Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien had suspended the offer for sale of his Quinta do Lago resort after bids fell short of the €220 million asking price.
O’Brien is worth an estimated $4.2 billion and became the third owner of Quinta do Lago in 1998, buying the property from British food entrepreneur David Thompson for around €31 million.
The resort was started in 1971 by André Jordan and has become one of the best known golf and leisure destinations among Europe’s rich.
The 800 hectare luxury estate has golf courses, five-star hotels and top of the range villas and long has been one of the Algarve’s elite resorts. Any buyer would control residential plots, commercial development opportunities and residential development plots, according to the sales brochure issued in July this year.
O’Brien has other assets for sale including his Topaz Energy Group Ltd, in negotiations with Canada’s Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. which owns convenience stores and a filling station chain in Ireland.
In October, O’Brien pulled a listing for his Digicel Group Ltd. which would have been 2015’s the second-biggest initial public offering in the U.S..
Alison Hojbjerg of Quinta Properties was quoted in Bloomberg today, “Quinta do Lago is without a doubt one of Europe’s most exclusive holiday destinations, but the asking price was clearly a high price.”
Reports in July indicated that O’Brien had received unsolicited offers for the resort so had placed the entire estate on the market, issuing a brochure to attract further bids.
“With a reputation earned over decades, Quinta do Lago is now set for a new chapter. Across the resort there are opportunities to realise the estate’s full potential, and for a new owner to establish a living legacy,” read the blurb.
Estate agents Jones Lang LaSalle and Knight Frank had been appointed to handle the sale.
O’Brien told the Portugal Resident in 2013 that despite Portugal’s infamous reputation for bureaucracy, he never felt it was a “prohibiting factor” in any of his businesses and announced plans for a €426 million commercial development in the Algarve, possibly in Almancil.
Nothing more has been heard of this mystery commercial project and in 2012 O’Brien said he had approved a five-year investment strategy in the region.
Whether O'Brien's investment plans in the Algarve are on hold remain to be seen but he clearly does not need to let Quinta do Lago go for a less than a full price.
