Preserving business decision-making capacity in Catalonia: an urgent challenge

Catalonia has historically been a land of entrepreneurs. Our business community, comprised predominantly of family businesses (88.3%) (540,000 companies), has been key to building an economic model rooted in the region, competitive, and resilient. However, this model is currently at risk. In succession processes, new generations increasingly choose not to continue the family project; only 30% survive the second generation. Several factors contribute to this trend: the reputational burdens associated with being an entrepreneur, the growing complexity of today's world, excessive and unclear regulations, and the convenience of developing professionally in large corporations. All of this leads many young people to decide against assuming business leadership roles.

Although there is no official data, the result is worrying: too many Catalan companies end up being sold to investment funds or foreign groups, thereby losing the power to make decisions in Catalonia. This loss entails long-term risks, because foreign groups often don't seek to grow the company, but rather to maintain its continuity or, in the case of investment funds, to increase its value in the short term to sell the asset at a capital gain. These transactions too often include carryforward clauses that end up diluting the corporate identity. Cases such as Endesa, Codorníu, Celsa, Freixenet, Pronovias, Ausa, and Cirsa are paradigmatic. Historic companies that have passed into the hands of multinationals or international funds, with the consequent relocation of decision-making. Although these transactions can provide capital, we have seen how they repeatedly lead to the loss of territorial roots and commitment to the country.

Fortunately, there are also inspiring examples of companies that have managed to preserve family leadership within their territory: Casa Tarradellas, Kave Home, Grupo Tramuntana, Mango, Girbau, Metalquimia, Comexi, and Encofrados Alsina, among others. These cases demonstrate that generational continuity, when well managed, can guarantee the growth and permanence of decision-making capacity in Catalonia. We must be proactive and provide tools to reverse this trend. I mention four:

1. Promote entrepreneurial spirit among new generations who value the reputation of their position. That is why it is important to dignify the figure of the entrepreneur and recognize their key role in society. It is also essential to foster business leadership as a channel for adding value and contributing to the country's development.

2. Simplify and clarify current regulations, an urgent measure for developing business activity. Bureaucracy cannot be an obstacle that blocks growth and stifles the innovative capacities of young entrepreneurs.

3. Promote financial products to facilitate business succession and growth. An example: the Catalan Institute of Finance, by providing it with sufficient resources, can play a strategic role by temporarily entering into the capital of companies to facilitate the generational transition, without the short-term exit pressure that characterizes investment funds.

4. Review the tax system. It makes no sense that investing in investment funds or in family offices than reinvesting in the company itself. Proposals such as the corporate tax deduction for reinvested profits can promote the consolidation and growth of companies within the territory or by expanding the degree of kinship, as other communities have done, to benefit from tax incentives for family businesses.

Preserving business decision-making capacity in Catalonia is not just an economic issue; it's a matter of sovereignty, of the country's model, and of the future. We call on institutions, social stakeholders, and civil society to work together toward this shared goal.