The project to create a fintech hub in the Borsa de Barcelona building is activated again three years after the Tech Barcelona association announced a strategic agreement with the stock market operator Six that, for the moment, has not borne fruit.
The Generalitat, owner of the building, will put out to tender five of the nine office floors next July. Since 2020, this space had been left empty because the Department of Economy –which occupied floors 5 to 9– moved to the new Administrative District of the Generalitat in the Free Zone. The rest of the floors –from 0 to 4– are managed by Six, the Swiss firm that controls the activities of the Borsa de Barcelona (and the set of Spanish Stock Exchanges and Markets).
Government sources explain that the objective is to award the empty floors to an entity that has a project to convert the space into specialized offices for startups in the financial sector. In total, they occupy around 3,130m2 and can accommodate multiple workers. The Generalitat does not reveal this figure or the consideration that it will demand from the entity that wins the tender.
With this announcement, the project to locate a fintech hub in the emblematic building on Paseo de Gràcia takes on a new form, different from the one devised three years ago by Tech Barcelona and the operator Six. Then, both entities sealed a pact that should allow the non-profit association to manage a part of the Six space. The objective was to bring together startups from the fintech (financial sector technologies), proptech (real estate) and insurtech (insurance) sectors, as well as investors, venture capital funds, traditional banks, insurers and large corporations, under one roof. The space would become Pier 05 and would be integrated into Tech Barcelona’s network of urban technology campuses.
With the plan paralyzed, the Generalitat joined the negotiations, which saw an opportunity to promote the project once the workers of the Department of Economy were transferred to the Free Zone.
Given the new announcement, Tech Barcelona sources point out that “if the project is articulated through a tender, the technical and economic conditions will be analyzed to decide if it is appropriate for us to present ourselves.” In parallel, the association led by Miquel Martí and chaired by Miguel Vicente, continues to maintain Six as a global partner, as stated on its website.
Beyond the fintech hub, Tech Barcelona continues to work actively on the growth of its Urban Tech Campus. In February, he inaugurated Pier 07 in a building on Via Laietana. It is owned by the real estate developer Núñez y Navarro and focuses on life sciences and biotechnology.
This building joins Pier 01, the headquarters of the association and of various startups in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. It is located in the Palau de Mar building and is owned by the Port of Barcelona. Pier 03, specialized in blockchain technologies, located in the historic Porxos d’en Xifré building, is also operational.
On the other hand, the project to locate a new “pier” in the historic headquarters of the Post Office has been left behind. Despite the fact that the association conceived the idea, finally the Barcelona City Council (which obtained the transfer of the space from the State) awarded its management to the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona, ??which plans to turn the space into an innovation center.
