For centuries, Barcelona has remained a strategic hub for international business and travel. Its geographic location is the preferred corridor for inter-European trade and one of the Mediterranean’s busiest port cities. However, with the crisis many of Spain’s domestic companies have moved out of Barcelona, preferring to centralize their operations in the financial center of Madrid. This has created an amazing opportunity for international corporations to open offices in Barcelona and take advantage of everything this global city has to offer. In just the last few months, companies like Booking.com and King.com have realized the untapped potential this city holds and have opened fast-growing offices in Barcelona.
Here are 5 reasons your company should consider opening Barcelona offices as well:
- Access to Talent – at a discount. Barcelona is home to 3 internationally ranked MBA programs, top-tier engineering universities, and dominating biotech and tourism industries. The level of affordable talent in this city is unmatched in Europe and most graduates would love to stay in Barcelona if they could find positions that offered personal growth potential.
- Low Cost of Living. By the numbers, it’s less expensive to live in Barcelona than any other major European capital (Athens is slightly cheaper). Keeping the COLA (Cost of Living Average) in mind when opening a new branch office or country subsidiary is imperative. A lower COLA allows you to keep overhead at a minimum with lower salaries and rent, and attract international talent as the cost of maintaining their current lifestyle when they move to Barcelona will be much less than where they currently reside.
- Lifestyle – a happy employee is a productive employee. While some fear that the Barcelona lifestyle may offer too many distractions for employees to remain focused, research shows that a healthy lifestyle outside of work is best to promote long-term employee satisfaction.
- International Appeal. Barcelona holds a very strategic position to access global markets. Geographically, Barcelona is the strategic thoroughfare for Iberian trade routes and can serve an entrance point the North African economies. Furthermore, with daily direct flights to the US, Middle East, and Asia, Barcelona is in a great centralized location. The city itself is a giant mix of international culture and languages. If you’re a European corporation looking to enter the Latin America market, Barcelona is your checkpoint for Spanish speaking professionals and LATAM expats brimming with expertise in their home market.
- Barcelona Activa. For more than 25 years, Barcelona Activa has provided landing services for international professionals and corporations seeking to conduct business in Barcelona. Activa supports enterprises by walking them through a fast-track process to get up and running in Barcelona in the shortest possible timeframe. With more than 200 professionals trained in various industries and specialties, Barcelona Activa can help you locate office space, navigate bureaucratic processes and foster local relationships to set your business up for success.
Last but not least, having a Barcelona office makes your company more attractive to your current and future employees that now have the opportunity to work internationally. After all, who doesn’t want an excuse to come to Barcelona a few times per year to “check on the business”?
