Novo Banco sells ten buildings in Lisbon for 50 million euros

  • ECO News
  • 4 September 2017

Novo Banco continues to sell its assets. This time, the bank headed by António Ramalho concluded the sale of ten buildings in the Portuguese capital; the bank will profit 50 million euros.

Novo Banco has concluded the sale of a dozen buildings, most of them located in Lisbon, in a business assessed in over 50 million euros. The real estate was acquired by Finangeste, whose sale was advised by Aguirre Newman.

The real estate consultant Aguirre Newman advised Novo Banco, by means of GNB (Asset Management), in the sale of a portfolio of real estate assets, whose buyer was Finangeste, associated with a set of International Investors, specially selected, given the specialized vocation of this type of assets”, the consultant states, in a press release.

“This real estate portfolio, transacted for more than 50 million euros, has a total area of 35,000 square meters in ten buildings and five autonomous fractions located in different Portuguese regions: Lisbon, Oeiras, Sintra, Almada, Tomar, Caldas da Rainha, Matosinhos and Funchal”.

Castilho 50, an emblematic building in the heart of Lisbon, stands among the real estate sold by Novo Banco.

Novo Banco is narrowing its portfolio. In the beginning of August, the transition bank resultant from the resolution of Banco Espírito Santo began the sale process of its assets in the insurance area, namely the sale of the life insurance business. Those assets were assessed in over five billion euros.

The bank will also sell the Cape Verde International Bank. The financial institution celebrated a sale and purchase contract of 90% of the Cape Verde financial institution capital to IIBG Holdings, from Bahrein. This operation is still dependent on both countries’ regulators approval.

The decision to move forward with these sales happens while Novo Banco is moving forward with a senior debt exchange offer, aiming to reinforce their capital ratios by 500 million euros — a key condition to conclude its sale to Lone Star. The 2.7 billion euros the bank needs to pay investors who accept the offer will be partly financed by selling assets.