ESEC was founded in 1995 by the ESC Toulouse Group and the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Barcelona with the aim of opening a high quality business school similar to those of the "Grandes Ecoles", throughly international, allowing its students to feel at ease with the linguistic, cultural, and business area on both sides of the Pyrenees.
In 2004, Toulouse Business School assumed control of ESEC, to create the Iberian Campus of the group.

In 2008, due to the continuous growth of the school, ESEC moved to new facilities in the heart of Barcelona.