Merlin looks for more opportunities in Portugal

October 26, 2019
Share this Post: 

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

Spanish Socimi Merlin Properties landed in Portugal in 2015 with the purchase of the Caribe Building in the Park of Nations in Lisbon

Since then, it has not stopped adding assets to its Portuguese portfolio. Focused mainly on the office segment, despite the shortage of spaces, the company revealed that it wants to strengthen its exposure from 9% to 15% and that it will start trading on the Portuguese stock market at the end of the year, moving away from the scenario of listed as an Investment Company and Real Estate Management (SIGI).

“Initially we said that the idea was for Portugal to represent approximately 25% of the size of the company at the Iberian level. But what we want now is that [the real estate portfolio] is 15% in Portugal and 85% in Spain. As it currently represents 9%, we will continue to invest. But now we are betting more on the renovation of the properties we already have,” says Fernando Ramírez, Director of Merlin Properties Spain.

The interview, which was also attended by Inés Arellano, Director of the company in Spain, and João Cristina, Director in Portugal, took place at the Merlin headquarters in Lisbon of Marquês de Pombal 3, precisely one of the buildings that will be updated.

“To carry out an intervention on this property, you need a license from the Lisbon City Council, because it is a protected area and takes more time, so the intervention process is slightly delayed. But they will be more interior works and in common areas, so that the building looks more attractive."

— João Cristina, Director of Merlin Properties, Portugal

The works in the monumental building will begin this month, and should be completed by the end of 2020, according to the head, who indicated that the cost of the work will be almost 30 million euros, due to the increase in construction costs. "There are no prospects of changing uses," he says when asked if he will continue to maintain movie theaters. "The intervention has focused mainly on the offices, but over time we have decided to continue with the works in the commercial gallery. With all the changes in the Saldanha area, we decided to create one or two large stores on the street."

On the future tenants of the offices, Merlin has received "much interest", which shows that "the commitment to the modernization of the building was correct. Every day I receive calls from interested parties, but at the moment there is nothing closed," he reveals.

“We are attentive to everything”

For Fernando Ramírez there is no doubt, a company like Merlin is always attentive to everything. "It is our obligation," he says, stressing that the Spanish socimi is the second operator in Portugal and that its ambition is to be the market leader. “It's not about putting on the medal, but we're already number one in Madrid and Barcelona, ​​and 'facing' the customer with these numbers is an added value. Being a leader means being the first option when a multinational plans to expand in Portugal.”

The office segment is booming in Portugal, but the lack of supply is a problem for companies looking to establish themselves in the country. Something that, for now, Merlin is doing well. "As building owners, it is wonderful that there is a lot of demand and little supply," says Inés Arellano, considering that the secret "is to know the market well and know where to bet."

 “The offer is very limited and the demand is very high, although there is the possibility of entering a promotion. It has to be very selective, because in our DNA there is no real estate development, but as the market is working, this type of investment can be interesting,” adds João Cristina.

Fernando Ramírez, on the other hand, considers it crucial to be prudent when evaluating the business:

“You have to be patient. In four years we have invested in nine buildings. In Portugal, unlike Spain, the real estate portfolio is built individually. And it reaches us all a bit, so we are very selective. The 9 [office buildings] could be 27, but we discard many.”

Premiere in stock market yes, SIGI (for now) no

A "tool" that will help Merlin Properties gain visibility is its long-awaited premiere on the stock market, which will be finalized later this year. At the moment, they have not considered the possibility of doing so as SIGI. "Our intention is to make a list for the end of the year, which will give us greater visibility in the market," say those responsible. "The‘ dual listing ’and SIGI are two independent things," says Fernando Ramírez, and explains that Merlin will be listed on the Spanish and Portuguese stock exchanges with the same assets.

Regarding the implementation of GIS in Portugal, the Director of Merlin considers it "great news for the country", but he is cautious in the short term. “For a company that operates locally it makes a lot of sense, but for a foreign company it doesn't work so well. It is a regime that has not yet been developed."

An opinion shared by Inés Arellano, and comments that Merlin will be very attentive to the development of the new law. "We will look closely and see if it makes sense for a company like ours."

The Lisbon North logistics platform progresses gradually

On the Lisbon Norte logistics platform, located in Castanheira do Ribatejo (Vila Franca de Xira), just outside Lisbon, João Cristina points out that it is an asset that is being launched gradually. “We will start building the first logistics ship soon. There are many interested, but little by little, we will develop the spaces as we rent them.”

Merlin took over it in October 2016 by buying it from Saba Parks Logistics Portugal, formerly Abertis Logística Portugal. "No hurry. It is a long-term project, from eight to ten years,” concludes Fernando Ramírez.

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

Join us November 13-15 for the Property Portal Watch Conference Madrid 2019.

Property Portal Watch Madrid Conference 2019

Read more

Investment for Spanish iBuying Firm
Anti-Competition Fine for Spanish Portal
Fotocasa Debuts New Portal for Investors
1 2 3 638
October 26, 2019

Subscribe to our mailing list to get the famous, free Friday newsletter!

News and analysis to help build better online marketplace businesses, in your inbox, every Friday

Related News

Nils K
Ringier's Nils Körber on ArtificiaI Intelligence, Training the Machine, and Talking about Problems

"What would you do with one million interns?" The award for the best question at the PropTech and Portal Watch...

Read More
Untitled Design 13
As OnTheMarket Hits 15,000 Advertisers, Zoopla Fights Back with Big Agency Deal

The British property portal Zoopla has announced a new long-term listings deal with Dexters, one of London's top agencies with...

Read More
Untitled Design 12
LeBonCoin Suffers Data Leak and Boliga Comes Under Cyber Attack on Same Weekend

LeBonCoin, the leading French horizontal marketplace owned by Adevinta, has acknowledged that some of its users' personal information was exposed...

Read More
Number 2S Challenging Hero Image 2
Analysis: Can Zoopla, Realtor.com and Domain See Off Challengers and Close the Gap to Market Leaders?

Well-funded challenger portals have been generating a lot of headlines in the industry recently. CoStar has been explicit about its...

Read More

Editor's Pick