In March 2018, 9,271 mercantile companies were created in Spain

According to the last figures published by ICEX, in March, 9,271 mercantile companies were created in Spain, 12.1% less than in the same month of 2017. The subscribed capital for their constitution exceeded 466 million euros, with an annual increase of 19.3%. The average subscribed capital (50,366 euros) increased by 35.7%.

On the other hand, 2,708 mercantile companies increased their capital in March, 12.2% less than in the same month of 2017. The capital subscribed in the increases recorded a 32.0%

decrease and exceeded 2,373 million euros. The average capital subscribed in these transactions (876,552 euros) decreased 22.5% in annual rate.

The number of mercantile companies dissolved in March was 1,752, which is 12.0% less than in the same month of 2017. Of these, 79.8% did so voluntarily, 8.0% due to mergers and the remaining 12.2% for other reasons.

Monthly rate

In order to contribute to the analysis and interpretation of the data, the following chart shows the variation of the number of mercantile companies created and dissolved between February and March in the last five years. In 2018, the monthly variation of the number of companies created was 6.0% and that of the companies dissolved was -23.3%.

Results by main economic activity

21.3% of the mercantile companies created in March corresponded to Trade and 14.6% to Construction. Regarding the dissolved companies, 23.3% corresponded to Trade and 14.7% to Construction.

The activity with the greatest net balance of mercantile companies created in March 2018 was Trade, with 1,564. Conversely, Information and communications presented the lowest net balance, with 254 companies created.

The economic activity with the greatest subscribed capital of mercantile companies created was Real estate, financial and insurance activities, with 336.37 million euros. In turn, Information and communications presented the lowest capital subscribed, with 4.72 million euros.

Results by Autonomous Community

The Autonomous Communities with the greatest number of mercantile companies created in March were Comunidad de Madrid (2,004), Cataluña (1,830) and Andalucía (1,513). Conversely, those with the lowest number of mercantile companies created were La Rioja (32), Cantabria (49) and Comunidad Foral de Navarra (88).

Regarding the dissolved mercantile companies, the ones that registered the highest number were Comunidad de Madrid (525), Andalucía (283) and Cataluña (154). In turn, those with the lowest number of dissolutions were Comunidad Foral de Navarra (7), La Rioja (13) and Extremadura (22).

In terms of annual variation of the number of mercantile companies created, País Vasco (3,2%) and Extremadura (1,9%) were the only Autonomous Communities with a positive growth rate.

In turn, Región de Murcia (-33.2%), La Rioja (-31.9%) and Illes Balears (-25.9%) presented the greatest decreases. Regarding the mercantile companies dissolved, the highest rates were recorded in La Rioja (30.0%), Castilla–La Mancha (25.7%) and Cantabria (8.3%). In turn, those that recorded the greatest decreases were Extremadura (-33.3%), Aragón (- 32.8%) and Comunitat Valenciana (-24.3%).

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