American equity firm Lone Star Funds – the buyers earlier this year of Vilamoura resort in the Algarve “for an undisclosed sum”- are today reported to be seeking partners to invest €1 billion in Vilamoura, “doubling the number of homes at the resort to about 10,000 within five years”.
Bloomberg business reports that plans include the construction of “as many as five hotels with about 4000 rooms” on the world renowned golf resort that it describes as “eight times the size of Monaco”.
Interviewing Paul Taylor, the CEO of Lone Star’s partner in the plan, Vilamoura World, Bloomberg stresses that all the signs are that Portugal is firmly on the map of international investors and people seeking homes in the sun.
The country’s golden visa residency programme has prompted people to “target” Portugal – with “a lot of interest” already received from “China, Brazil and even India”, Taylor added, citing
the reduction in expatriate income tax to 20% from 48% as another attraction for investors.
As Bloomberg reports, overall signs are that Portugal is well on its way to economic revival.
Data from the American real estate CBRE Group shows that investment in Portuguese real estate totaled 972 million euros in the first half of 2015 – a figure way in excess of the €847 million invested in the whole of 2014.
“There is a real investor fever for residential golf resorts in southern Europe right now,” Patricio Palomar, head of alternative investments at brokerage CBRE Group Inc. in Spain affirmed.
“Investors have seen the risk profile of countries such as Portugal diminish as its economy improved and prices bottomed, it’s a good time to invest.”
