One out of every four trading companies created in Spain over the last five years has stopped its activity, according to the "SME Report", prepared by the Consejo General de Economistas de España and the Fundación para el Análisis Estratégico y Desarrollo de la Pequeña y Mediana Empresa (Faedpyme).
The Consejo General de Economistas de España (CGE), through its Studies Service, and the Fundación para el Análisis Estratégico y Desarrollo de la Pequeña y Mediana Empresa (Faedpyme) have released the sixth edition of the "SME Report", corresponding to 2026, which on this occasion focuses on analyzing the continuity of small and medium-sized enterprises.
On the economic-financial level, the evolution of income is the element that SMEs attach the most weight to as a possible cause of abandoning the business, with an average score of 4.44 out of 5. 85.4% of companies assign it a relevance of 4 or 5 points and 66.7% give it the highest rating.
After income, companies place the structure and level of costs (4.37), the liquidity situation (4.28), profitability (4.14) and indebtedness (3.85). For experts, these figures show that executives prioritize the ability to generate sufficient income and to meet the financial commitments of their business projects.
By line of activity, construction is the sector that gives the most weight to liquidity problems (4.59), ahead of industry (4.28), services (4.23) and retail trade (4.19).
Labor costs and tax pressure, areas of concern
Among the cost components that can precipitate the cessation of activity, labor costs rank first, with a score of 4.33 out of 5, followed very closely by the tax burden (4.29) and by the costs of energy and raw materials (4.03).
The cost of financing (3.53) and late payment (3.44) are also indicated by those responsible for SMEs as factors that can put the company’s viability at risk.
By sector, construction companies are the ones that value the tax burden (4.60), labor costs (4.53) and late payment (3.82) most intensely. The costs of energy and raw materials have a particularly relevant impact on construction (4.25) and industry (4.16), the two areas with the highest consumption of materials and energy.
In the external environment, the lack of qualified staff (4.04 out of 5) and excessive regulation and bureaucracy (4.03) appear as the factors that cause the most concern in the event of a possible closure.
They are followed by political or institutional instability (3.57), insecurity linked to unfair competition, lack of protection or cybercrime (3.52), and competitive pressure (3.44).
The difficulty in attracting staff with the appropriate training is especially pronounced in construction companies (4.37), ahead of industrial companies (4.15), service companies (4.00), and retail companies (3.86).
Generational renewal, a major internal challenge for continuity
Among internal factors, the absence of generational renewal receives the highest score as a possible trigger for closure, at 3.61 out of 5. Next come low productivity (3.52), the personal fatigue of owners or executives (3.42), and an insufficient level of knowledge and professionalization (3.25).
By activity, the lack of generational renewal is a particular concern for industrial (3.82) and commercial companies (3.81), while gaps in knowledge and professionalization stand out in retail (3.47) and construction (3.46).
As for corporate governance, 37.4% of SMEs consider, to some extent, generational transmission in the next two or three years; 32.2% is considering the full or partial sale of the company; and 10.5% considers closure. This latter percentage decreases compared with 2025, when it reached 12.8%.
Family businesses show a greater inclination to study generational transmission (43.6%) than non-family businesses (24.6%). For their part, closure is considered to a greater extent among microenterprises (13.7%) than among mid-sized ones (5%).
Most common reasons for business closure
Taxation, generational renewal, and costs are among the most cited reasons for the closure of businesses. 24.7% of the heads of the surveyed SMEs state that they have experienced some previous case of business activity closure. Among those who have gone through this situation, 34.4% points to bankruptcy as the cause of the end of the business, 23.6% to a strategic exit, and 5.7% to abandoning the activity, while 36.3% cites other reasons.
In an open question about the reasons that can lead to business abandonment, the managers of SMEs mention above all the high taxation (16%), generational succession problems (13.4%), costs (10.7%), lack of profitability (10.5%), lack of staff (9.2%), bureaucracy (8.7%) and competition (8.2%).