The first Moxy Hotel in Portugal is part of a complex that also includes the K Tower, an office tower currently under construction. It will encompass 15,000 square meters spread across 14 floors, with an investment of €50 million from Krest Real Estate Investments.
Completed in June, the first Moxy Hotel in Portugal, part of the Marriott Group, has had its opening postponed since the beginning of summer. It was set to open in September, but the evolution of the pandemic thwarted Claude Kandiyoti, president of the Krest Investment Group, owner of the hotel unit. With investments in Portugal totaling around €250 million, the Belgian entrepreneur has been traveling between Belgium, where he lives, and Portugal. “We plan to do a soft opening in January, but no one knows for sure how the market will be at that time,” the Belgian investor told Expresso, having already undergone seven COVID-19 tests since the start of the pandemic.
In a time of pandemic and remote work, the future seems uncertain for the office market, even in a city with few available spaces. Kandiyoti believes there will be a change in the dynamics of using indoor and outdoor spaces. “In the K Tower, we are building new outdoor spaces for business meetings. People will eventually return to their offices, but I don’t believe this will happen before the end of 2021,” he said, noting some differences in this market between Portugal and Belgium. “There is a greater focus on outdoor spaces in Brussels,” he explains.
Despite Kandiyoti’s doubts, the office market has shown signs of recovery in Lisbon. According to the consultant Savills, in August there was an absorption volume of around 13,500 square meters, an increase of 19% compared to the same period last year.
The real estate sector has proven to be one of the most resilient during the pandemic in Portugal. Contrary to the most pessimistic forecasts, prices did not plummet nor did sales volumes experience significant slowdowns. In some cases, there has even been an increase in both rentals and sales — what has been observed is a change in demand patterns. “In the residential market, we doubled our sales, there is a great demand from investors for houses, prices and sales have risen. The market is a bit slower, but it continues to grow. I went to the Algarve to see one of our projects, we have fewer visits, but the people who come are determined to buy,” he said.
Foreign investors continue to be interested in Portugal, according to Kandiyoti. “They still want to invest in large-scale projects. There are many deals happening in the market. Small-scale investors have disappeared, those who came to buy just one property for residential purposes. They need to travel and are not willing to do so, risking contagion. But the funds that usually invest in the country are still at the same level. There is a lot of money in the market, it’s crazy.”
Present in Portugal since 2010, Krest Real Estate Investments began its business with the purchase of a warehouse for the family textile company in Paços de Ferreira. It was around that time that the company also began its real estate business, investing in the purchase of 11 properties from the State. “At the time, Maria Luís Albuquerque needed money to pay pensions. And we competed for a series of buildings for sale at public auction, paying without resorting to financing,” recalled Kandiyoti, who currently has more than a dozen real estate projects in Portugal.
One of the investments the company has been promoting is called Jardim de Miraflores. Overlooking the Tagus estuary and a vast green area, it consists of three buildings that cater to the market in times of social distancing. The company also has two projects underway in the Algarve, Lakes 24 in Vilamoura and Forte Novo in Quarteira. Despite having some residential projects in luxury areas, such as Baixa Pombalina, Claude says the core of the business is affordable housing. “That’s what our team is focused on now.”
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