Real Estate Investor Magazine July/ Aug 2020 July 2020 | Page 48

PORTUGAL
John Rabie presents a golden
opportunity to invest in prime
European real estate
NEWORLD’S FIRST LISBON
DEVELOPMENT A WINNER
“We’d been looking for suitable development
opportunities in European for quite a while, so when
Newman Leech of GMG Real Estate invited me to Lisbon to
look at the LX Living site in December 2018, I didn’t hesitate,”
says John Rabie, co-founder of the Rabie Property Group,
founder of Signatura and founder of Neworld.
“What I saw excited me immediately, because of the
obvious advantages of the location. The site is in Amoreiras,
which is very close to the iconic Avenida da Liberdade, but is
not in one of the busy tourist hotspots of the city.
“It’s a suburb of contrasts, with a mini-CBD of its own,
consisting of gleaming five-star hotels and blue-chip corporate
headquarters, surrounded by charming little side streets with
ornate residential buildings, neighbourhood pastelerias,
restaurants, museums, art galleries and small parks.
“It’s also extremely well connected to the road networks,
as the main highways to Porto in the north, the Algarve in
the south, and the route to Cascais and Estoril criss-cross
through the suburb. And the exciting confirmation that city
authorities are developing a new Metro station very close
to the development is another very positive factor. This line
will link directly to Lisbon’s international airport.
“Amoreiras is also very sought-after because of its
educational institutions, with a popular French-language
international school just a block away from the site, and
one of Lisbon’s universities also in close proximity. Not
to mention the really important fact that one of Lisbon’s
leading retail hubs, the iconic Amoreiras Shopping Centre,
is just two minute walk away.
“With all of these advantages, plus the option of the
Golden Visa, we were expecting a good response from
the market, but were really delighted with the results of
successive launch events in Cape Town, Johannesburg and
Lisbon, with off-plan sales rising rapidly to around 110 of the
150 units available.
“There is still a great range of apartments available, many
of them above the qualifying price tag of €500 000 for the
Golden Visa.
“With the increasing demand for corporate
accommodation in the immediate vicinity of the site,
boosted by the effects of Brexit, and the relative success
of Portugal in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic,
the medium-term dynamics are clear: demand for
accommodation dramatically exceeds supply. So I have
absolutely no hesitation in recommending an investment
here. Especially when you can borrow up to 75% of the
capital at 1% interest rates! In all my 40 years as a developer,
I’ve never been in a position to offer buyers such a
compelling investment proposition.”
A PRECIOUS OPPORTUNITY ON ONE OF
LISBON’S HIGHEST HILLS
LX Living is a brand-new, mixed-use development in a
sought-after residential neighbourhood in central Lisbon,
just a short stroll from the prestigious Avenida da Liberdade.
Substantial, new-build developments in this area are
extremely rare indeed.
The striking contemporary building, designed by Saraiva
+ Associados, one of Europe’s leading architectural practices,
features dramatic cantilevered balconies and consists of
150 luxury apartments, ground-floor retail, a landscaped
44 JULY/AUGUST 2020 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine