SPAIN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Ignacio Sanjurjo, Ignacio Echenagusia, Natalia Tévar and Javier Valdés, Deloitte Abogados y Asesores Tributarios, S.L.U.
progressive aging of the population, greater aware - ness of physical and mental well-being, and rising life expectancy. In addition, there is increasing pressure on the public healthcare system, which requires more agile and efficient solutions to remain sustainable. One area where the authors expect to see increasing activity is the CRO (contract research organisation) segment, which will continue to benefit from struc - tural tailwinds driven by sustained growth in clinical trial activity (with approaching patent cliffs enabling recurring revenues and clients), increasing protocol complexity, and ongoing outsourcing by pharma, biotech and medtech sponsors. The CRO sector has consistently outperformed broader healthcare servic - es in terms of growth, visibility and cash flow stability, underpinning continued investor appetite. As in other economic sectors, AI is one of the fac - tors that could revolutionise the healthcare sector and contribute to much-needed sustainability. Medtech companies have been at the forefront of improving the patient care experience through the use of data, ana - lytics and insights combined with AI technologies to
offer personalised treatment options. They have also helped drive research, drug development and quality control. However, this also entails new and significant risks, such as cyber-risks related to data integrity and confidentiality. Finally, the authors would highlight the opportunity to reach agreements among different stakeholders. A large share of growth in companies within the sec - tor comes from products and services derived from agreements between different companies. These agreements represent a more flexible way to drive growth than M&A, and are therefore a highly attrac - tive alternative. Real estate The market saw a reactivation in 2025 that is expected to be maintained in 2026 (considering, for example, the investment cycle of certain funds). Legislative changes, the evolution of interest rates and other mac - roeconomic variables (especially those of a financial nature) may influence the consolidation of this growth. In 2026, growth is expected in the residential, student housing, senior living and data centre sectors.
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