Nearly €2bn was invested in large commercial real estate transactions in Portugal in 2015, with the acquisition of a mix of assets like shopping centers, hotels and office buildings. The figure was a record for Portugal, but so was the €3.3bn in overall foreign investments made during the year. This result exceeded the record set in 2014 of €2.6bn. According to the Portuguese Confederation of Construction and Real Estate (CPCI), the largest portion of this volume of investments was the result of an investment made by Lone Star Funds and Blackstone. CPCI wrote that another €1.1bn was invested in the residential sector, thanks in large parts to foreign investors taking advantage of the ‘Gold’ visa which allows people to live in Portugal, although not on a permanent basis. In 2014, the level of foreign investments in the residential sector exceed €930m.
