Family-owned businesses have become the quiet driving force behind Spain’s mergers and acquisitions market. In a significant share of transactions completed across the country, the seller is not a private equity fund or a listed corporation, but a family-owned company entering a new stage of its development. According to various market analyses, approximately 43% of M&A transactions in Spain involve a family-owned business as the seller, a proportion that clearly distinguishes the Spanish market from many of its European counterparts.
The explanation is not cyclical but structural. Spain is one of the European countries with the highest concentration of family-owned businesses. These companies extend far beyond small retail businesses, ranging from micro-enterprises to internationally active industrial groups, and account for a substantial share of employment and economic output. When such a significant portion of the economy is family-owned, it is only natural that family businesses play a leading role in ownership transitions.
Unlike financial investors, family business owners are often driven by different motivations. The decision to sell is rarely based solely on price. Legacy, business continuity, employee welfare and the preservation of the family name frequently carry equal or greater weight. Understanding these motivations is often the key to a successful transaction.
The factor accelerating transaction activity has a clear name: generational succession. Many companies founded during Spain’s decades of economic growth are now reaching a turning point. Their founders are approaching retirement and, in many cases, there is no clear successor within the family, either due to a lack of preparation or a lack of interest from the next generation.
Available estimates illustrate the scale of the phenomenon. By 2030, more than half a million Spanish business owners could retire, a significant proportion of them without an identified successor. In the absence of an internal succession plan, selling the business often becomes the most natural way to preserve the value created over decades while ensuring the company’s continuity.
Market data supports this trend. The mid-market segment, where most family-owned businesses are concentrated, has steadily increased its share of transaction activity, accounting for approximately 42% of deals, compared to around a quarter of the market only a few years ago. At the same time, generational succession has become one of the primary catalysts for business sales, with industry reports identifying it as the main motivation behind roughly one in every three transactions completed in recent years.
This reality changes the way buyers approach the market. Many of the most attractive opportunities do not emerge through competitive auction processes but through profitable companies whose owners are facing a personal and strategic decision rather than a purely financial one. As a result, buyers capable of presenting a credible continuity plan are often particularly well positioned. These include private equity firms with experience supporting family-owned businesses, search funds and strategic investors operating within the same industry.
It is no coincidence that family offices and so-called patient capital investors continue to gain prominence. These investors typically offer long-term stability and continuity, qualities that are highly valued by founders handing over the business they have spent a lifetime building.
For advisers, guiding the sale of a family-owned business requires a different approach. It involves organising the corporate structure before going to market, optimising the tax aspects of the transaction, managing the emotional dimension of the process and providing reassurance regarding the future of the workforce. These transactions are rarely won on price alone. Success depends on understanding the seller’s objectives and designing a structured process that protects both the value of the company and the peace of mind of those stepping away from it.
In a market increasingly shaped by generational succession, working with an adviser who combines technical expertise with a personal approach can make a significant difference. At ILIA ETL GLOBAL, we support family-owned businesses throughout every stage of the process, from succession planning to transaction completion, safeguarding not only valuation and tax efficiency but also what matters most: ensuring that a lifetime’s work continues in the right hands.
By Mario García, lawyer specialising in Commercial Law, M&A transactions and Corporate Finance.
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