The trend of human-scale 'Lego houses'

LleidaPrefabricated homes have long since burst onto the real estate market and have already gained significant traction in the Catalan construction industry. The methodology, patented for two decades, The Lleida-based company Grupo PMP (which stands for Prefabricated Modular Projects) It aims to soon become Spain's leader in this category. Its way of building houses is similar to that of Lego: they prepare all the pieces in their factory, from walls, doors, and windows, to the smallest details of the interiors, and then they assemble them. in situ in just a few months. A revolution that has only continued to emerge, even in times of crisis.

Since its creation in 2000, the PMP Group has delivered more than 500 new homes. In 2024, the Lleida-based company's sales turnover was €43 million, while its revenue was €15.2 million, 26% higher than the previous year. Looking ahead to 2025, this figure is expected to rise to more than €35 million thanks to the volume of signed contracts pending execution, which represent €80 million in September 2025. The company assures that the growing trend of industrialized construction will even triple its revenue by 2026.

"Our greatest growth was noticed shortly after the pandemic," says the company's general manager (and founder), Montse Pujol. Not even the housing crisis of 2008 (and subsequent years) affected them. "We came to market with a very innovative product, and for many years, we were chipping away, without the need for external promoters. We were growing little by little, at a steady pace, based on word of mouth among our customers," explains the founder.

Now, the PMP Group assures that it is in a true escalation process. "That's what interests us, to be more competitive and offer the best prices," claims Pujol.

From Lleida to Barcelona

In the last two years, the company's workforce has almost doubled, going from 101 at the end of 2023 to the current 185. All of them are spread across three different locations. The group has its registered office in Lleida city, with its administrative offices and engineering team.

In Les Borges Blanques (Garrigues), it has a 16,000-square-meter plant where it builds, in a highly automated manner, all the materials and parts, which are then assembled at the final location of the house. In the capital of Les Garrigues, its workforce is highly female (about half of the staff are women living in the same area).

Finally, the specialized employees (mainly the architects) are all located in Barcelona. It's a way of responding to one of the biggest challenges the company faces today: "Young people from the regions who pursue technical degrees prefer to stay in Barcelona," explains Pujol.

One of the architects is Míriam Sánchez, project manager, who explains the reasons for the success of the construction model for these prefabricated houses. "When our client likes the project we've designed, we immediately get to work, defining and building in the factory each and every one of the materials and installations that will go into the future home," explains Sánchez.

At the Les Borges factory, they prepare every last detail of the home so that, once they have the municipal building permit granted, they have everything ready to move the parts and, in about four months, have the home finished and ready to hand over the keys. "Once on site, there's no need to make decisions, because everything has already been discussed with the client," she assures. Not surprisingly, the PMP Group's method is the only one in Spain that industrializes up to 80% of the entire project.

"Our system has a fixed price, there's no room for unforeseen events, we know from the beginning how we will finish the project, and, furthermore, it generates no waste during construction," the architect concludes.

A man's world

It so happens that the businesswoman from Mollerussa Montse Pujol has recently been appointed president of the Pyrenees Business Meeting, replacing transport magnate Josep Serveto. This meeting is one of the most important economic events in Catalonia, usually held in late spring in Seu d'Urgell (the last edition was in June with nearly a thousand registered participants, mostly Catalan and Andorran businesspeople).

Pujol is the first woman to chair the meeting since its creation 35 years ago. "It's about time," the businesswoman complains. In fact, Pujol acknowledges that "in the business world, and especially in construction, it's very difficult for women to reach positions of responsibility." "And most importantly, I don't see this changing much," she laments.