Santander sells Lisbon office to Avignon Capital

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Spanish multinational bank Santander has sold a prime office building in Lisbon to the British fund Avignon Capital for €22.3 million.

The purchase of Nº4 Avenida Miguel Bombarda was made in conjunction with US capital management company York Capital Management.
The acquisition represents the first foray by the UK fund in the Portuguese market and is the latest in a dozen or so international funds that have invested in Portugal’s lucrative commercial real estate sector since 2017.
The building has a 7,240m2 area of offices spread out over nine floors above ground and five floor underground which are for parking.
The building, occupied by Santander bank, will continue to be used by the bank until March 2020 when the new owners will begin rehabilitation works which will involve the modernisation of the building and the incorporation of a shared-use terrace area.
“Portugal is a market which we have been following for some time and the acquisition represents an exciting opportunity of value added given that this is the acquisition of a central Lisbon office building with the potential for substantial growth”, says Bianca Tristão who heads up Avignon Capital’s investments department.
Tristão added that, “the Lisbon office market has been benefitting from strong demand boosted by Lisbon’s growing appeal to international investors that are looking to benefit from competitive rental rates in relation to other European cities while also having access to a highly qualified workforce within the European single market.”
Avignon Capital is mainly interested in assets in the main European capital cities, therefore this latest acquisition is in line with the company’s strategy. “We will use our experience in assets management to reposition the property and create a working space that is modern and highly desirable”, adds Bianca Tristão.