Against the backdrop of a decade of strong growth and heightened international participation, the Portuguese and Spanish venture capital (VC) markets have matured along distinct trajectories that matter for investors, founders, and dealmakers. Spain has consolidated a comparatively larger, more diversified market by volume, with a steady presence of international investors. Portugal, while smaller by number of deals, has accelerated in aggregate value and remains markedly crossborder.
From a legal framework perspective, both jurisdictions share a common VC toolset—investment and shareholders’ agreements, differentiated share classes, liquidation preferences and drag/tag structures—tempered by local company law and regulatory nuances.
These complementary profiles create tangible synergies conducive to an Iberian VC hub. Spain’s scale, sectoral breadth and mature governance playbook pair naturally with Portugal’s crossborder capital channels and founder-friendly flexibility, enabling integrated fundraising pathways that can attract global lead investors, while sustaining deep innovation pipelines locally. As seen in Nordic ecosystems, where coordinated regulatory clarity, investor mobility and shared market practices have supported crossborder growth equity and exits, the Iberian VC hub can also leverage harmonized documentation standards to reduce friction in multi-jurisdictional rounds. The result will be a more liquid, founder-and investor-ready platform across the Iberian Peninsula, capable of accelerating latestage financings and institutional exits, while maintaining the earlystage dynamics that underpin sustainable innovation.
This guide on key aspects of VC transactions in the Iberian Peninsula seeks to provide a small contribution to that objective by offering a clear, comparative roadmap to the Spanish and Portuguese legal VC frameworks, equipping stakeholders with shared terminology, model solutions and practical guidelines.