In the current period of uncertainty in the world markets, some large international companies from the field of alternative investments have decided to double the volume of their assets in Spain. The American Castle lake Foundation, formerly TPG Credit, announced in the summer of 2022 that it had chosen Madrid as the location of its new office, which would work for the whole of southern Europe.
New headquarters were opened in Spain by AEDAS Homes, as well as Socimi Milleniums. Representatives of the companies point out that Spain, with its economy, is a strategically important location for the development of international business in southern Europe.
A new office of the German KanAm Grund foundation has also opened in Madrid. Jorge Regules from Macquarie was appointed head of the fund's development department in southern Europe. The main interest of the company will be the Spanish real estate market, which has been gaining increasing investment potential in the last two years.
The new international players in Spain should include the Dutch investment fund Waterland Private Equity, which has established its headquarters in Barcelona. The Spanish branch of the organization was headed by David Torralba. The fund will focus on investments in elite segments of the country's real estate market — objects worth from 50 to 300 million euros.
Torralba comments on the company's decision: "We believe that our flexible investment strategy, focused on both the purchase of existing assets and the creation of new ones, will provide an excellent opportunity to support Spanish entrepreneurs in their desire to expand".
The Israeli investment management company Wind in Capital, specializing in renewable energy sources, also entered the Spanish market this year. Currently, Wind in is developing six energy projects in the country, collectively capable of generating 300 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
The new office of the company is located in Barcelona. Nadav Saad, managing partner of the company, confirms that its goal is "to cover a wide range of investment assets to create a diversified portfolio in the field of renewable energy technologies".
In general, according to the company Ideas, from January to August 2022, about a dozen international funds opened local offices in Spain. The value of assets under their management reached $40 billion. Half of these companies are venture capital seeking to invest their liquid funds in Spanish companies with a high potential to become "unicorns". The latter are startup companies valued above $1 billion.
Two investment funds intend to invest in assets from the renewable energy sector, while others maintain a multilateral development strategy. Despite the fact that Madrid and Barcelona have attracted the attention of these companies so far, there is a great chance that Malaga will become the next business hub for international organizations.
The process of migration of foreign capital to Spain has been going on for several years. So, in March last year, Citi International Bank announced the opening of a European office in Spain with 30 employees ranging from analyst to vice president. The next major player in the market was the investment consulting company GP Bullhound. GP has formed an office and a technology center in the capital of Andalusia with the expectation of 50 specialists in design and software creation.
Sectors of the Spanish economy such as renewable energy and high technology will continue to attract international investment in the coming years. The very influx of new companies into the market will shake up Spanish business. This will allow the country to start a new development cycle, which will lead to clearing the market of unstable credit obligations, toxic debts, and also create more incentives for existing and new businesses to start practicing new and effective development strategies.