Merlin wants to enter Lisbon Stock Exchange

Spanish Merlin Properties has expressed its desire to enter the Lisbon Stock Exchange this year. The intention was revealed to Expansión by Ismael Clement, the company’s CEO, saying that Merlin is “an Iberian company and, therefore, the Iberian Peninsula is one single market for us. We want to be listed in the Portuguese stock exchange because we want to be acknowledged as a local player.”

In Spain, Merlin Properties is already part of the so-called REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust), which are real estate investment funds listed in the market. In Portugal, however, REIT statute is recent and thus little is known about its role in Portugal since then.

Merlin Properties holds eight office buildings in Lisbon, corresponding to 100,300 square meters, as well as two malls and one logistics warehouse. The Spanish group holds assets valued at 1Bn€ in the Portuguese market and expects to invest another billion by 2023.