Last May, 9,570 new companies were created in Spain, the highest figure for a month of May since 2007, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE). This was more than double the number created in May 2020. That said, INE recalls that in May last year the number of companies incorporated, which increased capital or were dissolved “was exceptionally low” due to the declaration of the first state of alarm. In any case, with the year-on-year increase in May, the creation of companies has now clocked up four consecutive months of positive rates. The increase was 3.1% in February, 61.8% in March and almost 300% in April.
On the other hand, and according to INE data, the number of mercantile companies dissolved last May was 1,720, a rise of 256.8% compared to a year earlier. This means that every day in May an average of 55 companies closed in Spain.
On a monthly rate (May over April), company start-ups increased by 3.8%, while business dissolutions fell by 7.5%, their greatest decline in this month in at least five years. Of the mercantile companies created in May, 20.8% were in commerce and 15.6% in real estate, finance and insurance. As for dissolved companies, 20.4% were in commerce and 16.6% in construction.
Some 333.2 million euros were subscribed to set up the 9,570 companies created in May, more than double the amount in the same month in 2020. The average capital subscribed, which stood at 34,822 euros, fell by 8.7% year-on-year.
Of the 1,720 companies which closed last May, 78.8% did so voluntarily, 6.4% by merging with other firms and the remaining 14.8% for other reasons. The number of trading companies that increased their capital in the fifth month of the year increased by 98.4% year-on-year, to 2,518. The capital subscribed in these increases exceeded 1,132.8 million euros, almost double that of May 2020, while the average capital was 449,891 euros, up 0.3% year-on-year.
