Molins returns its headquarters to Catalonia after moving it due to 1-O

The cement company Molins is returning its registered office to Catalonia after having moved it due to the 1-O referendum. The board of directors made the decision this Tuesday unanimously "thinking about the best interest of the company." The registered office will once again be in Sant Vicenç dels Horts, where its main factory in Spain is located, after having been in Madrid for seven years.

Molins thus becomes the first large company to return, after other smaller ones such as Laboratorios Ordesa, manufacturer of Blemil and Blevit infant milks and cereals, and the technology company Red Points have also done so. Agbar also reversed its decision, doing so just one year after the 2017 independence vote. The President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, celebrated Molins' decision: "Large companies are returning to Catalonia. We can open a stage of progress if we do our job well." For Foment del Treball, which has set itself the goal of companies returning, the announcement "is a first step," but hopes that "it will not be the last."

Molins' board of directors has considered that there is now a situation of legal certainty in Catalonia, as well as political and social stability. The ownership of the company is controlled by three family branches, the Molins Amat, the Molins López Rodó and the Molins Gil, holding around 80% of the capital which is divided into thirds. The company, which has been listed on the Barcelona Stock Exchange for 70 years, had a turnover of 1,349 million euros last year and obtained profits of 151 million euros. With a workforce of 6,300 employees, it operates in several markets such as Germany, Croatia, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Turkey, Tunisia, Bangladesh and India.

This puts an end to a conflict that had divided the ownership. On October 20, 2017, the company decided to move its registered office to Madrid due to the legal uncertainty caused by the political situation, as did some 4,000 other Catalan companies. In its case, the move was challenged by a part of the Molins Amat, who took the decision to court. The court ruled in favor of the company, but the plaintiffs appealed the ruling, a matter still to be resolved.