Lisbon annual report
Portugal ‘one of Europe’s sexiest countries’ for
investors
Confidence in the country is being restored, though there could well be an increase in real estate tax
rates in the near future
Portugal is “one of the sexiest
countries in Europe” for investment
with significant opportunities in the
real estate and tourism sectors, as
well as in relation to the ‘golden visa’
programme, says Broseta partner Julio
Veloso.
It was the allure of the Portuguese
market that prompted Spanish law
firm Broseta to open an office in
Lisbon in April 2018. While a few
Spanish firms have successfully
established offices in Portugal, the
market has, generally speaking,
proved to be relatively inaccessible
to international firms. “We are aware
that the Portuguese legal community
is a mature market”, says Veloso,
who is part of the team coordinating
the new office. However, he believes
the Portuguese economy offers
opportunities for new entrants to the
country’s legal market.
Yet the country does face some
economic difficulties. “It’s a complex
moment for the economy”, says Álvaro
Roquette, the Portuguese office’s
co-managing partner. “While the
macroeconomic indicators are looking
positive, we can still feel the aftermath
of the EU’s financial assistance
programme which ended in 2014 –
Portuguese companies suffered a lot
and shareholders are in a weak position
in terms of financial capabilities.”
Investor confidence is being restored,
but even confident investors ask
lawyers to advise them regarding any
potential changes to the country’s
laws or regulations. Roquette believes
there could be an increase in real estate
tax rates in the near future and he is
advising clients on potential scenarios.
Broseta is convinced it has taken a
positive step in opening an office in
Portugal. “We have the energy and
enthusiasm to make our new project a
great success,” says Veloso. Though the
economy may not have fully recovered
yet, and may be subject to a slowdown,
it is still performing better than some
other European countries.
Julio Veloso
Real estate, tourism and energy sectors driving growth,
but new entrants in the legal market unlikely
The real estate, tourism and
technology sectors are generating
considerable work for Lisbon lawyers,
but it is unlikely that more new
players will enter the legal market,
says João Caiado Guerreiro, partner at
Caiado Guerreiro.
“The biggest opportunities right
now are clearly connected to real
estate and tourism, which have
experienced significant growth,”
he explains. “Like any investment,
deals in these sectors generate tax
planning and other associated work.”
Meanwhile, the technology sector is
also a major source of instructions,
says Caiado Guerreiro. “We see a lot
of movement in technology, and there
is a healthy start-up environment in
Portugal, with a number of ‘unicorns’
(start-ups valued at $1 billion).”
Caiado Guerreiro continues: “We’re
also well-placed in the fintech sector,
and we´ve seen fintech companies
www.iberianlawyer.com
from Denmark and Sweden move to
Portugal – they need legal advice on
everything, so this generates work
not just for IT law experts but for tax,
finance and other specialists.”
New players have entered the
Portuguese legal market, but Caiado
Guerreiro does not believe this trend
will continue: “Big law firms have
discovered Portugal isn´t such a large
market and some of the ones that
came here had a surprise.” With the
increase in competition, however, he
believes a key challenge for firms is
providing advice at a competitive price.
Meanwhile, law firms must adapt to
technological changes, although Caiado
Guerreiro believes market analysts
attach more importance than necessary
to this issue: “I think AI [artificial
intelligence] is over-hyped. It’s less
relevant in jurisdictions where there
isn’t such a large amount of discovery
work as in common law countries.”
João Caiado Guerreiro
September / October 2018 • IBERIAN LAWYER • 39