With extensive international experience in the development of large urban projects, architect Patrícia Lima, CEO of ARC IDC, said: ‘Portugal offers a unique combination of factors" to invest in real estate. Kicking off the official programme for the Greater Lisbon stand at MIPIM, the expert shared her market vision, stressing that ‘brand positioning, product strategy and flexibility to mitigate risk through strategic masterplanning are increasingly central to the success of a real estate project, as location alone is no longer enough’. Requirements that, she says, are met by all major masterplanning projects, such as those developed by ARC in Saudi Arabia, which the CEO presented at MIPIM. "The world is changing at a daily pace. So if we don't design for flexibility, we'll be stuck in the past. Portugal is attracting real estate investment from all over the world and this puts pressure on projects to invest heavily in strategic design", she said. "As such, our international experience in developing large master-planning projects can add value to the Portuguese market", she argues.
Region wants to attract more investors with purpose
The strategic opportunities that exist in the municipality of Loures were highlighted at the start of the afternoon, in a presentation led by the town planning councillor, Nuno Dias. He highlighted mobility as a central element for the development of the area which, along with its close proximity to the capital, also has a strategic waterfront. Arguments that are increasingly valued by the population and investors, opening up space for the development of several new residential centralities that translate into the investment of hundreds of millions of euros in real estate development in the municipality.
With a clear vision of the future, Nuno Dias also said that “we want to attract investors who not only come to invest and develop wealth, but who look ahead and truly bet on the sustainable development of Loures”.
One of the most attractive markets in southern Europe
Owning five projects in he country, two of which are on the outskirts of Lisbon, Panattoni believes that ‘Portugal is a very interesting market for us’, so much so that ‘we recently closed our fifth acquisition,’ said Arantxa Prado. Invited to an Investors Talk where international investors shared their first-hand experience in the Portuguese market, the Senior Director of Capital Markets at the international developer specialising in industrial and logistics development revealed that "at the moment, I see Lisbon as a much more attractive market than other competitors in Iberia," despite the challenges it continues to present in terms of the complexity and slowness of licensing and the low availability of land for development. So much so that the global giant's plan is precisely not only to continue to strengthen investment in our country, but also to diversify it. ‘In logistics, we are mainly focused on the Lisbon and Porto regions, but at this stage we are also looking closely at possible opportunities to enter the data centre sector. We lovePortugal!’
This also seems to be the path taken by AM Alpha, the German family office that has been making several investments in our country in recent years, particularly in the office and retail sectors. Lisbon continues to be a fantastic destination where companies and people want to settle. And this, in itself, is a great opportunity,‘ says Rafael Macia, head of Iberia at AM Alpha, revealing that ’we would very much like to invest in the Built-to-Rent sector in Portugal."
‘The real estate investment landscape in Portugal has changed radically in recent years,’ commented Jorge Bota, managing partner of B.Prime. "In Europe, different markets are not functioning in exactly the same way at the same time, so it is very important that we are able to explain to investors the good opportunities that we continue to have in virtually all sectors. For example, four or five years ago, no one wanted to hear about retail, but in the last couple of years, that has changed radically. Similarly, offices offer very good opportunities here today, which may be more difficult to understand for players coming from northern Europe."
Offices which, incidentally, are one of the central parts of the Entrecampos project, the new centrality that is being born in Lisbon by Fidelidade Property, and which was one of the major projects presented on the afternoon of the 11th by Michael Purefoy, from Fosun Europe. "We're going to redefine the office market in Lisbon," he promised, adding that the first building, which will house Fidelidade Property's European headquarters, is just weeks away from completion. "Entrecampos materializes our vision for the future of the city, and we have brought together a group of world-renowned architects to design it. It's a project that will not only redefine Lisbon's office CBD, but will also create a new residential neighborhood and offer a new range of curated street commerce". The aim is for it to be completed by the end of 2028, making it the first neighborhood in continental Europe to be Wirescore certified and the first in Portugal to be LEED Gold certified.
As the Lisbon region becomes more and more international, it is now also a useful territory for those who invest in Hospitality, a sector that is maturing and which is also experiencing great dynamism, as explained by the managing partner of Horwath Portugal, José Gil Duarte, in the last Investors Talk of the day, which also brought together architect Margarida Caldeira, EMEA Chair of Broadway Malyan, and Pedro Seabra, managing partner of Refundos Explorer.
