Up to 20,000 small Spanish businesses could be forced to close when rent controls are abolished at the end of this month, according to the self-employed workers union. Many of the closures will be emblematic shops that shape the urban landscape in cities such as Madrid, Granada and Barcelona.
The Camisería Hernando has been in business since 1857 and has occupied the same shop on Madrid’s Gran Vía for 50 years but is closing after the rent shot up from €3,000 to €30,000 a month.
Barcelona has already lost a toy shop and a secondhand bookstore that have been a feature of the old part of the city for more than a century. Both premises have been occupied by retail clothing chains. Other gems such as the modernista Monge stamp shop and the Quiles grocery are also under threat as the city succumbs to an influx of chain stores.
Local government officials have refused to intervene to preserve the city’s heritage but local artists and intellectuals are taking the case of Monge to court. While some landlords have been prepared to negotiate affordable rent hikes, many shops are in buildings owned by banks and funds that simply notify the shopkeepers of the impending rise.
An estimated 80% of Spanish companies are family owned and they generate about 70% of GDP.
La Dolceria de La Colmena has been satisfying Barcelona’s sweet tooth since 1849. Its owner, Josep María Roig, is also president of the Barcelona Association of Emblematic Establishments, and has been able to survive a rent rise from €1,100 to €7,500 because, as well as the shop, his business supplies other outlets in the city.
“About 60% of the 200,000 affected businesses have been able to negotiate a rise of around 35%,” César García, of the self-employed workers union, said. “But most of the rest have received a letter telling them the rent is going up by thousands of euros and that it’s not negotiable.”
“We’re closing after 72 years,” said Susana Esnarriega, owner of Así, a doll shop on Madrid’s Gran Via. “The landlord is giving us till Epiphany to get out but he hasn’t even made us an offer.”
Unemployment in Spain is running at about 24%. Mariano Rajoy, the prime minister, said on Monday that “the crisis is over, but not its consequences.”
