The High Technology Businesses of the Parc Tecnològic del Vallès, Barcelona

Profile of the Companies

The following information shows the profile of the companies installed in the Park at present:

63% are from Spain and 37% foreign

73% have created new centres of operation:

38% are newly created

13% are expansions (openings of new centres of operation) of companies that were already operating in Spain

22% are expansions of foreign businesses (opening a branch, affiliated company, representative office, delegation, for the first time in Spain)

The remaining 27% are transfers of existing Spanish or foreign businesses that were already operating in the region of the Park

Sectors of Activity

The most important technological sectors are those of the Information Technologies (35%, with activities related to electronics, computing, software and telecommunications), followed by engineering -civil, product, processes and systems- with 17%.

Situation

55% began their activities in the building of the New Technologies Business Centre (CENT), although at present, only 44% of these are housed here. This information is significant as it corresponds to the objective of the Park to provide new business start-ups with diverse property offers, according to the development of their needs.

As the project of the Park has come consolidated, the weight of the buildings with spaces shared by various small start-ups (mainly in rented space) has gradually lost ground with respect to the buildings owned by a single enterprise or business group.

The permanence in the Park of 135 enterprises (of a total of 259) presents a rate of accumulated business continuity, over the history of the estate itself, of 52%. Of the rest (124 companies), we should point out that 52 companies ceased activity, a fact which gives an overall rate of business closures of 20%, lower than the statistical data given by prestigious studies carried out around the world on this subject.

If one considers the origin of the companies, it can be seen that the highest rates of closures occur in the expansions of businesses situated in other places in Spain (27%) followed by the expansions of international businesses (24%) which open new offices or branch companies without having prior experience in the Spanish market.

With respect to the age of the companies that have closed, in the Park the maxim that assures that the first three years of life of an enterprise are the most difficult to survive is fulfilled (with a closure rate of 73%).

72 companies decided to relocate to other areas, mainly in the area made up of the El Vallès district and the city of Barcelona (82%). Only 8% moved to other areas of Catalonia, while the remaining 10% transferred to other Spanish regions.