When considering buying Barcelona property that will also be your home here, the health of the local business market becomes a deciding factor. As part of your relocation to Spain, transferring or setting up a business base needs to be weighed up against the local context.

The good news for those interested in Barcelona property is that the local business culture is an excellent environment. This has been proved yet again this month, as Barcelona’s local government-sponsored business incubator, Barcelona Activa, has just won Grand Jury Prize at the European Enterprise Awards 2011.

The award recognises the strength of the local business market in supporting new enterprises, according to key indicators:

• Promoting the entrepreneurial spirit,
• Investing in skills,
• Improving the business environment,
• Supporting the internationalisation of business and
• Responsible and inclusive entrepreneurship.

For businesses with an international focus, Barcelona makes good sense as a European city base. Direct international flights to key markets such as Miami and Dubai have increased in recent years, making travel to overseas business destinations less cumbersome and faster.

Of course, Barcelona remains a key destination itself and provides opportunities for businesses to connect with new global clients regularly. Barcelona has more participants in conferences, professional events, expos and congresses than any other city in the world, with over 80,000 participants visiting the city for a conference-related event in 2010.

While these factors already make Barcelona a sought after commercial destination, greater confidence in the local business environment is becoming apparent. News agency Reuters has reported that Europe has seen a resurgence in interest in commercial property with 28 billion Euro spent in the first quarter (mostly on retail properties) of 2011, representing a 32% increase on previous year commercial trading. As the trend continues, Spain is expected to see a greater share of the retail commercial property transactions. Barcelona property will no doubt be of great interest amongst commercial asset purchasers.

Barcelona’s business support services focus on emerging industry sectors. This ensures that the environment will strengthen even further in the years to come. Barcelona property investors are recognizing that there is strong local support for businesses setting up in sectors like commerce, IT and communications, creative industries, tourism, and biomedical technologies. This lets property investors build a plan around relocating to their Barcelona property and building a commercial base in a robust, business-focused city.