Spain’s franchise sector records €28.454 billion in turnover in 2025

Spain’s franchise sector ended 2025 with higher turnover and employment, but fewer active brands. According to figures from the Franchising in Spain 2026 report cited by El Mundo, sales reached €28.454 billion, up 3% on the previous year. The results combine economic growth with a decline in the number of franchise brands — two trends that should be considered separately.

Higher sales and 4,517 net new jobs

The report, produced by the Spanish Franchise Association (AEF) in partnership with Grupo Cajamar, puts employment in the sector at 322,830 people in Spain in 2025. This represents a 1.4% increase on the previous year and a net gain of 4,517 jobs.

Turnover growth of 3% outpaced the percentage increase in employment. Both indicators point to growth across the sector as a whole: franchise networks operating in Spain sold more and, collectively, expanded their workforce. On their own, however, these figures do not show that every brand or outlet followed the same trajectory.

Information published by BBVA in connection with its support for the Franchise Innovation Summit 2026 reports the same growth rates: 3% in turnover and 1.4% in employment. It also puts annual sales at more than €28 billion, in line with the detailed figure cited by El Mundo.

The number of active brands falls to 1,295

The counterpoint is the decline in the number of franchise brands. According to El Mundo’s coverage of the AEF and Grupo Cajamar report, the number of active brands fell by 6.5% to 1,295. Sales growth was therefore not accompanied by an increase in the number of brands operating in Spain.

This distinction matters when interpreting the sector’s performance. A single brand may have multiple outlets, so brand counts and outlet counts are not interchangeable measures. A reduction in one does not automatically reveal how the other has changed.

The available data do not explain the reasons for the decline in brand numbers. Attributing it to closures, mergers or changes in business model would require further information. What the figures do show is that fewer active brands coexisted with higher total turnover and employment than in the previous year.

Food retail stands out within the sector

Food retail provides a concrete example of how this activity is distributed. According to AEF figures cited in information published by MSN on 25 September, food retail franchises operated 12,928 outlets in Spain in 2025 and employed 71,598 people.

Their turnover for the year totalled €8.0561 billion. The same source notes that the Franchising in Spain 2026 report identifies food retail as the leading category in the franchise sector.

These figures help put the weight of food retail businesses within the national picture into perspective. However, they are aggregate measures of activity: they do not describe the investment needed to open an outlet, its trading margin or the time required to recoup the initial investment. For anyone considering joining a franchise network, the distinction between the sector’s overall scale and an individual outlet’s performance is essential.

How to read the figures before investing

The 2025 results offer a positive signal on sales and recruitment, but they are no substitute for assessing each opportunity individually. Rising national turnover does not necessarily mean higher profitability per outlet; establishing that requires data on costs, revenue and operating terms.

It is also worth keeping the report’s measures separate: brands, outlets, sales and employment answer different questions. The brand count shows how many franchise brands are active, while turnover and workforce figures reveal other aspects of their combined activity.

Practical takeaway: anyone considering entering Spain’s franchise sector should use these figures as context, then request information specific to the brand and comparable outlets. National growth is a starting point, not a guarantee of how a new outlet will perform.