Zurich buys Castilho 50 for €41M

The Lisbon office building Castilho 50 changed hands at the end of 2020. The Swiss insurance giant Zurich bought the property for €41 million in a joint venture involving real estate asset management company Finangeste and an international investor.

The building had been part of a 10-property portfolio held by Novo Banco which was sold in excess of €50 million and was bought by Finangeste in August or September 2017.
That 2017 deal had involved the real estate consultant Aguirre Newman (Now Savills Portugal) who dealt with the sale through GNB- Gestão de Activos (an asset management company).
Finangeste is associated with a number of International investors which were specially selected because they specialise in this type of assets.
The building has 10 floors, has a 7,425m2 area above street level and a shopping gallery and 92 parking spaces below ground in the heart of the city’s business district.
The building has already been refurbished, modernised and renovated in a project that employed 350 builders and workers.
The company involved in the refurbishment works at the time was Tetris with architectural work carried out by Capinha Lopes. The interiors and fit-out were done by Openbook with architect Rodrigo Sampayo.
In December 2020, the CEO of Finangeste, Paul Henri Schelfhout said in a communiqué “the urban rehabilitation works of an office building with these characteristics and in this location meet the current high demands of the Lisbon office market and above all sends a message of hope given the current economic situation to look to the future.
“We will continue to actively invest in assets in the city of Lisbon and Porto and this new development is another step in that direction.”
In October last year it was reported by various Portuguese media sources that Finangeste has rented out the entire Castilho 50 building to a law firm.
In March 2020, Iberian Property reported that Zurich has bought the building next door to Castilho 50 – Castilho 52.
Advised by consultants Cushman & Wakefield, the deal’s amount was not disclosed.