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The State of the Portuguese Real Estate Market in March
At the end of the first quarter of the year, the month of March proved to be quite robust in terms of transactions and investments, in the several segments. In this month that features the arrival of spring, the hotel segment stood out, as well as the Industrial/Logistics segment, which has been seeing strong transactions over the last few weeks.
The segment that probably stood out as one of the quietest in terms of new operations, was undoubtedly the most talked about during the past month: the residential segment. It should be brought to mind that housing has been on the agenda since the Government's announcement of new measures to fight against the housing crisis.
Housing
In the middle of the month, Fercopor announced the beginning of the construction of the luxury condominium PURE, located in Boavista, Porto. The construction phase began about a month after it was fully sold. The project involves three buildings, with three storeys, comprising a total of 34 flats. The investment value was not disclosed
Also in Porto and already at the end of March, it was known that through ALMA Development, the ESSENCE – New Tradition, a real estate development of excellence, will be born in the Antas area. The project has 84 flats and the completion date is scheduled for the 4th quarter of 2025. The investment value of the project was not disclosed either.
Retail
March begins with the opening of a Aldi store in Vila Nova da Telha. The new space, in the municipality of Maia, with a sales area of 1,040 m2, brings the number of the food retailer stores to 126 nationwide.
Soon after, Aldi announced the strengthening of coverage in the Algarve with the opening of a new store in Loulé. This is the 19th store in the Algarve and the municipality of Loulé receives the second space, which has a total sales area of 1,244 m2. It has photovoltaic panels installed and in operation on the roof of the store, thus contributing to a more efficient consumption and greater energy savings.
With the month coming to an end, Lidl Portugal announced that it will invest 110 million euros in the construction of a logistics centre in Loures. The warehouse has an implantation area of around 54,000 m2 and has a storage capacity for over 44,000 pallets. Works have already started.
Industrial/Logistics
This segment saw some movement throughout the month, starting with the Sandokan Group, which inaugurated a new space in an investment of more than 6 million euros. The SDK – Sandokan group inaugurated the SDK Pneus facilities in the Neiva Industrial Zone, in Viana do Castelo.
Meanwhile, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners announced that it will inaugurate a new warehouse, in its production unit, in Azeitão, in an investment of 8 million euros. The infrastructure in question will increase the factory's storage capacity, from 12,000 to 22,000 pallets, giving this sector over 10,000 m2, for a total of 22,000 m2.
With thecmonth coming to an end, Colliers announced that it had advised Santander Asset Management (SAM) on the sale of two industrial buildings located in the Folgosa area, in Greater Porto. The two assets were sold to the fund manager M7, on behalf of a Blackstone fund. The investment value totalled around 8 million euros.
Soon after, M7 Real Estate also acquired an Industrial/Logistic Portfolio. The portfolio, made up of two assets, is held by Fundo AF Portfólio Imobiliário and managed by Interfundos. The assets, located near Lisbon, in Carregado and Montijo, total an area of 15,300 m2.
Student Residences
Nido, a management brand for students accommodation and Round Hill Capital's co-living, has completed the integration of Smart Studios into its platform, and announces that it plans to open four new residences by 2025. The integration of Smart Studios into the operating platform by Nido, represents an addition of 2,000 new beds to its portfolio.
Health Units
The Spanish company Healthcare Activos, purchased the CUF building in Montijo, which began operations in December 2022. This is already the company's third operation in Portugal, which thus expands its portfolio, having already invested around 100 million euros. The investment value was not disclosed.
Hotels
At the beginning of March, it became public knowledge that the old and historic Convento da Luz, located in Rio Moinhos, in the municipality of Borba, will be rehabilitated. The asset will be the new home of a premium tourist development, which includes the installation of a five-star hotel and tourist units.
Soon after, Mercan Properties announced an investment of 18.2 million euros in the construction of a hotel on the Alentejo coast, in Santiago do Cacém. The Hotel, located on the beach of Costa de Santo André, should open its doors in the summer of 2024. The four-star project is located 300 meters from the beach and has a total construction area of about 2600 m2
Meanwhile, the North American promoter Highgate announced that it is entering Portugal, with the launch of a new company, HG Portugal. The promoter will manage 18 hotels that were part of the Crow Project and that operate with the brands of the Hilton and IHG groups.
At the beginning of the month the opening of the Dos Reis Beautique Hotel was announced. The new hotel unit of The Beautique group is the result of an investment of 16 million euros. Dos Reis Beautique is the group's fourth hotel unit and opened its doors on Avenida Almirante Reis, in Lisbon. The hotel has three meeting rooms, 54 rooms, an Italian restaurant, and an imposing sculptural lamp, in the shape of a crown, located in the reception area.
It was also made public that the Spanish hotel group chic&basic announced that it will invest 100 million euros in its expansion plan which includes Portugal. The hotel chain expects to open 10 hotels over the next 5 years, both nationally and internationally. Chic&basic is currently concluding operations in Lisbon and Barcelona for new openings in 2023.
Of particular note in this segment is the opening of the Crowne Plaza Caparica Lisbon, the 17th hotel by DHM – Discovery Hotel Management, which opened its doors 11 months after the start of works, with an investment of 9.7 million euros. The management of the hotel unit, which has 227 rooms, is in charge of the international brand Crowne Plaza, of the British group InterContinental Hotels Group.
Alternative Assets
With the month of March starting, it became public that the European University Building was acquired by Iberis Capital. Consultora CBRE was responsible for advising Norfin SGOIC on the sale of the building, belonging to Ibéria FEIIF, located at Rua Laura Ayres, 4, in Carnide, Lisbon, to a company owned by Portugal Yield Fund II, which is managed by Private Equity Iberis Capital. The asset has 2,865 m2 of ABC, which are spread over 3 floors above ground, and also has 72 parking spaces over 2 basement storeys.
Meanwhile, Novobanco put the Land Bank Portfolio up for sale for 400 million euros. The portfolio comprises five assets for real estate development located in the Lisbon and Algarve regions. This portfolio adds a potential construction area of around 490,000 m2. The seller's objective is to finalize this commercialization process in the course of 2023.
Real estate developer VIC Properties also announced that Aggregate Holdings S.A. reached an agreement to carry out the sale of 100% of the Company's shares, in a transaction that exceeds a total Enterprise Value of 670 million euros, with investors led by AlbaCore Capital Group, Mudrick Capital Management, L.P. and Owl Creek Asset Management, L.P.
Finally, GRC IM announced its entry into Portugal and wants to invest 200 million euros. The management company GRC IM begins its operations in the Iberian market, with a presence in Lisbon and Madrid. The company already has EUR 180 million under management, and is in the market looking for opportunities to increase its portfolio in Portuguese and Spanish territory.
