Neinor Expands Overseas & Finalises Purchase of 3 Plots in Lisbon

26 December 2017 – El Confidencial

The dream of making the leap overseas is increasingly closer to becoming a reality for Neinor. The property developer led by Juan Velayos is holding advanced talks to acquire three plots of land in Lisbon, according to sources familiar with the deal. Provided nothing goes awry, the deal is expected to close between the end of January and the beginning of February.

With this move, the company will fulfil its objective of entering the Portuguese market, where it first placed its focus several months ago in order to take advantage of the recovery happening in the country. The evolution there is expected to be similar to the recovery that Spain has been enjoying in recent times.

Neinor’s objective is to acquire sufficient plots of land to enable it to build 300 homes per year, a volume that would justify the opening of a dedicated office in Lisbon.

The acquisitions that the property developer currently has on the table would justify its debut in the neighbouring country, although the same sources also indicate that, currently, Neinor is in the “due diligence” phase and that all three plots must pass the test for it to go ahead with the agreement.

Although the entry into the Portuguese capital would represent Neinor’s international debut, the property developer regards the move in the context of the entire Iberian Peninsula representing a single market, albeit taking account of the Portuguese cultural, legal and regulatory rules.

In light of this commitment to urban housing, Neinor and its main shareholder, Lone Star, have taken the decision to not transfer to the property developer the plots of land that the fund acquired two years ago in the Algarve from Catalunya Banc.

The plots in question house the Vilamoura tourist complex, which spans a surface area of almost 2,000 hectares and a buildable area of 700,000 m2. More than 5,000 apartments and homes are going to be constructed there and the US fund engaged CBRE last autumn to start selling them.

During the first nine months of 2017, Neinor invested €275 million in buildable land, which means that it now has land for the immediate development of around 12,000 homes. It also generated revenues of €169.4 million, with a gross margin of €40.7 million.

Original story: El Confidencial (by Ruth Ugalde)

Translation: Carmel Drake