Executive Summary
The year 2023 was one of unexpected resilience of the Spanish economy. Against gloomy forecasts anticipating a recession driven by the rising cost of money, GDP grew **2.5%**, driven by the dynamism of tourism, domestic consumption and growing execution of NextGenerationEU funds. Spain positioned itself as one of the eurozone economies with the best relative performance, an argument that reinforced the country's attractiveness as an investment destination.
At BMC, the year confirmed a trend observed since 2022: clients were demanding more sophisticated strategic advice, integrating the financial, sustainability and competitive intelligence dimensions into a unified approach to value creation.
Key Highlights
The M&A market continued its adjustment, with 398 deals closed. The decline compared to previous years reflected the impact of the rising cost of capital on expected returns from leveraged transactions. However, the quality of transactions improved: due diligence processes became more rigorous, valuations more realistic and post-acquisition integration gained greater prominence in the strategic agenda.
ESG consolidated as a strategic imperative. The entry into force of the CSRD Directive — extending sustainability reporting obligations from 2024-2026 — generated a wave of diagnostic and ESG strategy projects. Companies that began preparing for mandatory reporting discovered that the greatest value lay not in formal compliance but in the genuine integration of sustainability criteria into business decision-making.
The solidarity tax on large fortunes, approved as a temporary measure and challenged before the Constitutional Court, generated intense wealth planning activity and review of ownership structures among the highest-net-worth clients. Uncertainty about the constitutionality of the figure and about its possible extension conditioned many investment decisions.
Sector Analysis
Tourism: Spanish tourism broke all historical records, with more than 85 million international visitors. Companies in the sector, badly hit during the pandemic, accelerated their technological and business model renewal. M&A in the hotel sector reactivated the consolidation process initiated in previous years.
Technology: The Spanish technology ecosystem matured, with several notable startup exits and a growing presence of Spanish companies in European financing rounds. The emergence of generative artificial intelligence transformed the strategic agendas of practically all sectors, creating urgency in AI adoption projects.
Energy: The accelerated energy transition, driven by the 2022 crisis experience, made the sector the largest recipient of private investment. Renewable energy, storage and green hydrogen projects concentrated a significant portion of domestic M&A.
Regulatory Changes
The Housing Act (Act 12/2023) introduced relevant changes to the real estate market, with strategic implications for sector investors. The CSRD Directive completed its initial transposition in the EU, marking the countdown for obliged companies in their different incorporation waves.
Proactive strategic planning became an indispensable tool for capturing the opportunities offered by the new regulatory and competitive framework.
Outlook
The year 2024 presented with greater visibility than the previous one: inflation was moderating, the ECB was anticipating rate cuts for the second half of the year, and European funds were beginning to have a perceptible impact on public investment. M&A could recover if the cost of capital continued falling, and ESG would continue gaining centrality in corporate agendas.
Our strategy and M&A team continued accompanying clients in identifying the best growth and corporate transformation opportunities.
