Collegiate Porto Campus to Open in October

29 March 2019 Richard D. K. Turner

Temprano Capital Partners and Collegiate Housing Services expect to complete the Collegiate Porto Campus by October 2019. The new student residence development, with 580 luxury studios, is located in Porto, in the Asprela university complex in the region of Paranhos. Temprano Capital Partners, a company operating in Spain and Portugal, is developing the new site in conjunction with the British Collegiate Housing Services.

According to an article on the real estate portal idealista, the new residence is on Rua Dr Manuel Pereira da Silva, nearby the University of Porto’s economics and engineering colleges. Rents are expected to be significantly below those of the two partners’ other recent development, the Collegiate Marquês de Pombal in Lisbon, where the most expensive flats cost more than €1,600/month for the 2019/2020 semester starting in September.

According to Temprano, prices at the Collegiate Porto Campus are likely to be roughly 450 euros per month, including services, amenities and high-speed internet connection.”

Temprano Capital’s website states that the 20,000-m2, state-of-the-art student residence will include “an outdoor pool, landscaped grounds, a movie theatre, library, gym/spa, common rooms and private rooms for dinners as well as events… The residences have a 24-hour concierge, and fully equipped studios,” with “appliances in the kitchens,” for example.

Original Story: Idealista – Elisabete Soares

 

 

EU to Issue New Rules on the Sale of NPLs to Non-Financial Institutions

29 March 2019 Richard D. K. Turner

The Council of the European Union, which represents the executive governments of the EU’s member states, approved regulations covering the acquisition of non-performing loans on secondary markets by non-financial institutions. The new regulations aim to reduce the European banking sector’s exposure to NPLs.

The Council and the European Parliament will now negotiate the new regulatory framework. “The EU is encouraging the development of secondary markets for NPLs, which will facilitate the banks’ sales of non-performing loans,” the Council said in a statement. At the same time, the EU is seeking to harmonise rules on how non-lending institutions can acquire outstanding loan contracts from banks.

In the statement, Brussels also noted that the new framework would create a “harmonised and less restrictive regime for buyers and lenders, removing unnecessary obstacles to cross-border activity while ensuring the same level of consumer protection when banks sell loans.”

The European Commission hopes to give final approval to the new regulatory framework before the end of this year.

Original Story: Economia Online – Lusa

 

 

Sonae Capital Looking to Sell Porto Palácio Hotel Building for at Least €70MM

29 March 2019 Richard D. K. Turner

According to an article on Economia Online, a digital Portuguese business news site, Sonae Capital is looking to sell one of its holdings in the northern city of Porto. The Porto Palácio Congress Hotel & SPA is a mixed-use development consisting of three structures, including the hotel, offices and restaurants, with a total area of ​​47,352 square meters. The asset is held within a closed real estate investment fund, WTC, and is valued at approximately 70 million euros. Sonae is unlikely to accept an offer below that level. Sonaegest manages the fund for Sonae Capital.

According to a prospectus, the fund’s assets include a five-star hotel, which Sonae would continue to operate and two office buildings. The 215-room Porto Palácio Congress Hotel & SPA, located at number 1269 Avenida da Boavista, has a surface area of ​​31,087 square meters. The hotel alone is valued at €34 million.

The Boavista Office building, the headquarters of the Maló Clinic in Porto, has offices, shops, restaurants and parking. The 8,335-square-meter property currently has an occupancy rate of 98%.

The final asset, the WTC Office building, has a total of ​​7,929 square meters, including offices, shops and restaurants, and a health club currently occupied by Solinca Health & Fitness. The asset ’s occupancy rate currently stands at 86%.

Sonae Capital declined to comment on the sale, but sources stated that the company is unlikely to accept less than 70 million euros for the assets.

According to a valuation by Cushman & Wakefield of Sonae Capital’s real estate assets, the multinational had a total of 85 assets, valued at 287.4 million euros, at the end of November of 2018.

Original Story: Economia Online / Rita Neto

Photo: D.R.

 

 

Residential Bank Valuations Hit High of €1,239

29 March 2019 Richard D. K. Turner

Valuations conducted by banks in Portugal as a part of the process of evaluating potential residential bank loans (mortgages) rose for the 23rd consecutive month in February to 1,239 euros, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE), as reported in an article by the online publication Economia Online.

The figure corresponds to a month-on-month increase of 1.1% and an increase of 6.8% y-o-y, the statistical agency added. €1,239 is the highest level valuations have reached since the INE began its series in September 2008.

Original Story: Economia Online / Catarina Melo

 

 

Fitch Ratings States that Portuguese Banks’ Exposure to NPLs Falls to 11%

29 March 2019 Richard D. K. Turner

According to an article on the online news portal Impala News, Fitch Ratings announced that large Portuguese banks had managed to continue to reduce their exposure to bad debts. The banks’ non-performing loan ratio fell from approximately 15% at the end of 2017 to 11%, just twelve months later.  The decline in NPLs was largely due to a series of remedies the banks have attempted to implement, including asset sales, write-offs and recoveries.

Fitch, however, added that that ratio is still significantly higher than the average for European and international banks. Fitch noted that Portugal’s banks should take advantage of “the benign economic and political environment in 2019 to accelerate their reduction of troubled assets, including in real estate.”

In the meantime, the rating agency also warned that the European Central Bank’s (ECB) rules regarding NPL coverage ratios could negatively impact sector profitability.  “Aggregate revenues for the largest Portuguese banks fell in 2018,” the agency stated, largely due to low to negative interest rates, reduced profits from bond holdings and losses on sales of NPLs. Nevertheless, most of the banks posted profits last year due to a 50% drop in impairment charges and a fall in non-recurring provisions.

Original Story: Impala News / Lusa

 

 

 

 

500 Flats to Go Up in Lisbon’s Alto do Lumiar in €200MM Investment

29 March 2019 Richard D. K. Turner

The real estate group Solyd Property Developers has announced plans for a new project, called ALTEAR. The developer, according to an article yesterday in the Jornal Econômico, will invest 200 million euros, building more than 500 new flats in Lisbon’s Alto do Lumiar.

The new, mixed-use development will include 500 new flats, ranging from one bedroom to five-bedroom apartments, shops and gardens, with a total construction area of ​​over 120,000 square meters. The property will also offer facilities such as a gym, swimming pools, playgrounds and extensive parking.

The first phase of the project, LAGO ALTEAR, is under construction and individual units are already on sale. LAGO ALTEAR consists of two buildings, with 101 apartments and seven stores, overlooking a lake and gardens.

Original Story: Jornal Econômico – Rodolfo Alexandre Reis

 

 

 

Social Security Moves to New Headquarters on Av. 5 de Outubro

29 March 2019 Richard D. K. Turner

According to reporting on the online news portal Idealista, Portugal’s Social Security Department has moved to new headquarters on the corner of Avenida 5 de Outubro and Avenida de Berna, in Lisbon. The Social Security Financial Stabilization Fund acquired the property two years ago from CGD’s Pension Fund for 50 million euros. About 1,500 employees, who had previously worked out of thirteen different buildings moved to the new headquarters, and Social Security will now provide the bulk of its Lisbon-based services in this one building.

Original Story: Idealista

IMI Rate on Empty Homes Set to Rise Six-Fold in Areas Subject to Housing Pressure

27 March 2019 Richard D. K. Turner

The Portuguese government recently gave municipalities the right to triple the IMI rate on buildings that have been left vacant for more than a year. A new legislative amendment, however, which was approved by the Council of Ministers, has further increased the pressure to utilise vacant homes. In cases of properties located in areas suffering from housing pressure, or a situation of excess demand, homes that have been vacant for more than two years may suffer a six-fold increase in their IMI tax rate, the Jornal Expresso reported.

Residential properties whose owners have registered as second homes with the Finance Ministry, however, will not be subject to a surcharge if the property is located in a different municipality from the owner’s permanent residence, even if it has been vacant for more than one.

Currently, the law stipulates that properties that are used “for short-term housing on beaches, the countryside, hot springs and any other such places, whether for temporary rentals lease or own use” are not considered vacant. Therefore, properties located in tourist developments or registered as local accommodation establishments and secondary dwellings will be exempt from the surcharge, though only if the owners’ permanent residence is not in the same municipality.

Original Story: Jornal Expresso

 

 

 

CGD Sells Maló Clinic’s Headquarters in Lisbon to Incus Capital

27 March 2019 Richard D. K. Turner

According to an article yesterday on the news site Economia Online, the Portuguese, state-owned bank Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), has just sold the Green Park building in Lisbon to Incus Capital, a Spanish fund manager. The office building has 13,550 square meters of usable space spread over a total of 14 floors.

CGD sold the building, which houses the headquarters of the dentistry group Maló Clinic in Portugal, through its subsidiary Caixa Imobiliária. The building is located at 43 Avenida dos Combatentes and is primarily used by health service providers, including Maló Clinic, according to CBRE, which acted as a consultant on the sale. CBRE declined to reveal details of the transaction.

CBRE stated that the building is “flexible in design and has panoramic, 360º views of the city on the upper floors.” The real estate consultancy added that the office building has an additional 352 parking spaces on four floors of underground garages and 300 square meters of storage area.

Nuno Nunes, director of capital markets of CBRE, stated that “this is a unique opportunity for national and international companies to establish themselves in an expanding area of the city of Lisbon. Green Park is an example of the current state of the office market, in that investors are gradually beginning to invest in properties that they can reposition in order to respond to the limited supply of office space.”

Original Story: Economia Online – Rita Neto

Photo: Essential Business

 

 

 

Urban Renewal Branches Out from Historic Lisbon

27 March 2019 Richard D. K. Turner

A new division of Cushman & Wakefield’s, City Thinkers, is forecasting significant growth and urban renewal in the area surrounding Almirante Reis in Lisbon. City Thinkers is a multidisciplinary group that studies cities around the world, attempting to spot upcoming trends. Its predictions for Lisbon were the focus of a recent article on the online news site Diário Imobiliário.

As demand continues to increase in the Portuguese capital, City Thinker believes that urban redevelopment will continue to expand beyond the city’s historic centre. That area is currently delimited by the river, Rua do Século to the west, Campo de Santa Clara to the east and Praça dos Restauradores to the north.

Outside of that central zone, urban regeneration is extending out along Avenida 24 de Julho, Rua da Escola Politécnica in Campo de Ourique, Av. da Liberdade and Av. da República and Av. Almirante Reis. Av. 24 de Julho is already experiencing significant levels of urban renewal. New developments and the redevelopments of existing structures is also beginning to penetrate the traditional residential neighbourhoods of Estrela and Campo de Ourique. The closure of a number of facilities, including hospitals, older schools and churches is expected to give impetus to the redevelopment.

A series of planned investments in co-working and co-living spaces in Marvila, in the eastern part of Lisbon, will also boost construction activity in the area.

Original Story: Diário Imobiliário

Photo: