French bank BNP Paribas has acquired the Aura and Echo buildings at the Exeo Office Campus in Lisbon from property developer Avenue for an undisclosed amount.
Aura will have eleven floors and 16,464 m2 of space, while Echo will comprise 20,787 m2 over seven floors.
With a total of 37,000 m2, in addition to 13,000 m2 of gardens open to the public, the two buildings are located in Parque das Nações, an area which is home to numerous Portuguese and international companies and stands close to the Gare do Oriente railway station.
They will serve as the bank’s new headquarters in Portugal, housing 5,000 bank employees in a flexible working model, as part of plans to centralise most of the group’s operations in the country.
Fabrice Segui, CEO of BNP Paribas in Portugal said: ‘The new headquarters represents a significant commitment in the way we are established in Lisbon, not only because of its construction and avant-garde architecture, but also because we centralise almost all our activity in the same space, creating a new meeting point for employees.’
BNP Paribas claims it will be able to reduce operational energy expenditure and carbon emissions due to the project’s Nature Based Solutions (NBA) and green infrastructures.
A rainwater tank will cover 50% of the irrigation needs of the gardens, while photovoltaic panels will supply the energy consumption of the common areas.
The move to the first building is expected to take place in the first half of 2024, with the second move taking place the following year.
The project is developed by Avenue and an investment fund managed by Aermont Capital, in partnership with BNP Paribas Real Estate.
The Exeo Office Campus foresees an overall investment of €190 mln to develop 70,000 m2 of offices over three buildings (Aura, Echo, and Lumnia with 29,312 m2 over eight floors), in addition to over 1,840 m2 of retail area.
The location will include 176 bike stations' and 688 car parking spaces, of which 30% feature fast electric charging.
