250 lines
8.8 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
250 lines
8.8 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
sponsored
|
|
motoring
|
|
europa
|
|
7566879
|
|
-----
|
|
# Business in Lisbon: opportunities for British companies in Portugal
|
|
|
|
## A former port of empire, Lisbon's historical trading links with Britain
|
|
have fuelled a strong exports market, writes Paul Bray.
|
|
|
|
![Lisbon's dramatic memorial to explorer Vasco da Gama ][1]
|
|
|
|
Thriving: Lisbon's dramatic memorial to explorer Vasco da Gama
|
|
|
|
11:53AM BST 08 Apr 2010
|
|
|
|
Your starter for ten: a cosmopolitan Atlantic seaport now reborn as a
|
|
financial and services centre, a former European Capital of Culture, and home
|
|
to a pair of diehard soccer rivals. Begins with 'L'. Liverpool?
|
|
|
|
![Lisbon's historical Rossio square][2]
|
|
|
|
Warm welcome: Lisbon's historical Rossio square
|
|
|
|
It could just as easily be Lisbon - a fact worth pondering if you watched
|
|
Liverpool FC and Lisbon's Benfica battle it out in their second-leg UEFA
|
|
Europa League quarter-final tie.
|
|
|
|
It's also worth pondering if you're a business seeking markets and expertise
|
|
in Europe and beyond. Trade between the UK and Portugal is worth roughly €2
|
|
billion a year in each direction.
|
|
|
|
The UK is the fifth-largest exporter to Portugal, with road vehicles,
|
|
pharmaceuticals, fuel, drink and industrial machinery among the British
|
|
merchandise the Portuguese can't seem to do without.
|
|
|
|
Much of it ends up in the Lisbon region, home to more than one in six of
|
|
Portugal's 11 million people, as well as central and local government and an
|
|
army of financial services and hi-tech firms.
|
|
|
|
## Related Articles
|
|
|
|
* [Romania: A country that's fast off the Bloc][3]
|
|
|
|
24 Feb 2010
|
|
|
|
* [Opportunities for UK companies in Lille][4]
|
|
|
|
18 Mar 2010
|
|
|
|
* [Full speed ahead in Hamburg][5]
|
|
|
|
29 Apr 2010
|
|
|
|
The number of UK companies approaching the British-Portuguese Chamber of
|
|
Commerce in the city has doubled in the last two years, says the chamber's
|
|
research officer, Claudia Vidreiro - perhaps because the recession hasn't
|
|
bitten as deeply in Portugal as in many of her European neighbours.
|
|
|
|
But Lisbon's trading links with Britain go back centuries, and a number of
|
|
leading UK firms already have a major presence there, including
|
|
GlaxoSmithKline, Barclays and BP. Logica recently opened an innovation centre
|
|
in the city, and Arup is working on the master plan for Lisbon's new airport,
|
|
due to open in 2017.
|
|
|
|
Another major transport project will be the planned €8.2 billion high-speed
|
|
rail link between Lisbon and Madrid, while the Portuguese government recently
|
|
announced a €21 billion renewable energy programme including large-scale wind
|
|
farm and hydroelectric projects.
|
|
|
|
Telecommunications are being upgraded to fibre-optic, and major investment is
|
|
planned to improve schools and hospitals.
|
|
|
|
It all adds up to a lot of enticing opportunities for UK firms in the
|
|
engineering, construction, transport, energy and telecoms sectors, to name but
|
|
a few, says Renata Ramalhosa, head of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's UK
|
|
Trade & Investment team in Lisbon.
|
|
|
|
Lisbon, like Liverpool, was the port of empire, and retains strong trading
|
|
links with Portugal's former colonies.
|
|
|
|
"UK firms are using Portugal as an export route to Angola and Brazil, which
|
|
are both rapidly-growing markets," says the British ambassador to Portugal,
|
|
Alex Ellis.
|
|
|
|
Niche markets are also opening up. Lisbon, with its unspoiled architecture and
|
|
quality of natural light, is becoming a favourite location for movies and
|
|
fashion shoots, says Vidreiro (yet another parallel with Liverpool), and
|
|
specialist tourism is flourishing well away from the over-developed Algarve.
|
|
|
|
Craig Sharp, an Isle of Wight-born surfer and businessman, runs Pocean, a
|
|
sports holiday and property rental company at Ericeira, 20 miles north of
|
|
Lisbon on the so-called Silver Coast.
|
|
|
|
"I was drawn here because the traditional Portuguese culture is still embedded
|
|
in this area," he says. "It's rich with vineyards and quaint little fishing
|
|
villages, and Lisbon is a great city. It has a thriving, modern commercial
|
|
district around the Expo '98 site, characterful cobbled streets and vibrant
|
|
nightlife in the attractive Barrio Alto district. It has more ambience than
|
|
Barcelona, and there's none of the loutish behaviour you see in British
|
|
cities."
|
|
|
|
In less than three years Pocean has grown to employ around 30 people.
|
|
|
|
"Portugal is a lot more bureaucratic than the UK if you're setting up a
|
|
business, and it's advisable to hire a local lawyer and accountant," says
|
|
Sharp. "But the people here are friendly and open-minded, and as long as
|
|
you're contributing to the local community it's quite easy."
|
|
|
|
Personal relationships are important, and a lot of business is transacted over
|
|
lunch.
|
|
|
|
"We still have many family firms and the majority of workers are employed by
|
|
small and medium-sized businesses," says Vidreiro.
|
|
|
|
"The equipment and technical expertise of Portugal's traditional manufacturing
|
|
sectors such as textiles, ceramics, furniture and building materials are
|
|
first-rate," she adds.
|
|
|
|
With the minimum wage at less than half the UK level, this makes Portugal
|
|
attractive for high-quality production outsourcing.Portugal's expertise in hi-
|
|
tech fields such as ICT, renewable energy and aeronautics is also attractive
|
|
to UK investors, says Mr Ellis.
|
|
|
|
"Strong technical skills can be recruited at very competitive rates." The
|
|
country's long trading history with the UK is an added advantage.
|
|
|
|
"The Portuguese have no complexes about the British, and English is widely
|
|
spoken," says Ellis. "It's interesting to see the number of UK firms who are
|
|
using Portugal to gain their first experience of export markets."
|
|
|
|
**_The Seat Exeo - Affordable and innovative_**
|
|
|
|
In business it pays to embrace change and look beyond the familiar - witness
|
|
the success of British companies in the Lisbon region. The same hunger to
|
|
forge ahead lies behind the development of the stylish new SEAT Exeo.
|
|
|
|
Offering an exhilarating performance across trim levels S, SE, Sport and SE
|
|
Lux, the quality-build Exeo takes affordable executive-class motoring in a
|
|
thrilling new direction. Challenging every aspect of traditional car design,
|
|
SEAT has produced a saloon and an estate that are both handsomely fit for
|
|
purpose - and, with prices from £18,765, great value for money.
|
|
|
|
Standard equipment includes dual-zone climate control, integrated Bluetooth
|
|
and cruise control. According to CAP, residual values are a robust 30 per cent
|
|
after 60,000 miles.
|
|
|
|
Innovative advances in both petrol and diesel engines have produced a powerful
|
|
yet highly efficient car. Diesel models (120PS and 143PS), for example, give
|
|
combined fuel economy of 53.3mpg.
|
|
|
|
One of many reasons why the SEAT Exeo is firmly in the lead.
|
|
|
|
**[The SEAT Exeo ][6]**
|
|
|
|
**[SEAT Fleet and Business Sales][7] **
|
|
|
|
**[The SEAT Exeo ST ][8]**
|
|
|
|
[X][9] Share & bookmark
|
|
|
|
Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
|
|
|
|
Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
|
|
|
|
[What are these?][10]
|
|
|
|
* Share: [Share][9] [ ][11] [ ][12]
|
|
|
|
[Tweet][13]
|
|
|
|
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/europa/7566879/Business-in-
|
|
Lisbon-opportunities-for-British-companies-in-Portugal.html
|
|
|
|
Telegraph
|
|
|
|
## [Europa][14]
|
|
|
|
* ### [Sponsored »][15]
|
|
|
|
* ### [Motoring »][16]
|
|
|
|
[X][9] Share & bookmark
|
|
|
|
Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
|
|
|
|
Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
|
|
|
|
[What are these?][10]
|
|
|
|
Share:
|
|
|
|
* [ ][9]
|
|
|
|
* [ ][11]
|
|
|
|
* [ ][12]
|
|
|
|
* [Tweet][13]
|
|
|
|
* ![SEAT autoemocion][17]
|
|
|
|
[1]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01611/Lisbon-
|
|
memorial_1611962c.jpg
|
|
|
|
[2]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01611/Lisbon-Rossio-
|
|
squa_1611959f.jpg
|
|
|
|
[3]: /sponsored/motoring/europa/7306099/Business-in-Romania-a-country-
|
|
thats-fast-off-the-Bloc.html
|
|
|
|
[4]: /sponsored/motoring/europa/7472592/Business-in-France-European-
|
|
opportunities-for-UK-companies-in-Lille.html
|
|
|
|
[5]: /sponsored/motoring/europa/7651369/Hamburg-offers-so-much-for-British-
|
|
business.html
|
|
|
|
[6]: http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;222586669;46310051;f
|
|
|
|
[7]: http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;222586672;46310053;b
|
|
|
|
[8]: http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;222766003;46516938;j
|
|
|
|
[9]: #
|
|
|
|
[10]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/4590190/Share-this-
|
|
article-What-are-these.html
|
|
|
|
[11]: mailto:?subject=A Telegraph reader thought you would be interested in
|
|
this article&body=Depending on your email program, you may be able to click on
|
|
the link in the email. Alternatively, you may have to open a web browser, such
|
|
as Firefox or Internet Explorer, and copy the link over into the address bar.
|
|
%0A%0Ahttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/europa/7566879/Business-
|
|
in-Lisbon-opportunities-for-British-companies-in-Portugal.html %0A%0AFor the
|
|
best content online, visit www.telegraph.co.uk
|
|
|
|
[12]: javascript:print()
|
|
|
|
[13]: http://twitter.com/share?via=Telegraph
|
|
|
|
[14]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/europa/
|
|
|
|
[15]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/
|
|
|
|
[16]: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/motoring/
|
|
|
|
[17]:
|
|
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01583/sponsor_SEAT_1583338a.jpg
|
|
|