A good location for a workshop may be a poor choice for a consultancy visiting clients every week. Before choosing a Spanish region by reputation, define what your business needs to operate and get paid. A generally attractive region does not replace a local budget.
Start with three specific locations
Compare towns or neighbourhoods for the same activity and type of premises. List rent, deposit, alterations, transport, utilities, staffing and travel time. Obtain comparable quotations and separate opening costs from recurring expenses.
ICEX provides regional information and help connecting with regional development agencies. That is a route to local knowledge, not a guarantee that a location will be profitable.
Questions for the regions in the original selection
- Madrid: if your plan relies on frequent meetings, compare access to customers and travel time against the full cost of premises.
- Catalonia: identify the municipality, suppliers and staff you need; do not assume the whole region has Barcelona’s circumstances.
- Basque Country: for an industrial project, request specific information about facilities, suppliers and technical requirements at the proposed site.
- Valencian Community: if you ship goods, calculate routes, delivery times, returns and storage from each location.
- Andalusia: compare individual cities and districts, and test how much your sales would depend on the season.
- Balearic and Canary Islands: budget for inter-island transport, supplies, staffing and monthly demand. These are separate archipelagos with different regimes.
These are research questions, not a ranking. Other regions may suit your activity better.
The Canary Islands and ZEC: a correction
The Canary Islands Special Zone belongs to the Canary Islands, not the Balearics. Spain’s tax authority explains that its special 4% rate applies to the relevant portion of the tax base associated with qualifying operations materially and effectively carried out there. It is not an automatic 4% rate on every island business’s entire income.
The ZEC Consortium sets out authorisation, registration and ongoing activity, employment and investment obligations. Check current eligibility before committing to a project. The old article’s broad description of the islands as a tax haven for any entrepreneur has been removed.
Grants do not replace customers
Prepare a scenario without a grant first. Then check the call, eligible applicants and expenses, deadlines and compatibility with other support. An open programme does not guarantee approval or payment before your bills fall due.
A decision you can explain
Score each location using your own priorities for demonstrated demand, cost, staffing, logistics and permissions. Keep the evidence beside each score. If a location wins only because of an unconfirmed grant or sale, revisit the plan before signing.
Archive city skyline for context; it does not document a visit, available premises or a regional ranking.
Sources and review
Reviewed on 23 September 2026. The original address and publication date are preserved.
