Month: February 2021

New Expropriation Regime for Public Works to Last Until the End of 2022

26 February 2021 – Ana Custódio

Portugal’s Council of Ministers approved the decree-law creating a special regime for expropriation and the constitution of administrative easements to implement projects included in the Economic and Social Stabilisation Programme. The regulations entered into force on Wednesday and will remain in place until December 31, 2022.

The new law states that “Considering the impact on every area [of the economy] by the lockdown imposed by the need to mitigate and combat the pandemic COVID-19, in particular on the economic, financial and social side, it is imperative to promote the gradual resumption of social and economic life through the adoption of measures aimed at boosting the Portuguese economy and actions that promote the implementation of lasting and necessary investments, with tangible benefits for people and that constitute a way of maintaining or creating jobs across the national territory.”

While on the one hand, there is an urgent need to fund investments to strengthen the Portuguese economy and finances, on the other hand, the existence of constraints on the expropriation process and the constitution of administrative easements have led to the need to create a special regime to streamline such procedures within the framework of the investments foreseen in the PEES, in the various areas of intervention.

Thus, the new decree-law established a special regime that seeks to streamline the Economic and Social Stabilisation Programme’s implementation, introducing simplicity and celerity in the processing of expropriation and administrative easement procedures needed to implement the Programme. Therefore it sets up a special regime covering expropriation and the creation of administrative easements with a view to the implementation of interventions that are considered, by order of the member of the Government responsible for the sector of activity over which the intervention in question falls, to fall within the scope of the PEES.

Therefore, the expropriation of property and the rights inherent required for the construction, expansion, rehabilitation or improvement of equipment, networks and infrastructure within the scope of the execution of the investments considered of public utility and as a matter of urgency.

According to the decree-law, “it is the expropriating entity’s responsibility, without prejudice to the State or local government’s own areas of competence, to promote and develop the processes inherent to the expropriation procedure per this decree-law and the Expropriation Code, in the applicable part, expropriating entity being responsible for the deposit of the amount or the bond referred to in article 20 of the Expropriation Code, as well as for the payment of fair compensation.”

Translation: Richard Turner

Israel’s Osquared to Build New Luxury Residential Development in Porto

24 February 2021

Osquared, founded by the Israeli executive Eli Omer as a subsidiary of Omer Group Investments, plans to invest between 40 and 50 million euros in Portugal. The developer is looking at taking on a series of housing projects in the country over the next few years.

Mr Omer’s company has already started the construction of a luxury residential development in Porto, The Duke’s Square, on Rua Duque de Loulé, next to Praça da Batalha. The project comprises Osquared’s third real estate investment in the northern city, after Cedofeita 630 and Almada 516, continuing its expansion strategy in the Portuguese market.

The new 8-flat residential condominium, The Duke’s Square, includes the restoration of a 19th-century bourgeois building in downtown Porto. In the initial construction phase, the property will also boast a painted by a local artist.

According to Mr Omer, “we always bet on differentiation, quality, precision, and high performance in creating each project, because doing what we love is as important as loving what we do. And today, we have the privilege of combining the two, proof of which is the fact that we already have 50% of The Duke’s Square project on the market, still in the pre-construction phase.”

Original Story: Vida Imobiliária – Ana Tavares

Photo: The Duke’s Square – Osquared

Translation: Richard Turner

Real Estate Companies Report 80% Loss in Turnover in January

24 February 2021

Real estate agencies saw an average drop of 82.4% in sales in January compared to the same month in 2020. APEMIP’s (Portuguese Association of Realtors and Real Estate Agencies) Barometer for January 2021 stems from approximately 4,000 responses to a survey from professionals in licensed real estate mediation companies operating in Portugal.

According to Luís Lima, the president of APEMIP, “it’s natural that prices start to reflect the effects of the drop in demand and that some corrections occur.”

The executive believes that falling prices will be particularly noticeable in the higher luxury housing segment, largely dependent on foreign demand, which has practically ceased to exist. 62.6% of respondents confirm a drop in the sector, as the domestic market no longer has as much capacity to absorb these types of assets. Mr Lima added that virtual home tours are ineffective.

In the survey, 62.5% of respondents stated that prices had, nevertheless, held firm, while 31.4% said they had fallen, and 6.1% saw an increase compared to the previous month.

Original Story: Expresso – Vitor Andrade

Photo: Jo Kassis

Translation: Richard Turner

Round Hill Capital and TPG Real Estate to Invest €150 million in Residential Development

24 February 2021

A joint venture by Round Hill Capital and TPG Real Estate is developing a new residential building, called Lumino, in Campo Pequeno, Lisbon. The firm will invest a total of 150 million euros.

The new 40,000-m2 development will consist of 300 one-to-four-bedroom flats with prices starting at 315,000 euros, along with a 380-bed university residence. The student residence will occupy an area of around 10,500 m2, with a total of 320 studios and rooms.

Construction of the first phase, with 97 flats, began less than a month ago, and around 50 apartments have already been reserved. This first phase of the project, currently the largest of its kind underway in the capital, along with the student residence, should be completed by the second half of 2022.

The building, which is the architectural studio of Saraiva + Associados is designing, is on the Praça Campo Pequeno on Avenida Sacadura Cabral. The London-based firm TP Bennett is designing the university residence.

Original Story: Visão – Gonçalo Dias

Translation: Richard Turner

Increase in the Number of Municipalities offering IMI Discount for Families

24 February 2021

According to Portugal’s Ministry of Finance, last year saw an increasing number of municipalities opt to provide discounted IMI rates. A total of 253 local governments, up from 235 in 2019 (+7.7%), now offer the benefit to families with dependents.

The benefit was first granted in 2016. The Family IMI is a discount based on the number of dependents in a particular family. That year, just 130 municipalities offered the reduction to their residents. The tax for last year will come due in May.

Original Story:  Público – Gonçalo Dias

Translation: Richard Turner

Solar Investment to Open New Hotel in Chaves

23 February 2021

Solar Investment is set to inaugurate the new four-star Hotel Santa Rita Wellness & Spa is in the parish of Outeiro Seco, municipality of Chaves, next year, in the summer of 2022.

The firm is receiving funding from the Compete 2020 program. It has redeveloped a 17th-century building that was vacant and in possession of the municipality until its sale, in 2018, to Solar Investment. The investment firm will assume management of the hotel in the former Solar dos Montalvões. Funding will total 6.9 million euros, with the Costa & Carreira group in charge of construction.

The former Solar dos Montalvões and a new 40-room adjoining development will include a wellness centre with a range of treatments. The resulting site will have a surface area of more than 7,000 square metres.

Original Story: Vida Imobiliária  – Ana Tavares

Translation: Richard Turner

HIG Capital Acquires Three Apartment Buildings in Lisbon

23 February 2021

HIG Capital, a US investment fund, has acquired three residential buildings in downtown Lisbon, expanding its footprint in Portugal. Few details of the transaction, including the sales price and the exact location of the buildings, were disclosed.

According to the Jornal de Negócios and IPE Real Assets, the acquisition was completed in a series of individual transactions through one of HIG Capital’s subsidiaries.  The investment firm is based in Miami and has about 43 billion dollars of assets under management.

“Our focus in Portugal is on refurbishing assets in prime locations to meet the local and international demand for residential units,” said Riccardo Dallolio, director of HIG Europe Realty Partners, adding that the company sees significant opportunities in Lisbon’s residential sector.

The US fund had already invested over 110 million euros in Portugal in 2015, buying 77 real estate assets and 114 secured loans from Finangeste.

Original Story: Jornal de Negócios – Rui Neves

Translation: Richard Turner

KNJ Group to Build Luxury Residential Condominium in Porto

23 February 2021

The second-largest shareholder of Global Media, the KNJ group, will build a luxury residential condominium called Miramar Tower, investing an undisclosed amount.

The development will be the KNJ Group’s first real estate project in Portugal. The new condo will go up at Rua de Diogo Botelho in Foz do Douro, Porto. Miramar Tower will include 15 floors, with more than 200 square metres of balcony per floor.

The closed condominium will consist of one-to-four-bedroom flats, with areas between 152 and 613 square metres. The Miramar Tower, marketed by Predibisa and designed by the OODA architecture team, will be built “parallel to the road and at approximately the same height as the towers in that area … by positioning the building in the most central part of the plot, maximum spacing is guaranteed for all adjacent buildings,” the firm added.

The KNJ group, which is owned by the Macao-based executive Kevin Ho, is also the second-largest shareholder (35.25%) of Global Media, which owns the newspapers JN, DN and O Jogo, and the TSF radio station.

Original Story: Jornal de Negócios – Rui Neves

Photo: OODA

Translation: Richard Turner

Predipalma Invests €25 Million in Residential Development in Porto

22 February 2021

The Portuguese firm Predipalma, which builds and sells real estate in Greater Porto,  has sold 80% of its new Molares 20 apartment block in Paranhos. Completion is scheduled for August 2022. The development consists of two buildings, Molares 20 and Molares 21, in a 25-million-euro investment. Work on the second phase of the project will begin in March and is scheduled to conclude in March 2023.

Molares 20 and Molares 21 will have a total of 100 flats, with prices starting at 290,000 euro and reaching a high of €475,000. The Molares buildings will have two-to-three bedrooms apartments, with areas ranging from 130 m2 to 156 m2. Each apartment will also boast one or two parking spaces.

The firm is also beginning work on a third building, the Molares 22. All three are located in front of the Ermesinde Cultural Forum.

Original Story: Idealista – Elisabete Soares

Photo: Predipalma

Translation: Richard Turner

Blackbrook Capital Acquires Portfolio of Build-to-Suit Supermarkets

22 February 2021

The British investment firm Blackbrook Capital, which was only founded in March 2020, has acquired a portfolio of supermarkets currently under construction in Portugal. The properties will be subsequently leased to Sonae MC under its Continente Bom Dia brand.

The London-based real estate investment company “has committed to acquiring a portfolio of supermarkets under construction in Portugal” it said in a statement. The location and quantity of the properties acquired, as well as the transaction amounts, have yet to be disclosed. What is known, however, is that one of the properties was recently concluded and that the others will be concluded in phases over the next 12 months.

According to Arvi A. I. Luoma, co-founder and CEO of Blackbrook, ” We’re pleased to have secured this transaction as Sonae has new grocery retail sites developed in line with its strategic growth objectives.” Mr Luoma added that ” We see convenience stores playing a crucial role in the future of grocery retail.”

Original Story: Eco Sapo – Rita Neto

Translation: Richard Turner