In Spain the number of newly established Commercial companies fell slightly in September. According to preliminary data published on 12 November by the Spanish statistics office, 9,174 companies were formed. That was 0.9 per cent fewer than in September 2025. The number of companies dissolved fell by 11.2 per cent to 1,406 over the same comparison period.
The decline in formations was therefore significantly smaller than the decline in dissolutions. The two figures describe different processes in the Trade register. Their relationship does not provide a direct basis for conclusions about the economic situation of individual companies or employment trends.
The capital subscribed at formation amounted to around €370.6 million, 9.8 per cent below the figure for the same month the previous year. The average per new company was €40,400, a fall of 9.0 per cent. Thus, alongside the number of formations, the average subscribed capital also decreased.
Among existing companies, the number of capital increases and their financial volume followed different trends. In September, 1,866 companies increased their capital, 5.1 per cent fewer than a year earlier. The total capital subscribed for this purpose, however, rose by 8.5 per cent to around €1.08 billion.
Of the 1,406 companies dissolved, 1,141 were voluntary dissolutions. This represented 81.1 per cent. A further 156 dissolutions resulted from mergers and 109 from other reasons. The dissolution statistics should therefore not be equated with insolvency statistics. Mergers in particular can lead to a company being dissolved without its previous economic activity ceasing entirely.
The largest share of new companies, at 17.8 per cent, belonged to the combined group of real estate, financial and insurance activities. Trade accounted for 15.9 per cent. Among dissolved companies, trade had the largest share, at 19.8 per cent, followed by construction at 14.9 per cent. These shares describe the composition of each group, not the risk of dissolution in an industry.
Regional trends varied. The strongest increase in formations compared with September 2025 was recorded by Navarre at 37.9 per cent, followed by Cantabria at 18.6 per cent and La Rioja at 17.0 per cent. The largest declines were recorded by Asturias at 16.0 per cent, Canary Islands at 14.7 per cent and the region of Murcia at 13.0 per cent.
The monthly statistics are based on data from the central commercial register. The statistics office intends to revise the preliminary data for 2026 when results for the corresponding period in 2027 are published.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).