The Spanish Creative Hub
More famous for beaches, architecture and street life, tourism and not digital innovation comes to mind when thinking of Barcelona, the capital of the autonomous community of Catalonia. Yet Barcelona also ranks as one of the most innovative cities in the world and is an increasingly targeted destination for property investment.
THE SPANISH CREATIVE HUB
More famous for its beaches, architecture and street life, it is tourism and not digital innovation that comes to mind when thinking of Barcelona. Yet Barcelona also ranks as one of the most innovative cities in the world and an increasingly targeted destination for property investment.
Long after the tourist season, its cafes still buzz with expats, including techies, global nomads and students enjoying the chance to live and work in a holiday destination. Barcelona provides the right mix for a hub: an outstanding work-life balance, access to talent, quick access to an airport with long-haul flights to almost any destination and, in particular, to other tech hubs, such as Tel Aviv.
In addition, Barcelona also has some of the EU’s finest international schools, universities and business schools. And, with Barcelona’s low cost of living and relatively low per capita income, tech and other talent are less expensive to employ than in Europe’s biggest hubs.
In the early 2000s, the city carefully laid plans to attract economic activity that would create jobs and drive sustainable growth. Since then, many cross-sector public and private initiatives have shaped the city into a powerful technology and knowledge hub.
Barcelona activa, a development agency and a local government initiative, aims at contributing towards improving people's quality of life by promoting the economic competitiveness of the city and the rebalancing of territories. It promotes digital talent in the city and foments entrepreneurial thinking via incubators, innovation environments equipped with infrastructures and advisory, networking and training services to help successfully grow start-ups.
Scoring on all indicators
Key has been one of Europe’s most ambitious urban regeneration projects in the former industrial area of El Poblenou. The area has attracted more than 33,632 residents and over 3,500 businesses, including startups and global giants like Microsoft, Roche and the gaming firm King. Venture capitalists have followed.
Where the factories end, a row of high-rises marks the beginning of Barcelona’s “Silicon Valley:” the 22@ District of Innovation. This includes five knowledge clusters in key tech areas, and a state-of-the-art research and training hub.
Barcelona’s success is reflected in the indexes: it came 14th in innovation in PATRIZIA’s Index and consistently scores highly in innovation elsewhere. According to the venture capital firm Atomico’s “State of European Tech”, it was the seventh-biggest European hub by capital invested in 2021. INSEAD ranked it 36 out of 155 in its 2021 Global Talent Competitiveness Index, praising Barcelona’s Never Stops recovery project. This is a series of measures to overcome the repercussions of COVID-19 and make the city more resilient by promoting new business models, encouraging local consumption, and boosting employment.
Barcelona’s carefully planned diversification should see it continue to score on the most important liveability indicators: innovation, demography, the economy and connectivity. Its beaches, mountains and laid-back Catalonian lifestyle remain solid.
Barcelona remains an attractive location that is also relatively resilient to major crises, such as the global pandemic. Sandwiched as it is between the sea and mountains means land is scarce. Second, demand is growing for family housing, and third, it is a buyer’s market for young expat investors and local homeowners who can lock in mortgages with all-time low-interest rates. For investors with a long-term view, bargains can be had.
Rita Torres, Associate Director, Asset Management, PATRIZIA
17
Barcelona’s Market Fundamentals Ranking
With a population of 1.7 million, Barcelona is the second-largest city in Spain after Madrid. Meanwhile, 5.7 million people live in the Barcelona metropolitan area. The old-age dependency ratio is high for the EU but relates to Barcelona’s lower cost of living: Barcelona was ranked a low 84th in Mercer’s 2021 Cost of Living Index. Cities with a higher cost of living make it hard for the elderly to live there. In 2020, 21% of its population was aged 65 or over, while 67% were between 15 and 64 years old.