Spanish desk

Our team is composed of lawyers and specialists who know the language, culture and business environment of Spain and Latin America, with many years’ experience in advising Spanish investors in the Polish market.

We work with leading Spanish law firms, offering services that span multiple jurisdictions.

We are a member of the Polish-Spanish Chamber of Commerce (PHIG), which for over 20 years has been committed to the development of Polish-Spanish economic relations, bringing together the interests of approximately 90 member companies. Our membership in the PHIG puts us in contact with the Spanish market, and by establishing and strengthening relationships with other members of the Chamber, we participate in numerous business meetings of significance for Spanish businesses, gaining significant insight into issues affecting contemporary Spanish investors in Poland.

How we can help

We are where Spanish companies do business and invest.

In Poland and internationally, we operate in the key sectors of the economy, crucial for Spanish companies, in particular:

Infrastructure
Energy, including renewable energy sources
Technology
Transport
R&D
Logistics

We offer comprehensive support in:

Public procurement
Project implementation (greenfield and brownfield)
Contract management
Ongoing legal and business advice
Advice on employment and tax issues
Assessment of eligibility for tax relief, including IP box relief and R&D tax relief
Obtaining government subsidies
Litigation, including pursuing claims

Now, at this dramatic time for Ukraine, we are acting with the hope that the country will rebuild quickly both now and after the war is over. We support Spanish investors bidding in Ukraine to rebuild this country alongside Ukrainians, knowing that Ukraine’s future largely depends on its effective and efficient reconstruction.

Our Team

The Spanish Desk team is led by Jakub Krysa, PhD, who has advised many companies from Spain and Spanish-speaking countries, operating outside their jurisdiction.

Jakub is an expert in Polish and EU public procurement law, representing clients at all stages of public procurement, including in appeal proceedings before the National Appeal Chamber and common courts.

Jakub also specialises in new technologies, private international and civil law. His clients include, without limitation, companies operating in the IT, infrastructure, environment, defence, energy, medicine, pharmaceutical and smart cities sectors.

Languages: Spanish, English, Polish

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Why Poland?

Leader in CEE in terms of growth rate and GDP per capita.
Dynamically developing road, rail, air and maritime infrastructure. Due to its strategic location at the intersection of major North-South and East-West transport routes, Poland has strengthened its position on the logistics map of Europe. This is evidenced by, among other things, the construction of the Solidarity Transport Hub (Centralny Port Komunikacyjny), involvement in the Belt and Road Initiative, and the “Via Carpatia” North-South route.
Regional leader in terms of ongoing and planned investments in renewable energy sources (by 2030 the share of RES in electricity production will rise to approximately 27%, thus ultimately it will be approximately twice as high as today).
Human capital: highly skilled and young labour force (26.5 million inhabitants under the age of 55).
Large internal market (6th largest country in the EU by surface area and population).
Academic hub (1.32 million students; 335 thousand new graduates annually).
Business-friendly environment (3^rd most attractive country to invest in the CEE region in 2021 and 23rd in the world in terms of FDI value).
High position in terms of contribution to the GDP of the European Union (6th economy among all the Member States).
A leader in greenfield projects (5^th position in the world and 2^nd position in the European Union in terms of the value of announced greenfield projects).

Spanish Businesses in Poland

According to data from the Central Statistical Office for 2021, Spain is Poland’s 11^th economic partner, both in terms of the value of trade in goods and Polish exports and imports. Compared to 2020, Polish exports to Spain increased by over 18% and reached ca. EUR 7.2 billion, while imports from Spain increased by just over 21% and amounted to ca. EUR 6.2 billion.

Spain is ranked 10^th among the largest foreign investors in Poland. In a breakdown by section of the Polish Classification of Economic Activity, Spanish investments in Poland are located mainly in manufacturing (30%), construction (20%) and accommodation and catering (15%). Moreover, Poland is one of the most important destinations of Spanish FDI among the EU Member States: according to the data of the National Bank of Poland as at the end of 2020, the value of capital invested by Spanish companies in Poland amounted to EUR 6.42 billion. In turn, the value of Polish capital invested by Polish companies in Spain was EUR 336 million.

So far, Spanish companies have invested in Poland in almost all sectors of key importance for the development of the economy, including, without limitation:

Construction: Ferrovial/Budimex, Acciona/Mostostal, OHL
Finance: przejęcie BZ WBK i Deutsche Bank Polska przez Banco Santander
Real Estate: Ferrovial Inmobiliaria, Fadesa-Prokom, Acciona, Rial, Sando, Lubasa
Automobile: Grupo Antolin, Gestamp, SEAT, Ficosa, Faurecia Automotive Espana S.A., Gonvarri Corporación Financiera S.L., Cropu S.A., Industrias Tajos)
Metallurgy: Mecalux S.A., Nemak Exterior S.A.
Transport and Communication: EADS CASA
Furniture: Grupo Ureta Maderas, Lami-Flex
Fashion and Interior Design: Mango, Inditex Group (ZARA, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Bershka), ROCA Sanitario
Energy, mainly in the RES sector: ENDESA, GAMESA Eólica, Eólica NAVARRA & FERSA, Taiga Mistral, Green Source Poland.

As far as larger projects are concerned, it is worth mentioning one of the most recent, in which Spanish company Cellnex acquired the Polish Polkomtel Infrastruktura. Following approval from the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), in July 2021 Cellnex closed a deal with Cyfrowy Polsat Group to acquire 99.99% of Polkomtel Infrastruktura’s telecommunications infrastructure. The deal included an investment of EUR 1.6 billion and investments in active infrastructure equipment, mainly for the 5G standard, which amounted to approximately EUR 600 million.