Arnold Investments (AI) began in Austria, and has extended its business model to nine other European countries. Among them is Portugal, with the multinational brokerage company specializing in professional real estate investments. Nuno Madeira Rodrigues, Country Manager of the company, reveals to idealista/news that foreign investors in Portugal have changed in the last year, with now more and more clients interested in establishing partnerships with national players.


“Over the last year I have greatly demystified the idea I had that foreign customers come to buy. He wants to buy, he wants to own, he wants to take projects forward, he wants to enter the country. What I've seen is exactly the opposite. More and more foreign customers are aware of Portugal's difficulties and are not available to make direct investments on their own. They always wants to invest in partnership with local companies. And this has made the difference”, he told idealista.


Nuno Madeira Rodrigues justifies the idea by pointing out that AI “spends more time mediating partnerships between a national promoter established in the market, with some good products in its portfolio and who needs some capital and muscle and does not want to go to the bank, and the customer foreigner, who wants to invest in Portugal but who, as he does not know the country, the legislation, the jurisdiction and the geography, is looking for a local partner, a promoter with proven evidence that he may even be a minority in the investment in a 'joint venture'”.


“Very interesting”


“This is very interesting”, he adds, emphasizing that he notes that AI more than selling buildings, it sells partnerships. “This has been our reality over the last year, which is a change in the real estate market. Sometimes we are selling the partner more than selling the product. Maybe this was the biggest surprise I had throughout the year”.

AI's Country Manager in Portugal leaves, in this sense, a warning to real estate developers, noting that "there are a lot of people [foreign investors] wanting to invest in partnerships" and that they have "a lot of money".