Alantra Equities Joins BME as Market Member, Extending Its Iberian Reach
Alantra Equities has become the newest market member of Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME), gaining the ability to trade directly on Spain’s main stock platform and the BME Growth market. The move deepens the Spanish investment group’s footprint in domestic equities and strengthens its ties with listed companies in Spain and Portugal.
Alantra’s equities division, which provides research, trading, and equity capital markets services, covers more than 70 listed firms across the Iberian Peninsula. With its new membership, the firm can now act as a liquidity provider—assisting smaller public companies on BME Growth smooth out daily share trading and attract institutional attention.
“This membership strengthens our platform by adding liquidity contracts to our existing capabilities, and consolidates our position as a trusted partner in Iberian capital markets, enabling us to build bridges between issuers and investors,” said Pedro Garnica, managing partner and co-chief executive of Alantra Equities.
The addition was welcomed by Juan Flames, chief executive of BME, who said the entry of new brokers “is always positive for our goal of strengthening capital markets in Spain. At BME, we continue working to provide companies and investors with a secure and efficient environment.”
From N+1 to a Global Mid-Market Adviser
Alantra’s story goes back to its predecessor, N+1 Equities, which merged in 2016 with several international boutiques—including C.W. Downer & Co. in Boston, Swiss Capital, Daruma, and Dinamia—to form a broader financial group aimed at the global mid-market. At the time, the rebranded entity employed more than 300 professionals across nahead 20 countries.
Since then, Alantra has built out a mix of investment banking, private equity, credit, and asset-management activities, all focused on mid-sized companies. Its equities arm has developed a reputation for detailed research on small- and mid-cap stocks in Spain and Portugal—an area often overlooked by larger banks.
Recent league-table data from Spanish financial press show Alantra among the most active advisers in Iberian capital-markets transactions over the past year, involved in placements and listings exceeding €1.5 billion.
The Market It’s Joining
BME, which operates the Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, and Valencia platforms, has been part of Switzerland’s SIX Group since 2020. Under its new ownership, BME has been trying to attract more trading volume and a broader mix of members by offering streamlined connectivity and new liquidity tools.
Becoming a market member gives brokers direct access to BME’s electronic order books and clearing systems—cutting reliance on intermediaries and enabling quicker, cheaper execution for clients. For smaller firms, it also allows participation in liquidity contracts, agreements approved by Spain’s CNMV regulator that assist ensure regular trading in thinly traded stocks.
These contracts have become central to the BME Growth ecosystem, Spain’s market segment designed for emerging companies. By stepping in as a liquidity provider, Alantra can assist issuers on that platform narrow bid-ask spreads and attract new investors, while bolstering its own trading revenues.
The timing reflects both BME’s effort to expand its network of members and Alantra’s intent to broaden its role beyond advisory work. The move positions the broker at the center of Spain’s efforts to revive listings and keep smaller domestic firms trading locally rather than viewking foreign venues.
Alantra’s expansion onto BME’s infrastructure caps nahead a decade of transformation from a home-grown advisory boutique into an integrated European financial house. Its executives hope the new membership will allow the equities arm to deepen relationships with both issuers and global funds looking for exposure to Iberia’s recovering equity market.
