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The biggest investments and highlights of the previous week in the Portuguese real estate market.

May 16, 2022

The highlight of the week was the launch of the Octant Hotels brand by Discovery Hotel Management.

The last week was marked by some news and investments in the Portuguese real estate market. The highlight was the hotel sector, where the most significant announcements from north to south of the country predominated.

At the beginning of the week, it came to light that a German transport and logistics multinational had opened a technology centre in Porto. The new facility is located in the Latin Building, with a total area of 1,000 m2. It will be the office building’s first tenant as it expands its operations in Portugal. The new technology centre is intended for developing digital solutions.

Meanwhile, the Hotel Meliã Lisbon has entered the second phase of construction. The hotel going up next to the Marquês de Pombal should be ready by 2023. It will have approximately 240 rooms, convention rooms and a congress centre for 550 people. There are 22,220 m² of gross construction area on 14 aboveground floors and six underground floors.

Portugal’s housing sector also saw some significant news, as a project was announced involving the development of 400 flats in an investment of 16.25 million euros. The new project has the potential for building over 50,000 m2 of residences located next to Marina de Lagos in the Algarve. Marina Park II has an approved PIP with the potential to build around 400 homes in addition to a retail area. Interfundos has awarded the exclusive commercialisation of this project to JLL. The project represents an excellent opportunity to reinforce the supply of homes in the Algarvian city. It foresees a total construction area of over 51,000 m2, of which 49,520 m2 is distributed over 16 plots for residential development and 1,600 m2 for retail.

The week came to a close as news broke of Auchan’s investment of around €40 million in a new store in Cascais. The old Pão de Açúcar there was Portugal’s first supermarket 49 years ago and has now been renovated. The Auchan Retail Portugal group is responsible for the investment in the new spot, which opened last Wednesday. The new shop will have an area of around 7,000 m2, a garden at one of the entrances, a rooftop with sea views and a shopping gallery with several restaurants.

Discovery Hotel Management announced that it had launched Octant Hotels. DHM’s new brand will group and manage the eight hotels owned by the Discovery Portugal Fund in Portugal, called Octant Hotels. Its portfolio includes a unique set of boutique hotels throughout the country, which will become part of the Octant Hotels brand.  The hotels include the Douro41 Hotel & Spa, Palácio da Lousã Boutique Hotel, Évora Farm Hotel & Spa, Santiago Hotel Cooking & Nature, Praia Verde Boutique Hotel, Vila Monte Farm House, Azor Hotel and the Furnas Boutique Hotel.  DHM intend to offer a unique approach to service and experience, allowing it to showcase the best of Portuguese hospitality and highlight its various regions, cultures and landscapes.

Finally, Azora acquired the Pestana Blue Alvor. Built in 2019, the five-star hotel covers 120,000 square metres and has almost 500 rooms. This is Azora’s fourth investment in Portugal, after previously acquiring the Tivoli Marina Vilamoura resort, the Tivoli Carvoeiro resort and the Vilalara Thalassa resort. Azora bought the Pestana Blue Alvor through its Azora European Hotel & Lodging fund. Details of the investment was not disclosed. The hotel is in Alvor, on Portugal’s southern coast, with access to several beaches.

The 118-room, five-star unit, under management by Blue & Green, is located on Seagull Beach in Porches.

August 10, 2021 – Ana Custódio

The 118-room, five-star unit, under management by Blue & Green, is located on Seagull Beach in Porches.

Azora announced that it had acquired its third hotel complex in the Algarve. Luxury Vilalara is a luxurious five-star hotel on Seagull Beach in Porches. According to the company, the asset has 118 rooms and suites and “is considered one of the best resorts in Portugal for its privileged location and quality of service.” It is currently managed by Blue & Green. The value of the investment was not disclosed.

Concha Osácar, a partner at Azora, explains, “the hotel Vilalara reinforces our conviction about tourism’s recovery in Europe and the Algarve’s unique positioning as the protagonist of this recovery. At Azora, we remain convinced of this region’s attractiveness and that of Portugal, and we want to continue to work very actively with hotel groups.”

Azora has set up a €680-million fund, with an investment capacity of €1.5 billion. The fund is intended exclusively for acquiring and operating hotel assets. It expects to invest approximately €400 million this year.

Its last acquisition consisted of two other five-star hotels in the Algarve. The first with 383 rooms and the second with 248, with a total investment of 148 million euros. Previously, it had bought a portfolio comprising ten resort hotels and four city hotels in Europe), the Giverola Resort and a hotel on the Costa Brava.

Azora’s investment in these assets exceeded €1.094 billion in the first six months of 2021, up 14.5% more than last year. The 52 operations are split into 60% in sun and beach destinations and 40% in urban assets. Several funds increased their activity as the pandemic began to slowly wind down, taking advantage of hotel groups’ liquidity needs and limited funding availability.

Translation: Richard D K Turner

Azora Acquires Two 5-Star Hotels in the Algarve for €148 Million

Azora is increasing its investment in its hotel fund through its acquisition of two new hotels, which will be operated under the NH Hotel Group banner and is preparing new acquisitions for this summer.

July 22, 2021 – Ana Custódio

Azora is increasing its investment in its hotel fund through its acquisition of two new hotels, which will be operated under the NH Hotel Group banner and is preparing new acquisitions for this summer.

Azora European Hotel & Lodging has acquired two five-star hotels in the Algarve for148 million euros.  It has also finalised a management contract for its units with Minor International (MINT). The main assets included in the transaction are the Tivoli Marina Vilamoura resort and the Tivoli Carvoeiro resort.

The Tivoli Vilamoura has 383 ocean-front rooms, along with seven restaurants and bars, a spa, sports and leisure facilities and an adjacent congress centre. A total of €12 million has been invested in renovations over the last five years.

The 248-room Trivoli Carvoeiro is smaller. Both units were renovated, although the investment in this one was higher (15 million euros). It also has five restaurants, a spa and a space for events.

Concha Osácar, co-founding partner of Azora, guaranteed that they are building a solid portfolio with new investment opportunities and for this they are in talks with owners and operators. “The market has many owners looking to recapitalise and work with an owner like Azora, who understands the dynamics of the sector and can be a long-term partner,” he explained.

NH Hotel Group will operate both assets for the next 20 years on behalf of Minor International, with the option to extend a further ten.

The Azora fund has an investment capacity of €1.5bn, most of which is earmarked for sun and beach assets. It has already made acquisitions such as the Giverola Resort portfolio, comprising ten resort hotels, four city hotels across Europe, and a 213-room aparthotel on the Costa Brava. The Spanish group will invest €200 million by the summer and €400 million by the end of the year.

Translation: Richard D K Turner

Atitlan Crosses into Portugal, Investing €12 Million in an Office Building

4 May 2018

The fund led by Roberto Centeno and Aritza Rodero, in collaboration with the Portuguese businessman Nuno Barroca, has purchased an asset for rehabilitation in Porto from the Banco Comercial Portugués (BCP).

A new player from the Spanish real estate market has crossed the border into Portugal. Atitlan Grupo Empresarial arrived in Porto with the acquisition of an office building in the country’s northern capital. The investment fund led by Roberto Centeno and Aritza Rodero has invested twelve million euros in its first foray into the Portuguese market.

The property acquired by Atitlan, which collaborated with the Portuguese businessman Nuno Barroca, will be rehabilitated and placed on the rental market once construction is completed. Until now, the Banco Comercial Portugués (BCP) had been the owner of the complex, according to El Confidencial.

The investment firm formed the company Atitlan Real Estate Porto Imovéis a year and a half ago specifically for the acquisition. Roberto Centeno, Juan Roig’s son-in-law, has teamed up with the son-in-law of another illustrious businessman, the late Américo Amorim. Nuno Barroca is the husband of Marta Amorim, daughter of the man known as Portugal’s king of cork.

The deal in Porto reinforces Centeno’s commitment to the real estate market. Through Atitlán, he has invested around 600 million euros in the property market. Recently, the fund completed the sale of six hotels in Madrid, Valencia, Seville, Palma and Santiago de Compostela to Atom, the hotel-based socimi owned by Bankinter.

The Portuguese real estate market saw record investments of 1.9 billion euros in 2017, 80% of which employed foreign capital, betting heavily on the residential and office markets. Spanish socimis like Merlin, investment managers like Azora, family office like MK Premium and developers like Vía Célere all have plans for the Portuguese country.

Original Story: EjePrime

Translation: Richard Turner

 

Hispania’s Manager, Azora, Prepares Hotel Vehicle For Portugal

The manager is talking with investors to try to launch a new firm, with the look and feel of Hispania, but with a focus on the Portuguese tourist market

The largest hotel Socimi in Spain may soon have a replica in Portugal. Azora, the manager of Hispania, is working on the creation of a new vehicle to enter the Portuguese market, on the basis that, over the next few years, it expects to see a repeat there of the recovery that the Spanish real estate market is experiencing at the moment.

The Director-General of Hispania, Cristina García-Peri, revealed Azora’s plans at the Barcelona Meeting Point conference, which was held in the Catalan capital last week. “We are looking at the Portuguese holiday market”, said the director, who also highlighted the opportunities that the country’s two major cities, Lisbon and Porto, have to offer.

Sources consulted by El Confidencial confirm that Azora’s strategy is aimed at constituting a new vehicle, given that Hispania’s mandate focuses solely on the Spanish market. As such, the firm is currently making contact with several funds to define the terms of the project.

The example of what Azora has done with Hispania is the best endorsement that the manager can show investors to attract them towards this new proposal, given that the firm founded by Concha Osácar and Fernando Gumuzio considers that the Portuguese market is very similar to the Spanish market and therefore, they already have a wealth of knowledge in terms of both the product and the environment.

Following in Hispania’s footsteps

Created three and a half years ago, Hispania has become the largest owner of hotels in the country in that short space of time, with 36 establishments and more than 10,350 beds. Most of its properties are located in the Canary and Balearic Islands.

Moreover, in the summer, the Socimi acquired a plot of land in Teguise (Lanzarote), where it is going to build a new five-star establishment with 225 rooms, which it will integrate with the existing Occidental Playa and Barceló Lanzarote hotels, to create a mega-resort with 1,033 rooms, the largest in Hispania’s whole portfolio.

Despite the success achieved with its tourist business, in the spring, Azora made a proposal to the Socimi’s shareholders, led by George Soros, to activate the divestment period for the vehicle and whereby renounce the option of converting it into a permanent entity.

This decision has meant that the company has activated a formal process to sell its entire office portfolio. To this end, it has been holding exclusive negotiations with the insurance company Swiss life for several months now and it has also started to divest its 754 residential properties, one by one.

In terms of Hispania’s hotels, which account for the bulk of its portfolio, it has until December 2020. Until then, the Socimi will focus on continuing to acquire assets, as well as improving and actively managing the ones it already owns to allow it to increase its rate of return on these investments from 10% to 12%.

Original Story: El Confidencial – Ruth Ugalde

Translation: Carmel Drake