International / Spain and Europe, for companies from any market.
Manufacturing, agriculture and energy in Spain
Year One Partners works with companies from any country that bring a digital product or service for industry to Spain: manufacturing platforms, farming solutions, energy services and technologies that connect to physical assets. In these sectors, technology is often not the main obstacle. The pace is set by permits, the public bodies involved and the partners who open access to the market. In Spain many of those decisions are shared between the State, the regions and the municipalities, and it pays to know early who decides what. We help you set that sequence, with a senior lead who coordinates your specialists and keeps the business moving. Our reach is international: Spain and Europe, for companies from any market. If your company does not yet have an entity in Spain, our guide to setting up a company in Spain covers the basics; this page is about what comes next.
Manufacturing
A solution for the connected factory, predictive maintenance or the supply chain is sold to companies that already work under industrial safety and product rules. Depending on the activity, product conformity and CE marking, municipal and regional activity licences or notifications, and rules on cybersecurity and industrial data may all come into play. We help you separate what affects your product from what affects your customer's plant, identify which public body is involved in each case and choose local partners, such as integrators or distributors, that can shorten the route. If entry runs through acquiring a company or forming a joint venture with a manufacturer, we test the thesis before capital is committed and coordinate your M&A advisers.
Agriculture
Agritech works with farms, cooperatives and highly regulated food chains. Depending on the product, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the regional agriculture departments may be involved, with their own registers for inputs such as fertilisers or plant protection products, plant and animal health rules, and support under the Common Agricultural Policy, much of it managed by the regions. We help you sequence, with your specialists, the registrations or authorisations for your product before you sell it, and understand who actually buys in Spanish agriculture and what role cooperatives and farmers' organisations play. We also help you prepare the relationship with public bodies and industry associations through our institutional relations service.
Energy
The energy sector combines markets, infrastructure and public authorisations. A generation, storage or charging installation may need administrative authorisations from the State or the region depending on its size, as well as grid access and connection permits and municipal licences; the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) supervises the market. Foreign investment in energy companies may require prior approval from the Spanish authorities. We help you sequence permits, counterparts and partners, and understand who buys: utilities, developers, large industrial consumers and public bodies each decide differently and on different timelines. Through our foreign investment screening service, we identify early, with your legal advisers, whether the deal may need that approval.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need approval to invest in an industrial or energy company in Spain?
It depends on the sector, the investor's origin and who controls it, and the stake or control acquired. Some foreign investments require prior approval from the Spanish authorities. We help you identify this early and coordinate the analysis with your legal advisers.
Is it different if my company is from the European Union?
Freedom of establishment makes entry easier for European Union companies, but it does not exempt them from the licences their activity requires or, in some cases, from foreign investment screening, for example when their ultimate owner is outside the EU or EFTA. Companies from outside the EU can operate through a subsidiary or a branch, with the authorisations their activity requires and, at times, prior approval of the investment. Each case is confirmed by your legal advisers.
Do you replace our lawyers or our compliance team?
No. We are not a law firm, an audit firm or a regulated investment firm, and we do not provide legal advice. We coordinate your specialists without replacing them and keep the business decision at the centre.
Where do I start?
With the decision you have to defend before your board. From there we build a Spain market entry plan: what comes first, who to talk to and what can wait until a second phase.