It may be buying what already exists.

A growing number of investors are recognizing that Portugal is entering a generational transition unlike anything the country has seen in decades. Family-owned businesses reportedly account for 70% to 80% of Portuguese companies, employ roughly half of the country's workforce, and generate approximately 65% of Portugal's GDP.

Many of the entrepreneurs who built these businesses during the 1980s and 1990s are now approaching retirement. For many, there is no clear succession plan.

Institutional investors are taking notice of the opportunity.

According to TTR Data, the value of announced transactions in Portugal increased 28% year over year to €17.6 billion in 2025, as private equity firms and international investors pursued acquisitions across hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing, and industrial businesses.

To me, this is one of the clearest signals yet that Portugal's investment story is entering a new phase.

Hospitality stands out as one of the sectors with the greatest opportunity.

Across Portugal are hundreds of independently owned boutique hotels, guesthouses, rural tourism properties, and hospitality businesses. Many occupy prime locations in markets benefiting from record tourism and rising international demand. Yet many remain independently operated, with limited access to the technology, marketing, purchasing power, and operational systems that larger hospitality platforms use every day.

Opportunity without relying solely on rising real estate prices.

One of private equity's oldest playbooks is acquiring underperforming businesses in overperforming markets. By improving operations, centralizing revenue management, creating purchasing efficiencies, strengthening branding, and sharing back-office functions across multiple properties, operators can often increase profitability while enhancing the guest experience.

Over time, a portfolio of independent businesses can become an integrated hospitality platform with greater scale, stronger cash flow, and a higher enterprise value than the individual assets could achieve on their own.

This investment philosophy has become the foundation of our forthcoming Portugal Golden Visa Hospitality & Tourism Fund.

Rather than focusing on new development, our strategy is to identify quality hospitality businesses with unrealized potential, preserve what makes them unique, improve how they operate, and create value through disciplined execution and scale.

Portugal's tourism industry continues to attract headlines and investors.

The next chapter may be written by the investors who recognize that the country's greatest opportunity isn't simply building new hotels—it's helping exceptional existing businesses reach their full potential.