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A total of 1,544 companies relocated their registered office to another region in Q1 2023, up 30% on the previous quarter, according to the Registered Office Relocations Study published by INFORMA. This is the highest figure since Q2 2021. Hello, how are you?
Following the sharp rise in these corporate relocations in 2017 as a result of the independence referendum, reaching 6,276 cumulatively in 2018, the number fell and stood at 4,503 in 2020. In 2021 it rose again to reach the second-highest figure since 2015, a total of 5,401.
Nathalie Gianese, Director of Research at Informa D&B, states: “In Q1 2023 the number of companies deciding to relocate their registered office to another region increased, up 30% on the last three months of 2022, standing above 1,500. Since 2015, only five quarters have exceeded 1,500 relocations: the last quarter of 2017 and the first two quarters of both 2018 and 2021”.
Madrid is the region that gains the most companies from these relocations in the first quarter, adding 31 companies. Nine other regions recorded a gain over these months: Castile-La Mancha (+26), Galicia (+25), Valencia (+17), Navarre (+16), the Canary Islands (+16), Cantabria (+9), Extremadura (+5), and La Rioja and Asturias (+1 each).
Andalusia, by contrast, is the region with the largest net loss between company arrivals and departures in the first three months of the year, down 58. It is followed by the Basque Country, which lost 29. Castile and León recorded a net loss of 19, Catalonia 16, Murcia 12, Aragon 8, the Balearic Islands 3, and Ceuta and Melilla 1.
Compared with Q1 last year, five regions posted net losses in both periods (Catalonia, Castile and León, Murcia, Ceuta and Melilla) and four shifted from gains to losses (Basque Country, Balearic Islands, Aragon and Andalusia). Four also maintained a positive performance in both periods (Valencia, Madrid, Asturias and Castile-La Mancha), while the rest moved to receiving more companies than they lost.
In Q1 2023, the Madrid region recorded the highest volume of company relocations, with 503 companies arriving and 472 relocating out. Catalonia follows by number of relocations, with 227 arrivals versus 243 departures. A total of 141 companies moved to Andalusia, while 199 decided to leave the region.
Twenty-four per cent of the companies arriving in Madrid originated from Catalonia and 22% from Andalusia. The region most Madrid-based companies choose to relocate to is Catalonia (21%), while 14% opt for Andalusia.
Forty-four per cent of the companies that moved to Catalonia came from Madrid, and 11% arrived from both Valencia and Andalusia. Nearly half of those leaving the region relocated to Madrid and 12% to Valencia.
For the companies leaving Andalusia, Madrid is the most sought-after region. Fifty-five per cent relocate there, although 45% of those Andalusia receives also move from Madrid.
Looking at the turnover represented by these companies that have relocated their registered office, Aragon saw the largest absolute reduction, down €4.029 billion. The Basque Country is next, though at a considerable distance, down €744 million. Valencia lost €357 million, Andalusia €292 million and Madrid €149 million.
Aragon recorded the departure of Stellantis España SL, which moved to Galicia, with turnover exceeding €3.9 billion, the largest company to relocate this quarter. The Basque Country lost TotalEnergies Clientes SA, which moved to Asturias, and Natra Chocolate International SL, which relocated to Madrid, with sales of €470 million and €178 million respectively.
As a result of these changes, Galicia is the region with the best net result, adding €3.861 billion this year. It is followed by Catalonia, which added €1.609 billion, driven by the arrival of six of the 10 companies with the highest sales that relocated this quarter.
The ten companies with the highest turnover that changed their registered office in the first quarter generated sales of nearly €5 billion.
