French investor enters Lisbon with EDP office buy

The private pension fund of Portuguese electricity and gas conglomerate EDP has sold an office building at Marquês de Pombal in Lisbon's central business district to an unnamed French investor.

Financial details were not disclosed.

CBRE, which brokered the deal, said this is the seventh asset in the Marquês de Pombal area to have traded in just six months, including five owned by EDP. These seven buildings, providing an area of 38,000 m2, represented an investment of €86 mln. The latest deal is the first to be carried out in Portugal by the French investor in question, CBRE said.

With an office area of 4,830 m2, 900 m2 of storage space and 83 parking lots, this building was originally built as Credit Lyonnais' headquarters in Portugal and is currently occupied by EDP which is leasing back the asset.

Other transactions at Praça Marquês de Pombal included number 12 and 13 and Rua Camilo Castelo Branco number 43 and 45, to Global Asset Capital, as well as the buildings at Marquês de Pombal number 14 and Rua Camilo Castelo Branco number 36 to a Chinese investor.

Chinese investors in particular have been increasingly active in Portugal following the introduction of a plan offering residence permits to foreigners who invest over €500,000 in Portuguese real estate. In total, the move has spurred close to €1.2 bn of capital inflows since October 2012, largely directed at the local real estate market which accounts for €1.06 bn, according to data from CBRE.

'A number of private Chinese investors have bought residential buildings and we’ve also seen some activity in the commercial property sector,’ Francisco Horta e Costa, managing director at CBRE in Portugal, recently said.

Most recently, larger Chinese investors and developers including Dalian Wanda, Fossun, Country Garden and Poly Group have also been scouring the market for development opportunities, added Horta e Costa.

‘The most interesting movement of the past 12 months is a rise in interest among Chinese developers which are looking to take advantage of the new regulation. They are interested in the development or redevelopment of residential projects in Lisbon, with the aim of marketing these projects among fellow citizens in their domestic market. Although they have not made a move yet, they are visiting several potential projects, and I truly believe something big will happen in the near future,' he said.

Dalian Wanda in particular has already been active in the Iberian peninsula. Earlier this year, the property and entertainment conglomerate run by China's richest man bought one of Madrid's highest towers from lender Banco Santander for around €265 mln.

The group is also rumoured to have acquired a site in Campamento, to the southeast of the Spanish capital, to develop a multi-billion euro project.