Property finance in Portugal.
Corporate and SPV property finance in Portugal, arranged whole of market. As in Spain, short-term lending is served largely by international rather than domestic capital, and specialist development finance is available at higher minimums — against an active international developer base in Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve.
By Dominic Whitecross, Co-Founder, HyLend. For corporate and SPV borrowers.
How lending works in Portugal
Portugal looks much like Spain from a financing point of view: the domestic banking market offers limited short-term appetite, so UK-style structures are supplied largely by non-domestic capital. Specialist development finance is available at higher minimums than the UK, and there is an active international developer community across Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve that these lenders understand well.
Corporate or SPV ownership is the norm, and local legal and tax advice is essential given the differences in security and duties.
What we arrange in Portugal
Across the whole of market, always via a lender licensed or permitted in Portugal, we arrange the same families of facility we do in the UK — structured to how Portugal actually lends:
- Short-term / bridging where an international or private lender supports it, at higher minimums than the UK.
- Development finance for corporate developers, against cost and value with staged drawdowns.
- Investment and term facilities to hold income-producing assets, typically the most available product locally.
- Specialist and structured capital — equity, mezzanine and larger raises on complex or cross-border mandates.
How we work on a Portugal deal
We arrange and introduce; we are not a lender. Facilities are arranged with lenders licensed or permitted in Portugal, and local legal and tax advice is taken in-country as a matter of course.
Corporate and SPV borrowers, on non-regulated purposes. We do not act for individuals buying residential property for their own occupation in Portugal or anywhere in Europe — that work is regulated locally and a regulated broker in-country is the right route.
We will tell you early if a deal is not placeable. HyLend Limited is a UK credit broker and does not hold or claim authorisation to conduct regulated credit intermediation in any EU member state.
What to send us
The location and asset, the borrowing entity and where it is incorporated, the amount and term, and the exit. If a local bank or lender is already involved, tell us. We will come back on whether it is placeable, roughly where pricing sits, and what the structure needs to look like — before anyone spends money on fees.
Portugal property finance FAQs
Can you arrange property finance in Portugal?
Yes — development and investment facilities, and short-term lending where international capital supports it, for corporate and SPV borrowers via lenders permitted in Portugal.
Do you lend to individuals buying a home in Portugal?
Yes, for corporate and SPV borrowers on non-regulated purposes. We do not act for individuals buying a home for their own occupation — that is regulated locally and a regulated broker in-country is the right route.
Is development finance available in Portugal?
Yes, through specialist international lenders active in the market, at higher minimums than the UK. Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve have a well-understood international developer base.
What minimum size works in Portugal?
Materially higher than the UK, typically starting in the low millions, because the fixed legal and structuring costs of a cross-border deal do not scale down.
Currency: the cost line most borrowers miss
On a Portugal deal, the exchange rate can move the economics more than the loan margin does — deposits, drawdowns, interest and the eventual exit all cross currencies, and banks rarely price that well. We work closely with Total Currency Exchange, a UK currency specialist whose payment services are provided through FCA-authorised partners, for competitive rates and properly managed transfers on cross-border deals.
Want an introduction? Tell us when you send the deal — or ask us directly — and we will connect you personally rather than leaving you to a web form. We do not provide currency advice; timing and hedging decisions remain yours with your FX provider.
How the property will be valued
Valuation practice is national, not European, and the differences are not cosmetic. In Portugal the valuation is an avaliação prepared by an appraiser registered with the securities regulator, and lenders work from their own approved panels.
Two things hold true across every market we work in. The valuer is instructed by the lender and reports to the lender, not to you, whoever pays the fee. And the figure the lender applies its leverage to may not be the market value in the report — several European lending regimes work from a deliberately conservative value beneath it, in the same way UK lenders use restricted marketing period figures.
Build the valuation into the timetable rather than treating it as an administrative step: on cross border commercial deals it is routinely the longest single item. The full valuations guide →