5th Meeting of the EU Peers Spain Community on Business Models

On the 19 th of March 2025, the EU Peers Community in Spain held its fifth meeting, marking the second in-person gathering of the community. This time, the event took
place in Madrid and began by celebrating an important milestone: the community now has over 40 members in Spain and more than 250 across Europe.
During the event, three community members briefly presented their work: Iberdrola, the Opengela Office Network of the Basque Government, and the Renovation Support Office Network (OAR) of the CSCAE. The central theme of the meeting revolved around business models for Integrated Home Renovation Services.

Previously, a survey was sent to members of the community on this topic. The responses revealed a great diversity of business models in the building renovation sector in Spain. While some organisations offer comprehensive (turnkey) services, others specialise in only certain phases, requiring clients to manage the remaining stages themselves.

One of the main challenges identified is the lack of access to structured financing to complement grants, which limits the ability of many communities and individuals to undertake renovation projects. Similarly, methods for monitoring and evaluating works vary widely, with some entities applying rigorous controls and others lacking clear supervision strategies.

Another key issue is the limited availability of after-sales services, leaving many clients without support once the work is completed.

Most respondents expressed interest in staying connected with the renovation ecosystem, presenting an opportunity to strengthen collaboration and share best practices. To improve the sector, the need to promote more accessible financing models, foster partnerships between entities to offer integrated solutions, and develop standardised protocols for monitoring and after-sales services was highlighted, ensuring a positive and sustainable impact on Spain’s housing stock.

During the meeting, an exercise was carried out to group the different business models present in the community. First, public and private management models were differentiated. Subsequently, participants were asked to identify similarities in the business models found, such as contracting processes, services offered, integration of subsidies and financing models, among other aspects. Based on this analysis, participants were organised into three groups with similar business models, thus facilitating the exchange of experiences.

To conclude the meeting, each group drew up a series of proposals to be included in the National Building Renovation Plan (PNRE). Among them, measures to optimise energy efficiency and streamline administrative processes were highlighted, such as the revision of the parameters of the Energy Performance Certificate (CEE) and the monetisation of Energy Saving Certificates (CAE) to incentivise investment in renovation. The creation of a national digital building register and the unification of the data collection process across all autonomous communities was also proposed. 

Other key measures included the standardisation of procedures, the elimination of the requirement to request three bids, the implementation of OSS in more territories and the relaxation of regulations to differentiate between new construction and renovation, allowing for greater integration of renewable energies. The importance of streamlining the connection of electricity connections, improving coordination between government agencies and professionalising the sector through the creation of a list of accredited companies, the training of subsidy managers and sustained awareness-raising campaigns over time was also underlined.

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Finally, the meeting concluded with a networking cocktail in which members of the EU Peers project consortium also participated. This space allowed to generate new connections not only among the members of the community in Spain, but also with experts from all over Europe. 

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