Pictorial story about the 75 Years of Amat…

By Amat Immobiliaris 24/05/2023

Pilarín Bayés draws an auca, a pictorial story, explaining the 75 Years of Amat…

Last Wednesday, May 3rd, we celebrated the 75th anniversary of Amat Immobiliaris. An event dedicated to honouring, visiting and valuing the company’s past, as well as recognizing the importance of family, women, culture, and society as essential pillars of the company. During this act, the endearing Pilarín Bayés reviewed the company’s past by commenting on the auca, a pictorial story typical of Catalan culture, that she has drawn and that recounts the 75 Years of Amat.

Amat’s 75 years began in 1948

Amat was born in 1948 when a young man – whom we would now call an entrepreneur – Joan Amat, 24 years old with a business education, established a professional property management office in his home in Sant Just Desvern and Barcelona. Four years later, in 1952, Joan passed away due to a terminal cancer, leaving behind his 25-year-old widow, Concepció, and two young daughters. At that moment, Concepció decided to carry on with the office. In the midst of Franco’s regime and a male-dominated world, Concepció lost half of her clients. She couldn’t go alone for business dealings; her brother, a man, had to accompany her to gain the trust of the clients.

The Expansion Led by Women

The “Amat Widow,” as she was known, saw her dedication, effort, and hard work rewarded as she regained former clients. Her daughters, Immaculada and Joana, combine studies and work in the office, going to collect rental receipts, which were handwritten at that time. With the Horizontal Property Law approved in 1960, Amat manages an increased workload. We open an office in Sant Just and in 1970, Immaculada, a lawyer, and Joana, a Property Manager, fully join the office. They are no longer known as “the Amat Widow office,” but as the Amat office, specialized in Administrative Property Consulting. Concepció and her daughters adopt a “feminist” stance and in the early 80s, they decide to become a company exclusively composed of women, implementing work-life balance policies even before the concept became popular.

A Strong and Determined Company and Town

In the 80s, the office underwent its first computerization. In 1997, working with CEl Grupo, we developed the first computer program for the marketing and internal management of Real Estate Agencies. It was time to continue growing, and Sant Cugat del Vallés was the perfect place for it. In 1998, we celebrated Amat’s 50th anniversary with an event at the Hotel Juan Carlos attended by 350 people. A year later, in 1999, Concepció Amigó received the Francesc Macià Medal from the President of the Government, Jordi Pujol. The award recognizes individuals who demonstrate exceptional personal qualities, merits, or services that benefit the general interests in the workplace. We continue to be a women-led company, and we launched the “customized motherhood initiative” that offers personalized work programs for each employee based on their situation and needs. This has never been a problem with our clients.

The Crisis Arrives, but We Forge Ahead and Come Out Stronger

In 2000, the staff consisted of 42 women, and we invested increasingly in training. Moreover, we became the first company in the sector to obtain ISO 9001 certification. In 2004, we launched Online Property Management and implemented telecommuting to support women who were taking care of children or elderly relatives. In 2008, after the Equality Law came into effect, we hired our first male employee. Until then, we had remained committed to the idea of being an exclusively women-led company. Despite being in the midst of a crisis, we persevered and emerged stronger. The third generation, Guifré and Martina Homedes Amat, and Nadia Massagué Amat, joined in 2010. In the spring of 2014, we celebrated Amat’s 65th anniversary with an economic, cultural, and social event at La Pedrera, where we paid tribute to the founder, Concepció Amigó, who was 88 years old.

Working for the Future

After overcoming the crisis, the real estate reactivation occurs. In 2015, AmatLuxury is born, the brand focused on luxury properties. In 2018, Guifré Homedes becomes the CEO of Amat, which leads Imma and Joana to distance themselves and move to the new office on Vía Augusta. They now dedicate a significant part of their time to social organizations they are committed to, both old and new. The 3rd generation has taken over the leadership of the company, and it seems that, after everything we’ve been through, nothing can surprise us. However, in 2020, a global pandemic strikes, catching everyone off guard. Thankfully, our work-life balance policies and commitment to technology allowed us to face the lockdown effectively. Remote work was already possible at Amat since 2013, and Online Property Management had been operational since 2004. It is 2023 and we celebrate Amat’s 75th anniversary.

Discover Amat’s 75 years… with Pilarín Bayés, or read the 75 Years of Amat History Book. If you want to see the complete Auca, click here or visit our offices in Sant Just Desvern or Vía Augusta, where they are currently displayed in the reception. Below, you can see some photos from the 75th anniversary while Antoni Bassas interviewed Pilar Bayés about the auca.