Mercan fears €425M Golden Visa loss

The Canadian developer Mercan says the government’s decision to end the Golden Visa programme threatens €425 million of investment.

The company has 27 hotel projects in Portugal, and believes that scrapping the programme could result in a loss of 565 direct jobs and an avalanche of compensation claims in the courts from investors, and Mercan fears that the “consequences could be huge” reports Eco.
Miguel Gomes, Construction and Development General Manager at Mercan Properties warns that the consequences of ending the programme could result in a “transfer of investment to other countries with similar characteristics to Portugal” like Spain, and adds that the end of the Authorisation of Residency by Investment (ARI) threatens €425 million involved in eight projects”.
Mercan Properties plans to open three hotels in the coming months in Évora and Porto. The company also has other hotel projects in the country at various stages of development in places like Vila Nova de Gaia, Matosinhos, Amarante, Lisbon, Beja, Santiago do Cacém, Lagos, Portimão and Faro.