The first (Caixabank), fourth (Sabadell) and sixth (Unicaja) banks with operations in Spain are located on the Mediterranean coast. They are all part of the Ibex 35, where Mediterranean companies such as Grifols, Fluidra, Cellnex and Meliá are already present. Puig’s collection will be added to these collections in July. The perfume and fashion company from Barcelona is by far the most important IPO of the year in Europe. Its value is already estimated at 16,000 million. Europastry, another Catalan family-owned company specializing in the manufacture of bread dough and frozen pastries, has announced its intention to go public next month. Its value can reach 2000 million. Cosentino, who specializes in marble and housebuilding, continues to see an exit into the variable income market as a future option that gaming company Cirsa, based in Terrassa, would like to be involved in throughout the year (Barcelona). The list will be expanded.
The main institution in Spain, the second in Europe and the seventh in the world, Caixa, is also headquartered (the Balearic Islands) in one of the 12 Mediterranean Spanish provinces. Its investment vehicle, Criteria, has just presented an ambitious growth strategy that will lead it by 2030 to have… 40 thousand million dollars in total asset value compared to the current asset value of 27 thousand million dollars.
With sales of 35.527 million in 2023, the Mercadona supermarket chain in Valencia has become the first 100 percent family-owned company in Spain and the sixth largest in turnover after the listed companies Repsol, Iberdrola, Telefónica, Inditex and ACS. The distribution sector has supported the significant growth of the beverage and food groups. From Cola Cao maker Idilia Foods, which announced the purchase of Damm’s 50% stake in Cacaolat, to Alicante-based Chocolates Valor and Girona-based family-run Frit Ravich, which competes with major multinational snack companies. and Murcian García-Carrión. Discreet GB Foods, the Carulla family business, continues to own some of the food sector’s most relevant brands.
The Roig family, owners of Mercadona, also controls, through Fernando Roig as the first shareholder, the first European ceramics factory: Pamesa of Castellon. Owned by the Colonques and Soriano families, Porcelanosa is a world leader in porcelain and one of the most global brands. Castellón is the first province in Spain in terms of proportion of industrial GDP: 36%.
The energy crisis of two years ago forced an acceleration of the transformation process in a sector, such as the ceramics and porcelain sector, which is highly dependent on natural gas. Likewise, the drought has helped reopen the discussion about how to fully solve the problem of water shortages on the coast. From the avocado plantations of La Axarquia in Málaga to its impact on the hotel sector. It has been proven that the correct use of investments in new technologies makes it possible to move beyond stubborn debates about identity. Hotel groups, starting with the large chains of the Balearic Islands, were the first to look for private solutions through investments in desalination and water recycling plants.
If the word sustainability makes sense in any sector, it is tourism. How should they be managed on our coasts? Can Spain receive one hundred million foreign visitors annually? How will tourism management impact business and real estate supply in the future?
June 26 and 27, Palace of Arts
The first Mediterranean Forum, which will take place on June 26-27 at the Palace of Arts in Valencia, will bring to the table major debates and questions related to a region that represents 40% of the GDP and 40% of the population. The Mediterranean hub includes four of the five most trafficked airports in the country and the most important ports in the country. The fact that the shipping company Poloda, the world’s first group of offshore tugboats, is coming from Valencia is no coincidence.
The Mediterranean Corridor not only aspires to one day close the high-speed rail and freight line between the French border and Algeciras; It also wants to connect the cities of the future through citizen-designed mobility choices. Cities that can combine attractive employment with the cultural, sporting and educational offer necessary to generate wealth and growth. Basically, education: up to 26 universities spread across an axis full of the present and the future.
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