Farfetch ‘Valley’ attracts other companies and creates 7,000 jobs in Matosinhos

  • ECO News
  • 27 September 2021

Farfetch's future global campus will include other companies, a hotel and 42 flats. The "most sustainable development in Portugal" is expected to be completed by 2025.

Fuse Valley, which Farfetch is developing in Matosinhos to open in 2025, will also host other companies, a hotel with 75 rooms and 42 flats. It will have 5 thousand square metres of space for commerce and services to support this new complex, such as restaurant areas, gymnasium and SPA, as well as an open-air amphitheatre, available to host art exhibitions, lectures and workshops.

The Mayor of Matosinhos, Luísa Salgueiro, revealed to ECO that the Farfetch and Castro Group project will create seven thousand jobs. “The perspective is that seven thousand new jobs will be created, especially in the digital area. (…) This project is something revolutionary for the national economy and for Matosinhos it is a strategic investment”, stresses Luísa Salgueiro.

In the technology centre designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, 80% of the outdoor spaces will be completely open to the community. “In addition to the offices, we were pleased to have a plan that included other companies and other entities – profit-making or not. And also a hotel, not least because of the mobility that companies have nowadays. The idea is for the project to be open to the region’s community, but also to the business community”, emphasises José Neves, CEO of Farfetch.

Based on the three pillars of innovation, sustainability and well-being, the project of this global platform for luxury fashion should be “the most sustainable in Portugal and one of the most sustainable in Europe,” the founder of the company told journalists during a public presentation ceremony.

Paulo Castro, CEO of the Castro Group, summed up that “something unique will be born in Matosinhos and that places this space on the international map of what is best done in terms of sustainability and innovation”. “With this development, we propose to develop a smart city, or in this case, a smart valley. We aim to construct 24 buildings, 14 of which we expect to be built by 2025. Of these, seven are for Farfetch spaces and the rest are promoted by the group, including the hotel,” he detailed.

Beyond the principles of sustainability applied to construction, Farfetch’s technological valley will also be oriented towards promoting sustainable mobility, with a strong focus on spaces for charging electric vehicles and stations with electric bicycles and scooters for common use within the perimeter of this mega project.