A total of 520,000 companies have not published their accounts in the past two years

In Spain, there are 520,505 shell companies (those which, despite being registered, have not filed their accounts in the past two years despite being required to do so), according to INFORMA's Shell Companies Study.

Nathalie Gianese, Director of Research at Informa D&B, states: “Over half a million companies in Spain have failed to meet their obligation to file accounts, with no evidence of activity, which is a risk as they could be used fraudulently, although it is also true that not all of them end up disappearing”. Around 55,500 companies that fell into this shell category in 2024 are currently active, while 72% remain unchanged.

Madrid, Andalusia and Catalonia account for the highest number of shell companies, at 19%, 18% and 17% of the total respectively. Cantabria, La Rioja, Melilla and Ceuta are the regions with the fewest companies of this type, at under 1%. If we add active and shell companies together, the region with the highest penetration rate is Navarre at 58%, followed by the Basque Country, Melilla, Ceuta and Andalusia, at 38%, 36%, 35% and 32% respectively.

By sector, Construction and Real Estate Activities account for nearly one in four of these companies, while Trade represents just over 20%. They are followed by Business Services at 14% and Hospitality at 8%. By activity, the highest penetration rate is found in Trade and Extractive Industries, in both cases at close to 31%, followed by Hospitality at 29%.

In terms of age, 23.5% of shell companies were incorporated between 1975 and 2000. In total, around 26% began operating in the last century, while 24% did so between 2001 and 2010 and 34% between 2011 and 2020.

Looking at their share capital, 65% of these companies have a figure of €5,000 or less, 6% stand between €5,001 and €10,000, and around 10% between €10,001 and €60,000, a very similar percentage to those with share capital of over €60,000.