Spain 
Italy 
Greece 
LX Factory’s Tenants Surprised by French Group’s Acquisition
13 September 2017
The French group Keys Asset Management acquired the property from the company Mainside Investments. The new owners of the space intend to expand the venue’s current facilities. However, the tenants were not told of the sale.
The French group Keys Asset Management acquired the LX Factory in Alcântara from Mainside Investments. A report in yesterday’s Jornal de Negócios stated that negotiations surrounding the acquisition of the cultural and business venue by the French group were conducted in recent months. However, the venue’s tenants were not informed about the sale.
Público contacted some of the building’s tenants, such as Ler Devagar, the Recycling Brotherhood and the restaurant A Praça, and all stated that no one had been informed of the purchase beforehand, and some had only learned of the transaction through news reports.
The Jornal de Negócios added that the Keys Asset Management group bought the space not for the land, but for the “profitability of the existing concept.” The French group, which specialises in commercial real estate, acquired Catumbel, the Mainside company responsible for the management of the LX Factory.
At present, the space has about 200 companies as tenants. However, Keys Asset Management plans on increasing the venue’s available space by renovating some of the buildings. LX Factory’s plans for the future include “renting the facilities for events and taking advantage of the LX Factory’s growing popularity.”
The group also has plans for the surrounding area, though Keys Asset declined to provide any details. However, the newspaper stated that “the exterior area, and in particular the surrounding streets, will undergo works to increase discipline and organisation in the area’s traffic.”
Público attempted to obtain a statement from the management of Mainside Investments regarding the sale but had not received any response by the closing of this edition.
The LX Factory was first owned by the Lisbon Company of Wiring and Textiles, in 1846. The Industrial Company of Portugal and Colonies, the Typography Commercial Yearbook of Portugal and the Graphical Mirandela subsequently owned the asset, after the first owner’s bankruptcy.
Mainside Investments renovated the space, now known as LX Factory, in 2008. In addition to this project, the Portuguese company was responsible for the construction of the bar Pensão Amor, at Cais do Sodré.
Original Story: Público – Joana Ferreira
Photo: Rui Gaudencio / Público
Translation: Richard Turner