The president of the Institute of Family Business (IEF), Eloi Planes, has urged this Tuesday to achieve broad consensus to face the "great challenges" of Spain and has reiterated the institution's willingness to actively engage in their resolution, instead of observing them "from the sidelines."
At the closing of the "XXIX National Congress of Family Business," Planes has highlighted the capacity of family companies to propose solutions with a vision that transcends the short term of a legislature, as detailed by the IEF in a statement.
"We do not want to look at the great challenges of our country from the sidelines. We want to get involved and contribute what we are: rootedness, commitment, ability to act, and willingness to build for those who come after," he stated during his speech.
The president of the IEF also emphasized the "institutional support" achieved at the meeting, which included the participation of the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, and the president of the Popular Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, in addition to a message of support sent by King Felipe VI. He highlighted that "very different people have come to share their perspective," to listen and to be heard.
"That relevance implies a responsibility to our companies, to our families, and to the country of which we are a part," he noted, referring to the role that family businesses play in the economy and society.
During the congress, attendees responded to a questionnaire about the economic and business situation in Spain. The results show "greater caution" in the perception of the general economic situation, which respondents rate at 4.82 out of 9, below the 5.66 of 2025 and becoming the lowest rating since 2022, according to IEF data.
Sales, Employment, and Main Risks Outlook
Despite this worsening in the overall rating, 61% of the companies present at the congress (the same percentage as the previous year) expect to increase their sales in 2027. However, only 35% anticipate increasing their workforce, compared to the 39% recorded in 2025, while 14% estimate that they will reduce it, the highest percentage since 2020.
Businessmen place the lack of qualified professionals as the most relevant risk for competitiveness, at 69%. Next, they point to absenteeism (66%) and bureaucracy (62%) as areas where they consider reforms to be most urgent. Regarding the continuity of family companies, succession and internal conflicts are perceived as the greatest threat (65%), ahead of taxation (54%).
In the technological field, almost all of the surveyed companies declare using artificial intelligence (98%). However, the majority do so through basic commercial tools (56%), while nearly a quarter (23%) claims to be developing specific AI agents for tasks related to the production process. Additionally, 58% believes that generational change will be decisive in driving the adoption of these technologies.
Housing, regulation, and support for family businesses
On this Tuesday's session, the former Vice President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Luis de Guindos, also intervened, defending the need for a housing policy that "aligns" all public administrations —central government, autonomous communities, and municipalities— in order to reduce the gap between supply and demand, especially in the rental market. He warned that the population growth in Spain has not been accompanied by a sufficient increase in the available housing stock.
For her part, Isabel Díaz Ayuso emphasized that "Spain needs its companies, especially family businesses, which are the majority"; she expressed her intention to strengthen business activity in the Community of Madrid through the new family business law and announced that her Executive "is working on a law that reduces hyperregulation and makes the adaptability of companies less demanding from a legislative point of view."