Set up a company in Spain. Run it like an operation, not a filing.

Decision 01

What Spain is for in the group

An EU hub, a sales market or a talent centre each call for a different structure, team and budget. Agree the role first; the entity should follow it.

Decision 02

Build, buy or partner

A greenfield subsidiary gives full control but starts from zero. An acquisition or alliance can bring customers and people sooner, with integration work instead.

Decision 03

Governance

Decide who sits on the local board, which powers of attorney are granted and to whom, and how the subsidiary reports to the parent. Clear limits avoid both paralysis and surprises.

Decision 04

Capital and cash runway

The legal minimum capital is a floor, not a plan. Fund the subsidiary for its cash runway to break-even, including the weeks before the bank account and first invoices are live.

Decision 05

Who leads the country from day one

Someone must be accountable on the ground for daily decisions, signatures and the bank relationship. If that person is not hired yet, plan how the gap is covered.

Phase 1

Bank and cash

• Start bank onboarding early: KYC on foreign parents and beneficial owners can take weeks.
• Set payment flows, signatories and intercompany funding before the first invoice.

Phase 2

First customers and partners

• Turn the business plan into a pipeline of named customers and partners.
• Align contracts and pricing with what the entity can legally sign and invoice.

Phase 3

First hires

• Have the employer registration and the employment framework ready before the first offer.
• Hire the roles the plan needs first, not the ones easiest to fill.

Phase 4

A dashboard for the board

• Agree a short monthly report for the parent: cash, pipeline, hiring and open filings.
• Use it to decide, not only to inform.

Indicative timelines; not a commitment.

• Vehicle: most foreign companies use a Spanish S.L. wholly owned by the parent (S.L.U.); €1 minimum capital since Ley 18/2022.
• NIE/NIF: NIE for foreign directors and shareholders, NIF for a foreign parent company: 2–6 weeks.
• Notary and registry: public deed before a Spanish notary, then filing with the Registro Mercantil: 1–3 weeks.
• Tax registration: census declaration (form 036) for corporate tax and VAT; general corporate tax rate 25%.
• Social Security: employer registration with the TGSS before the first hire. Together with tax: 1–2 weeks.
• Foreign investment: post-investment declaration to the Spanish Foreign Investment Register (form D-1A) where applicable.
• Common planning range to invoice and hire: around 6–12 weeks.

Actual timelines depend on authorities, banks and third parties and cannot be guaranteed. Your lawyers and notaries handle the filings; we coordinate the sequence and follow up on timing with each of them.

• 01No one accountable on the ground. Documents wait for signatures and nobody chases.
• 02Bank onboarding treated as an afterthought. Without an account there is no capital, no payroll and no invoicing.
• 03Structure chosen before the plan, then redone months later.
• 04Hiring before the employment framework is ready.
• 05No reporting line to the parent. The board learns about problems late.
• 06Confusing incorporation with an operating business. A registered company still needs customers, partners and people.

How long does it take to set up a company in Spain?

The incorporation itself can take days to a few weeks. For a foreign-owned company, a common planning range is around 6–12 weeks until it can invoice and hire, though this depends on authorities and banks and is not guaranteed.

Do I need to be in Spain to incorporate?

Not necessarily: most steps can be done through a power of attorney. Running the company still requires someone accountable locally.

Should we open a subsidiary or acquire a company in Spain?

It depends on what Spain is for in the group and how fast you need customers and people. A subsidiary gives control from a clean start; an acquisition or alliance trades speed for integration work. See M&A.

What should be ready before the first hire?

Employer registration with the Social Security, the applicable employment framework, payroll and a bank account. Then hire against the business plan.

Does Year One Partners incorporate the company?

No. We coordinate with the notaries, partner law firms, banks and tax advisors who handle incorporation and filings; we do not act as a gestoría or provide a registered office.

Interim mandate

Where you need someone in the seat on the ground, an interim mandate covers it: building the first customer and partner pipeline, coordinating the entity's set-up with the notaries and law firms who carry it out, hiring the first team and reporting to your board. Each mandate is a Year One Partners engagement, always led by our Founder & CEO; where the case requires it, he is supported by an independent senior collaborator working for Y1P, coordinated by him. Y1P remains responsible for the scope, the deliverables and how the work is organised.