The capital of the Costa del Sol no longer only attracts tourists in search of tapas and sunshine. That’s an indisputable fact. Google and other technology giants choose Malaga as the city for future investments. The buzzing city of Malaga is increasingly seen as the technical center of Spain and Europe, a hub for tech giants from all over the world.
Due to its geographical location, Malaga enjoys one of the best climates in Europe: an average annual temperature of 18ºC and more than 320 days of sunshine.
Malaga’s international airport is the third most important in the country, attracting no less than 20 million passengers per year. The city is also home to the second cruise ship port in the peninsula, while the nation’s capital, Madrid, is only 2 hours and 20 minutes by high-speed train. The province is also home to some 16 international schools catering to more than 140 nationalities.
Part of the attention the city is receiving comes from two institutions that have been active for almost 30 years, namely the University of Málaga (UMA) and the Malaga TechPark (PTA). Both have a close relationship which creates an important network for the transfer and dissemination of technology, designed to promote research and development.
Today, the city is immersed in a process of improvement and modernization focusing itself on three main vectors: new technologies, culture and tourism. With over 3000 years of history, Malaga has managed to reinvent itself as a city capable of attracting investors, entrepreneurs, science experts, visitors and tourists alike.
Malaga can now boast to be one of the best places to live and work, with a high quality of life at a very competitive cost. This is the reason why Google and other technology giants invest in the city of Malaga.
Malaga Tech Park -also known as“PTA” for its initials in Spanish- is a high-quality “technopolis” for innovation, research and development.
With over 620 companies and 20,000 employees, the park is a hive of knowledge generation, employment and investment opportunities.
The sectors with the greatest presence are Information Technology (electronics, information, computing and telecommunications) together with Engineering, Consultancy and Advisory services.
By the end of 2022, the park will have a building comprising 105 accommodation units which will serve as co-living space for employees.
Thanks to the PTA, Malaga has become a cluster of innovation for Spain and Europe, the envy of the major capitals such as Madrid and Barcelona, and many more.
The TechPark has already become the number one choice for many global companies.
Multinationals like Google, Vodafone, Oracle, Accenture, Orange, PWC, Atlantic International Technology, Huawei, Avatel Telecom,TDK to name a few have all chosen the PTA to set up their headquarters and research and development centres.
Job opportunities and the excellence of the local university has created a large, highly demanded pool of qualified staff.
There is currently a growing waiting list for companies awaiting to settle at the PTA.
A decisive moment for Malaga came when Google announced a multi-million-euro investment in Spain to support the country’s digital transformation. A large part of this budget is dedicated to building a Centre of Excellence for Cybersecurity due to open next year. This centre will be located in the middle of the harbour on “Pier One” (Muelle Uno) and will serve as a venue for training and workshops on cybersecurity.
Google and other technology giants seems to like the city and shortly after Google presented the news, then another big announcement came in. Vodafone announced the opening of a European Centre for the Development of New Technological Solutions. In a press release, the telecommunications company said it chose Malaga because of its “quality of life, availability of talent with the necessary technical skills, working conditions, transport, and government subsidies”.
There are already great examples of successful startups in Malaga. For example, Freepik, a stock image startup that recently has reached half a million premium subscribers (more than Shutterstock).
Malaga is officially Spain’s candidate to host the Expo 2027 International Exhibition under the theme “The Urban Era: towards the sustainable city”, an event that would generate an economic impact of approximately 3 billion euros in the province and that could create over 30,000 jobs according to a recent study.
So the expectations towards becoming an important cluster in Spain and Europe are big, if not already a reality. Malaga has managed to pin itself on the map as a major business and leisure destination for all.
Holiday rentals in Malaga have jumped onto the city's success band wagon with over 6,000 properties holding a holiday apartment license in the city centre only. Many investors purchase affordable real estate in view to rent short-term holiday flats to secure a steady montly income as well as increase capital gain in case of a future resale.
Time to invest in Malaga? Give us a buzz!
Ola South, your investment experts.
