Barcelona, there are a large amount
of SMEs [small and medium-sized
enterprises].”
Though SME deals are worth far
less than the major transactions,
this issue is offset by the fact
that there are hundreds of such
deals, according to Bou. “We have
international funds who tell us
www.iberianlawyer.com
that they are based in Madrid but spend
the whole week travelling to Barcelona
because that is where they are having the
success,” he says. “Much of the economy
in the Catalan region is international,
with more than half of investors not
Spaniards.”
In addition, Barcelona is also enjoying a
revival in the real estate sector, though Bou
argues that a “small real estate bubble is
coming back”. He adds that there has also
been an increase in M&A activity. Bou says
there are three distinct types of foreign
investor currently interested in Barcelona.
“The first type are companies related to
IT businesses; the second are investment
funds looking for a range of different
opportunities, including distressed deals;
and the third type are industrial investors
– typically Chinese and Indian – trying to
grow their business by buying companies
in the Catalan region.” Barcelona is “back
on the radar” of investments funds, in
particular, Bou adds.
Agustín Bou
March / April 2017 • IBERIAN LAWYER • 45