Tag: barcelona

The coworking company Utopicus will open a new flexible office space for the Colonial group this coming month, in a recently refurbished building on Diagonal. According to the firm, “the design aims to foster stronger, more efficient and lasting connections, both with people and with projects and the environment”.

The offices will have space for 117 workstations, meeting rooms, event spaces, video call booths, a canteen and parking spaces, as well as a 400 m2 terrace for exclusive use.

Technology is one of the strong points of the space, the equipment and systems are adapted to the needs of companies and new work formats. On the other hand, sustainability is one of the fundamental pillars in the renovation of the building.

“Utopicus Diagonal was created to respond to the new ways of working and the new ways of interacting in the office. The perfect option for companies to use as a meeting point to promote the connection between their professionals in a situation like the current one, where most of them are relocated”, says Albert Alcober, CEO of Utopicus.

The company Àtic Group is expanding its offer in the coworking space market in Barcelona. It now has around 8,000 square metres of coworking space under its management, distributed between Barcelona and Mataró.

Earlier this year it opened a space in Barcelona’s Eixample district, and in the first week of March it plans to open a new 1,600 square metre space in the 22@ technology district.

Àtic’s users are very diverse, with most of its clients being freelance IT professionals or lawyers. However, it has also rented its space to start-ups and multinational companies, which have located their headquarters in one of its centres in the Barcelona metropolitan area.

The Port of Barcelona closed 2021 with a total profit of 38 million euros, an increase of up to 117% over 2019 just a 13.6% below 2019. However, traffic has remained practically at pre-pandemic levels, just 1.5% below.

During 2021 the Port managed to surpass an all-time record in the number of container traffic with a total of 3.53 million, which represents 19.3% more than in 2020. “This is one of the indicators that show that we are recovering at an accelerated pace,” said the Port’s president, Damià Calvet.

The increase in container traffic goes hand in hand with the Port’s growing trade relations with Asia, which accounts for almost half of the Port’s exports and 15% of its imports.

The technology giant Google is opening its first office in Barcelona in the coming weeks of March, where 40 employees will work “focused on supporting customers and partners in the region and helping them in their digital development”, according to the source Crónica Global. Specifically, the employees will be based in the Google Cloud division, which specializes in cloud services.

The offices will be located in the centre of Barcelona, in Plaça Universitat, in a coworking office space. With this step towards Barcelona, Google wants to “strengthen ties with the economic and social agents of the city’s digital ecosystem”.

The attraction of the Barcelona metropolitan area for big tech companies is indisputable. Other big tech companies such as Microsoft announced the opening of its research hub last year, Apple acquired the Catalan start-up Vilynx and Amazon has the largest logistics centre in Spain in El Prat.

We expect to see soon the new strategic plan of the 22@NetworkBCN association, which took advantage of its 20th anniversary to announce its plans for the future at a commemoration event. The new plan is expected to be published shortly.

According to Enric Urreta, president of the association, he specified that the presentation of the debate for this new strategic plan will coincide with the start of the 22@Nord project as a catalyst, with which they expect the involvement and support of Barcelona City Council, the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Spanish government.

For his part, Roger Torrent, Minister of Enterprise of the Generalitat, attended the commemorative act of the association and affirmed “that 22@ is an essential tool for the country to attract talent and investment”.

During its 20 years of history, 22@ has welcomed more than 150,000 workers and there are now more than 10,000 companies that produce based on innovation and knowledge in new technologies.

QEV Technologies will lead the reindustrialisation project of Nissan’s Zona Franca factory in Barcelona, with its plan to generate an electromobility hub.

The Catalonia-based engineering group QEV plans to convert the facility into an electric vehicle hub and promises to produce 100,000 electric vehicles per year within three years. 

“Under the plan proposed by the electromobility hub, it would occupy Nissan’s two existing production lines to produce various vehicle models,” the Japanese carmaker said in a statement. However, “specific space and asset requirements will be discussed with them to see if the final configuration of the project can accommodate other complementary projects,” it said.

On the other hand, according to Nissan, “negotiations with the candidate companies QEV Technologies and Silence for the reindustrialisation of the Sant Andreu de la Barca and Montcada i Reixac sites are at a very advanced stage, pending finalisation of the last details of the global reindustrialisation agreement for all Nissan plants in Barcelona”.

The aim of this project is for passengers to be able to make the entire journey to the aircraft through the facial recognition system without the need to show identification documentation, integrating all the processes from ticket and baggage check-in to boarding the aircraft.

This pilot test has been carried out jointly by Aena and Vueling, together with a group of technology companies including Easir, IDEMIA, Indra, Meterna-jps and Mobbeel. Voluntary tests are already being carried out on flights on the Barcelona-Malaga route.

This new system is based on identification technology through the “recognition of the physical and non-transferable characteristics of each person”, according to Aena.  Several devices have already been installed in the check-in area, security access and boarding gate, which validate passengers’ biometric data and facial features.

The well-known magazine CIO Application Europe has recognised B2Brouter as one of the ten best European companies in European invoicing. The article has highlighted B2Brouter’s management to act as a leading provider of e-invoicing solutions.

The B2Brouter platform already offers its services to more than 120,000 users worldwide, from multinational companies such as Panrico, Bon Àrea, Condis, Endesa or Hospital Sant Pau, to small freelancers.

The platform offers a simple and affordable solution for sending and receiving electronic documents quickly and securely. In the last four years, the internationalisation of the company has been one of the main reasons for its exponential growth.

The company’s manager, Oriol Bausà, celebrates the distinction, noting that “I am grateful for this European recognition from a magazine that is a benchmark in Europe as a media specialising in technology”. In addition to the distinction from CIO Application Europe, he has also received the Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 award from the Xarxa Onion.

Before the end of the year, the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB) plans to allocate 10.66 million euros to economic promotion in its 2022 budget. With this project, operating income is expected to increase by 1.3%, with a net amount of activity of 55 million euros.

With regard to the 2021 financial year, the council has celebrated the results of the events it has organised, including the Barcelona New Economy Week (BNEW), which had 13,000 virtual attendees and positioned itself as “the benchmark event of the new economy at national and international level” according to the council’s bodies.

For its forecasts for 2022, the entity’s main milestone will be at the beginning of the year with the DFactory Barcelona, the main Industry 4.0 node in Southern Europe, with which Barcelona aims to attract talent, technology and investment.

Moreover, the CZFB stresses that in 2022 the entity will maintain its commitment to the sustainable economy, the revitalisation of Industry 4.0, innovation and the attraction of talent. 

Barcelona is once again in the top 20 most competitive cities in the world, ranking 18th in the world and seventh in Europe. This is certified by the Global Power City Index (GPCI) 2021, drawn up by the Japanese foundation The Memorial Foundation.

This report compares 48 cities around the world on the basis of 70 indicators, arranged in six categories: economy, research and development, cultural interaction, liveability, environment and accessibility.

In the area of liveability, Barcelona climbs to third place in the world, in a category that analyses aspects related to the working environment, cost of living, safety, well-being and living facilities.

The first deputy mayor and head of the economic area of Barcelona City Council, Jaume Collboni, said: “We celebrate the return of Barcelona to the top 20 of this international ranking, which shows that we continue to be a leading city in the economic and business world worldwide”.

With the closure of 2021, optimistic figures are coming in from the Port Authority of Barcelona, reflecting a recovery of the sector after the pandemic. As far as container traffic is concerned, we bid farewell to the year with a great recovery, with a 20% increase in containers compared to 2020, and a 6% increase compared to 2019.

As for the value of traffic in tonnes, it has increased by 12% compared to the previous period. However, it remains very close to the pre-pandemic figures, closing the year with 2% fewer tonnes than in 2019.

According to Damià Calvet, president of the port authority, these figures “are a demonstration of our resilience as a port”, Calvet adds, “we serve the country in a structural and robust way, we must be flexible and adapt to the circumstances”.

On the other hand, President Calvet plans to implement the IV Strategic Plan 2021-2025 in 2022 and the deployment of the Innovation Plan, vital for the transition towards a benchmark smart port. 

Find out more about his strategic plan in the following video:

The consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield has published its forecast figures for the real estate sector, according to its data, investment in the sector stands at 10,500 million euros in Spain.

Barcelona has been placed at the top of national investment, with a total of 2,974 million euros this year, surpassing Madrid, which closed the year with a total investment of 2,063 million euros.

According to the consultancy’s data, the investment market in Barcelona owes its success to the office segment, mainly in the 22@ district, which has generated an investment of €1,995 million, representing an increase of 164.2% compared to 2020 and 13.4% compared to 2019. The highest figure in the city since 2007.

In terms of investor profile, foreign buyers continue to dominate investment, accounting for more than 70% of the volume of transactions, although domestic investors have become more important than last year.

This is the first multilevel logistics project in Spain, which will be located in Molins de Rei and will culminate with another similar centre in Castellbisbal.

The real estate company Goodman has inaugurated its new logistics centre in Molins de Rei (Barcelona), a 32,000 m2 multi-storey building, the first in Spain, which will become the most technologically advanced facility of the multinational DSV.

Goodman responds to the new logistics challenges and the Goodman Country Manager assures that “the future is to grow vertically”, as the uniqueness of the project comes from the environment itself, a land with a steep slope and surrounded by mountains. Growing vertically, with this type of development, means a saving of more than 30% of the land consumed.

This first multi-plant logistics warehouse will be fully automated with AutoStore technology and the company is already building a second multi-plant centre in Castellbisbal, scheduled to open in March 2022.

Barcelona-El Prat Josep Tarradellas Airport has recovered 52% of its pre-pandemic long-haul routes.

Barcelona airport has recovered 39 of the 74 intercontinental air routes it had before the pandemic. Africa is currently the continent with the most intercontinental flights from Barcelona, with a total of 23 routes. In the Middle East, five destinations have been restored, in Latin America two, in Asia one and in the United States up to seven destinations.

El Prat records encouraging figures after the pandemic, passengers have increased by 212% in September compared to 2020 figures, with mobility restrictions due to the pandemic.

The pre-pandemic figures have not yet been recovered, as passenger traffic at the airport was down 48.4% compared to September 2019.

The City Council and the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, together with the companies Cervasa and Neinor, have created the public-private affordable housing operator HMB.

Habitatge Metròpolis Barcelona is the new project presented by Ada Colau, mayor of Barcelona and president of the AMB, a public-private operator that plans to build 4,500 affordable homes throughout the metropolis within eight years.

The total investment is 600 million euros, with the public sector participating 50% (25% AMB and 25% the City Council) and the private sector participating 50% through the company NICRent Residencial, created by the companies Cervasa and Neinor.

This large project will be developed in four phases, the first phase foresees to start building the first 640 homes in 3033-2023, with a rent of between 400 and 750 euros/month in Barcelona, Sant Boi, Montgat and Sant Adrià del Besòs.

Ada Colau boasted of “innovation in public policies to meet the needs of the population, with a public-private partnership to expand the rental stock and guarantee that it will be protected forever”.

Barcelona City Council and Barcelona Activa have teamed up with several Catalan universities to promote a programme of 840,000 euros to promote a programme for the creation of start-ups.

Jaume Collboni, the first deputy mayor of Barcelona, presented last November the Barcelona Deep Tech Node programme to promote the creation of scientific-technological start-ups, with the alliance of some of the main Catalan universities.

This alliance involves the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Universitat de Barcelona (UB) and Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). 

The aim of the Barcelona Deep Tech Node will be to accelerate access to the market and promote the creation of start-ups with a scientific and technological base. The programme will have a budget of 840,000 euros, of which 470,000 euros will come from the City Council, 300,000 from the universities and 70,000 from different promoters.

During the presentation of the project, Collboni stressed that “With this initiative we are continuing our commitment to an economy and start-ups that are more oriented towards knowledge and science, generating value-added economic activity, attracting talent and boosting the arrival of new investment in Barcelona”.

The four pillars on which this initiative will work are the main challenges facing deep tech startups: funding, market fit, talent attraction and international promotion.

This hub located in Cornellà de Llobregat will incorporate 400 people who will be in charge of the creation and development of the main digitalisation programmes.

PepsiCo announced last quarter the creation of a global hub in Cornellà de Llobregat, scheduled to be fully operational in 2024. The launch of this technology centre will generate around 400 jobs in the Catalan capital and a major boost for innovation.

Athina Kanioura, EVP, Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer PepsiCo Global, highlights that “The digital hub will enable Pepsico to drive its digitalisation agenda, capture new opportunities, introduce changes in the way it works and address common organizational challenges such as reducing operational costs, improving time to market, accelerating innovation, developing the customer experience and increasing organisational efficiency”.

The creation of this hub in the metropolitan area of Barcelona is a great attraction for international talent, as they have already started the recruitment process and have incorporated more than 45 people, from 15 different nationalities, with profiles such as Data Scientist, Machine Learning Engineers, Data Engineers, Service Designers and Product Managers.

Seat recently announced an investment of € 5 billion through 2025, which will go mainly to boost the electric car business. The figure made public exceeds by 52% the 3,300 million that the car company invested in the period 2015-2020. The objective is to be able to start manufacturing electric cars in Catalonia in five years’ time, according to sources from the company itself.

https://www.ara.cat/economia/Seat-anuncia-inversio-Martorell-cotxes-electrics_0_2486151467.html

The Mobile World Congress, which has been held in Barcelona since 2006 and gathers around 2,500 companies and more than 100,000 visitors from all over the world, will continue in Barcelona, at least, until 2024. This is the commitment signed between the Fundación Barcelona Mobile World Capital and the GSMA. The impact that the congress has on the city’s economy is estimated at around 500 million euros.
https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/gracia/ca/noticia/ratificat-lacord-per-celebrar-el-mobile-world-congress-a-barcelona-fins-al-2024_969607

The e-commerce giant Amazon has announced the opening of a new logistics center in the Can Roses area of ​​Rubí. The new facilities will occupy 25,540 square meters and add to the rest of those that Amazon already has in Catalonia: the logistics and distribution centers of Prat de Llobregat, Martorelles, Castellbisbal and Barberà del Vallès, the urban center of Barcelona, the service center SMEs and the artificial intelligence research space located at 22@ in Barcelona.
https://www.ara.cat/economia/Amazon-obrira-estacio-logistica-Rubi_0_2478952167.html

Foreign investment captured by the Generalitat de Cataluña in 2019 reached 365.2 million euros, a figure that represents 13% more than in the previous year, and which has led to the creation of more than 5,700 jobs (+ 5.5%) and the maintenance of an additional 1,350 (+ 6.3%). 80% of the volume of foreign investment attracted has gone to the industry, mainly to the sectors of the pharmaceutical, automotive, chemical and plastics industries.
https://www.accio.gencat.cat/ca/accio/premsa-comunicacio/cercador-premsa-actualitat/article/2020-08-07-Inversio-estrangera-captada-generalitat-2019

According to official data made public by AENA, Aeroport de Barcelona-El Prat closed 2018 with 50,172,457 passengers, a 6.1% more than in 2017. Passengers of international flights have increased a 6.2%, up to a total of 36,668,175. With regard to goods freight, in 2018 172,940 tonnes were moved from Barcelona-El Prat, a 10.8% more than during the previous year. 14,758 tonnes were moved in December, a 12.1% more than in December 2017.

 [01/22/2019]