Lone Star, the US private equity firm, has appointed CBRE to market a large part of Vilamoura resort in the Algarve region of Portugal for around €250 mln.
CBRE has been instructed to sell the 825-berth marina - a key element of the resort - and 13 consented land plots on the wider estate, sufficient for 1,800 residential units.
Vilamoura attracts over three million visitors annually. The resort features 13 existing 4 and 5-star hotels providing 2,500 hotel rooms, 7,000 residential homes, international standard equestrian and tennis centres and three km of sandy beaches. There are also a wide range of restaurants, a large retail area and a casino.
The partial sale comes less than two years after Lone Star Real Estate Fund III acquired the 2,000-hectare resort and Vilamoura's management company, Garvecat, from Catalunya Banc, part of BBVA. Lone Star said at the time that a team lead by Garvecat CEO Paul Taylor would executive a long-term investment plan to re-invigorate the resort.
Lone Star's decision to sell the marina and land plots coincides with a dramatic improvement in the Portuguese real estate market and increasing demand for Algarve residential real estate among international buyers.
It is expected the assets will appeal to major international developers keen to secure a potential €2 bn development pipeline into the thriving Algarve market over the next few years.
