Investment in commercial real estate in Portugal broke all records during the first half of 2018 demonstrating the confidence of investors, particularly those from overseas, in the country and its commercial offerings.

During the first six months of 2018, a total of 1,400 million euros was invested in commercial real estate in the country, representing 23 transactions and a boom in the sector.

According to a report by Idealista, one company alone contributed to the most expensive sale ever which was made up of three different properties.  During the first half of 2018 CBRE bought the Forum Montijo, Forum Sintra and Sintra Retail Park and the Dolce Vita Tejo and Lagoas Park.

The Lagoas Park alone cost 375 million euros and was funded by the US investment fun Kildare.  The Park included 13 office buildings, a shopping centre, a gym, a school, a four-star hotel with conference centre and a public car park in the municipality of Oeiras.

A spokesman from CBRE explained that much of the investment in these large projects was coming from overseas: "In the first half of 2018, retail assets contributed to a share of 57% of the total investment and the offices represented 37%. The origin of the capital is almost exclusively international with a relevant share of the French market (46%).”

"Given that all operations are not expected to be completed this year, CBRE expects 2018 to close with approximately € 1.4 billion of investment in the sector, clearly a record high. CBRE estimates that the volume of investment will thus exceed 3,000 million euros this year, reaching 3,400 million (after registering a record high of 2,200 million last year)”.

Not only are retail spaces contributing to the boom in Portuguese commercial property, offices are also helping to boost the market, despite the issue of the demand outstripping the supply in this sector.

The CBRE spokesman said: "In the first half of 2018, 83,000 square metres were occupied in Lisbon and 43,500 square metres in Porto, corresponding to increases of 6% and 40% respectively, in relation to the same period of the previous year. Emphasis is placed on outsourced service providers (including shared service centres and contact centres) and information technology, as well as occupiers of flexible spaces (whether operators, co-workers, accelerators or incubators) of companies.”