Moving to Portugal Show in London reveals how market has evolved during the pandemic.

After an absence of two years due to the pandemic, the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in the UK held its live Moving to Portugal Show and Seminars in London at the Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel on Thursday, March 31.

Over 20 exhibitors took part, among them the leading Algarve resorts of Quinta do Lago, Ombria, Quinta Heights and Palmares. The Lisbon area was represented by leading developers Vic Properties who presented Prata Riverside, and West Cliffs from the Silver Coast region was also there. Also in attendance were wealth managers Blevins Franks and Blacktower Financial, as well as Fiduciary Wealth Management and Abacus Financial Services from Gibraltar.

Property agents Fine & Country Algarve, Goldcrest Properties and Émigré EU from Madeira also offered a wide range of properties for sale.

With over 600 registrations to attend, visitors began queuing before the doors opened. The one-day event highlighted that, during the near two-year lockdown, the profile of attendees has now expanded beyond the traditional retiree market and second home market, to cover multiple ages and types of people who now want to move to Portugal.

The changing profile of the visitors is partly explained by the fact that the Moving to Portugal events are now widely promoted across all the leading social media platforms in the UK, as well as through a more conventional press and PR campaign.

Christina Hippisley, the Chamber’s general manager who also hosted the regular seminars throughout the day, says: “We really noticed that this time we had an increasing number of attendees interested in setting up businesses, moving with their families, and working remotely. Going forward, MTP will continue to ensure that we have a wider range of brands exhibiting that reflect these changing visitor desires.”

Seminar topics included the new visa and investment options now open to the Brits after Brexit, how to structure your pension and financial assets before the move, and how to use a currency broker to save money on your property purchase.

The event also showed that the British market has expanded its focus beyond the Algarve market, with both cities (Porto, Lisbon) and rural areas and islands (Madeira and Azores) also attracting strong interest. This was evidenced by both attendees and new exhibitors who attended the event, such as Prata Riverside.

Says Christina: “All during the event, our team was talking to our visitors to ascertain how their tastes are changing and what sort of companies we should be inviting to take part in our future seminars and live shows to reflect that.  We have been doing these events for six years now, and over 6,700 visitors have attended, which means we have a better idea than almost anyone else in the market what the British buyer and mover is now looking for.

“We are determined to ensure that the Moving to Portugal events, whether in person or online, remain targeted to the needs of our visitors and reflect what they are looking for. We have noted that more and more of our visitors this time were seeking properties to buy, and the typical budget they have to spend has risen in the past two years.

“For that reason, we are now planning that the next live Moving to Portugal Show and Seminars in London in July 2022 will have a special emphasis on all the different kinds of properties for sale from developers, property promoters and property agents all around Portugal. Over the next few weeks, we will be in Portugal looking out for exciting new brands and companies to consider for inclusion in our July event.”

For more information, visit https://portuguese-chamber.org.uk/