MONTCLARE
CAPITAL PARTNERS
The Zona Especial Canaria (ZEC) is a special economic zone within Spain and the European Union offering a reduced corporate income tax rate of 4% — against the standard ~25% — to companies that establish genuine activity and substance in the Canary Islands. Fully EU-compliant and authorised by the European Commission.
Montclare structures the ZEC for international investors from outside Spain — from the Gulf, Latin America, Asia and Africa — as a low-tax entry point into the European Union, held under a Dutch holding for treaty access, substance and exit optionality: a complement to the Dutch platform, never a substitute for it. Spanish-resident clients are served directly by our partner Fimax.
We work hand in hand with Fimax, our trusted Canary Islands partner — combining Montclare's cross-border structuring with their on-the-ground ZEC expertise, from eligibility through authorisation and ongoing compliance.
The ZEC covers a broad range of activities. Among the strongest fits:
ZEC's 4% rate combined with Canary Islands film and audiovisual incentives.
Software, digital services and technology companies.
International holding and wholesale trade structures.
Manufacturing, assembly and distribution operations.
Consulting, engineering and B2B service companies.
Online businesses serving EU and international markets.
Figures per the ZEC regime (Art. 28 et seq., REF Canario). Reductions apply for knowledge-intensive and job-intensive activities. Subject to ZEC Consortium authorisation, which grants ZEC status. Montclare and Fimax coordinate through licensed local providers; a Spanish notary executes the incorporation. We help confirm the exact figures for your case with your advisers.
A founder-led digital platform group asked whether its software, platform management, technical support and commercial operations could move into a Canary Islands ZEC environment while keeping the group clean, defensible and operationally real.
We advised on the full holding-to-operating structure: ZEC eligibility, permitted activities, employment and local substance requirements, investment thresholds, governance and intercompany flows. We helped define a software/IP company under the holding, separated brand rights from operational IP, and reviewed transfer pricing and royalty documentation alongside the client's own advisers.
A clearer ZEC operating model across three Canary Islands entities, a defensible internal software licensing model, and a clean distinction between holding-level brand value and ZEC-level technology activity, where conditions are met.
Tell us about your activity and we will assess whether ZEC fits — with Montclare and Fimax.
REQUEST A ZEC ASSESSMENT