British investments in the gas industry in Spain: the role of the free-standing companies

Abstract

[Abstract]: Foreign investment played a relevant role in launching the gas industry in many countries, including Spain. The British, along with the French, were the main investors. In the British case, one of their favorite instruments for foreign investment were the free-standing companies (FSC), whose corporate flexibility provided them with several advantages. The aim of the chapter is the analysis of the profile, behavior, and results of these companies in the context of the Spanish gas industry during the second half of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth. Primary sources from British and Spanish archives have been used, in order to better contrast the global approach of the FSC to these specific cases.