Lone Star offers slices of Novo Banco to top Portuguese companies

novobancoshinylogoThe US Lone Star fund, the company favoured by the Bank of Portugal to buy and manage Novo Banco, has invited a group of leading Portuguese companies to invest in the bank.

Amorim, Sonae, Jerónimo Martins and the Violas group all have received a formal invitation to join the vulture fund, if it successfully secures Novo Banco, and take up blocs of shares in the loss-making Novo Banco.

Portugal's airports to be turned into fortresses to stop illegal immigration and terrorists

airplanePortugal’s airports management company, the French-owned ANA, has been given six months to present a proposal to the Government to turn the Montijo airbase into a commercial airport aimed at relieving the pressure on Lisbon’s overstretched Humberto Delgado airport.

A memorandum of understanding was signed today, stating that "within a period of 180 days from today’s date" a report on Montijo will be submitted that will include a new master plan for the expansion of capacity at Humberto Delgado Airport, in order to replace the previously approved Lisbon Airport Development Plan.

Portugal 2016 - more tourists than locals

albufeirabeachConfirmation of last year’s tourism figures for the Algarve, and Portugal as a whole, have delighted even the most conservative commentators with 2016 now being lauded as an historic year for the country, led by the booming Alharve.

According to a statement from the Algarve Tourist Board’s Desidério Silva, still annoyed at having his budget cut, "After a difficult year at all levels due to the meager resources allocated to us, we have seen an exemplary performance in terms of tourism.

Why Portugal's five-star hotels are incredibly cheap

MORGADOGOLFAt the height of Portugal’s financial crisis in 2013, private-equity firm ECS Capital took over the Herdade dos Salgados resort in Portugal’s southern Algarve region with its Miami-style palm-tree lined golf course surrounded by lakes along the Atlantic ocean, writes Henrique Almeida for Bloomberg.

The resort was among 10 hotels, three golf courses and other real estate assets the firm took over from investor Carlos Saraiva after he buckled under his debt load. The transfer was part of an attempt to cap banks’ bad loans and bolster debt recovery, and the hospitality industry expected Lisbon-based ECS to turn around and offload the assets to sector players.

Brits in Europe: alternative White Paper presented to UK government

brexitLenWith the Government’s White Paper publication, UK citizens living in the EU present their ‘UK Citizens in Europe – Towards an Alternative White Paper’.   

This is the biggest group of British citizens’ organisations in Europe working together for the first time to call for their serious concerns to be acted on before Article 50 is triggered.  The groups represent thousands of British citizens living and working across the continent, writes the Brits in Europe platform

Stricken trawler rescued south of Olhão

olhaoportThe rescue of the fishing trawler, Carmen Bandeira, drifting aimlessly with no engine power off the Algarve coast, was confirmed today by the Captain of the Port of Olhão.

The 20 metre, 175 tonne commercial vessel radioed for help about 13 miles south of Olhão/Faro.

'Save Lagoa's Lagoa' demonstration and the continuing silence from Continente

LagoaWetlandSunday’s demonstration to halt the building of a Continente supermarket, on the Lagoas Brancas wildlife wetland in Lagoa, was a noisy, well-mannered affair with a determined focus.

Faced with continued intransigence from the local mayor and zero response to enquiries to Sonae, Continente’s owner, the protestors fear the worst and demand to be heard before the remainder of the wildlife site is covered over with landfill and leveled in preparation for industrial units and yet another supermarket in a city that has more than its fair share.

Portugal's abortion law 10 years on - women are safe - far fewer operations

8598Since the decriminalisation of abortion in Portugal, only one woman has died as a result of the procedure and the number of abortions has dropped year-on-year.

Ten years after the Portuguese decided by referendum to decriminalise abortion up to the tenth weeks of pregnancy, data shows an end to maternal mortality.