Nearly 1,200 companies moved their headquarters due to the Catalan crisis

Almost 1,200 businesses of all sizes have already begun procedures to move their corporate headquarters outside of Catalonia three weeks after the outbreak of the Catalan crisis, according to the latest report released today by the Chamber of Commerce of Spain.

Between 2 October, one day after the referendum on independence, and 19 October, 1,185 companies moved their headquarters.

The peak of this phenomenon was recorded on Thursday 19 October with 268 transfers, following the Madrid announcements of its intention to partially suspend Catalonia's autonomy.

During these three weeks, only 52 companies settled in Catalonia. The region has a total of about 500,000 businesses and accounts for 19% of Spanish GDP.

Companies of every economic size have moved their headquarters: from the stock market giants such as CaixaBank and Banco Sabadell banks or the Gas Natural gas group, as well as medium-sized businesses such as Codorniu and Idilia Foods.

A survey by Pimec employers' union showed that some 1,300 businesses with fewer than 250 employees decided to transfer their headquarters without having started all the necessary procedures.