The gambling empire that pays 4,500 euros to the family business of the Portuguese PM
The relationship between Solverde and Luís Montenegro's family business is marked by the approaching renewal of the concessions for the group's Espinho and Algarve casinos.
With a turnover of more than 146 million euros in 2023, up 7.1% on the previous year, and an 11.6% increase in profits to 14.59 million euros, the Solverde group has confirmed itself as one of the giants of the gambling and hotels sector in Portugal.
This economic group, which owns five casinos and four hotels in Portugal, is also one of the clients of Spinumviva, the family business of Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro.
According to the weekly Expresso, Solverde pays Spinumviva 4,500 euros a month for “specialised compliance services and the definition of procedures in the field of personal data protection”.
This commercial link is particularly sensitive at a time when the end of the concessions for the Espinho and Algarve casinos (Solverde’s assets) is approaching, scheduled for the end of 2025, and the decision on renewal will be taken by the government led by Montenegro – precisely the man who between 2018 and 2022 represented the group in previous negotiations with the state.
A casino and hotel business owned by the Violas family
Solverde was founded on 12 April 1972 by Manuel de Oliveira Violas and has established itself as one of Portugal’s leading business groups in the gaming and hotel sector, as evidenced by a 7.4% growth in adjusted EBITDA in 2023 (latest known accounts) to more than 33 million euros and a financial autonomy ratio of 73.25% (an increase of 6.34 percentage points compared to 2022).
However, the risk of delinquency (late payments) is classified as ‘high’ by Informa D&B, reflecting labour disputes via 31 lawsuits over the last five years.
Headquartered in Espinho, the group holds the concession for five casinos strategically located in Portugal: Espinho, Vilamoura, Monte Gordo, Praia da Rocha (Algarve Casino) and Chaves. In 2017, anticipating market trends, Solverde expanded its operation into the digital world with the launch of its online casino, becoming known as ‘Solverde’s sixth casino’.
Complementing the gaming operation, the company operates four hotel units: Hotel Casino Chaves, Hotel Apartamentos Solverde in Espinho, Hotel Solverde in Vila Nova de Gaia, and Hotel Algarve Casino in Praia da Rocha.
The Solverde group’s financial trajectory has demonstrated resilience and adaptability, even in the face of the challenges posed by the pandemic. In 2022, the group achieved a turnover of 136.6 million euros, representing an increase of 60% compared to 2021, and surpassing the results of 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, by 14%. This growth was mainly driven by the performance of the online casino, which made 48 million euros in 2022 (a growth of 288% compared to 2019), according to the group’s 2022 financial report.
In addition to the financial indicators, the Solverde group and the Violas family have been under public scrutiny for other reasons. In 2021, Manuel Violas, the group’s chairman, was identified in the ‘Pandora Papers’ as the owner of Marplex Enterprises Limited, an offshore company created in 2010 in the British Virgin Islands. When questioned about the purpose of this company, the businessman declined to clarify.
As Expresso reported this Friday, Solverde has had a commercial relationship with Spinumviva, Luís Montenegro’s family business, since July 2021. This contract, initially for 2,500 euros a month, was renewed and increased to 4,500 euros in 2022, when Montenegro took over the leadership of the PSD and transferred his stake in the company to his wife and children.
Montenegro worked for Solverde between 2018 and 2022, representing the company in the negotiations with the Portuguese State that resulted in an extension of the concession contracts for the Espinho and Algarve casinos until 2025. These concessions expire at the end of this year, at which point the government, now led by Luís Montenegro, will have to decide on the future of these licences.
Luís Montenegro admitted to being a personal friend of the company’s shareholders, brothers Manuel and Rita Violas, and promised to impose on himself a ‘total ban on intervening in any decision’ related to Solverde or other companies with which ‘he is linked by family relations, friendship or professional reasons’. However, so far there has been no formal request for an excusal from the Portuguese PM on any matter.
The Solverde group has established itself as one of the main operators in the gaming and hotel sector in Portugal. However, the business and personal relationships with the current prime minister raise sensitive questions about transparency and potential conflicts of interest in the run-up to government decisions on the gambling concessions that expire at the end of 2025.
