Merlin buys Novobanco HQ

It’s official. After weeks of speculation, the front-runner to buy the prime piece of central Lisbon real estate which housed the headquarters of Novobanco (and Banco Espírito Santo before it), has in fact bought it.

Merlin Properties has purchased the property on Lisbon’s Avenida da Liberdade in a sale that was mediated by consultants JLL and Cushman & Wakefield for €112.2 million.
The property, which has around 15.500m2 above ground, was fiercely competed for by over 120 investors that signed confidentiality agreements and received around 30 non-binding offers for the building.
The total sum of offers submitted totalled €3Bn with 80% from overseas investors.
David Lopes, Head of Capital Markets at Cushman & Wakefield said: “This kind of transaction will go down in the history of Portuguese real estate. A unique building, record interest from all types of investors, a multitude of possible uses, and pay-on-the-nail capital to buy a one-off property which was as much as many investments transacted over the entire year in commercial real estate in Portugal. We are very proud of our involvement in this operation and of being able to contribute towards the urban renovation of the heart of Lisbon”.
Gonçalo Santos, Head of Capital Markets at JLL added: “This operation has confirmed just how dynamic the market is, with (the sale of) an asset that has huge potential right in the heart of Lisbon, and which attracted hundreds of potential buyers. This sale, which has now been concluded, will make a positive contribution to this year’s investment turnover”.