British investors, involved in a rather complex on/off exit process from the European Union, have invested in Portugal, ranking second in the table of cross-border operations, after Spain.
'Spain brings neither a good wind nor a good marriage,' reads the Portuguese adage, but this is not heeded by Spanish corporates which have been bold in snapping up Portuguese opportunities.
Of the 160 businesses sold to overseas buyers last year, 49 went to Spanish companies which spent over €2 billion. This amount represents twice the amount invested by Portuguese investors in the purchase of companies in Spain.
The preferred area of activity was real estate, which has continued into 2019 as the main business area for foreign companies buying in Portugal.
The appetite of British and American companies for businesses in Portugal was noted in 2018, with a spend of €1.6 billion and €1.3 billion respectively.
As for Portuguese companies, during 2018, they injected €1.071 billion into companies in Spain, €426.93 million in Brazilian companies and €230.77 million in North American companies, mostly in technology companies.
Comments
So fuelling the multi million euro bilingual fraud lawyers 'business' in Lisbon in their intentionally futile attempts in Portuguese courts to get the Brits money returned. Ask a Lisbon lawyer in this line of work to confirm what he does!