French group Orpea is following its investment plan which includes reaching 24 senior residences in Portugal, in a partnership with Grupo Visabeira, in charge of building the units and from whom Orpea purchased the healthcare business for 22.8 million euro.
The senior living expert bets on constructing senior residences offering rehabilitation doctors, nurses, physiotherapy and leisure, different from traditional services. Frederico Vidal, director of operations at group Oprea in Portugal, explained to Expresso that the business model «goes far beyond the traditional senior residence, it requires common areas, living rooms and bedrooms within a segment which is highly regulated».
«All residences have facilities adapted to the needs of its users, expanding the autonomy period and delaying a situation of dependency», he explained.
Recently, the group opened a new unit in the portuguese city Viseu. And another new residence will open in one of Universidade Moderna’s old buildings, in Lisbon, and on which the group will invest 17 million euro. Next will be Guarda, Castelo Branco and Evora. The group does not discard the acquisition of «idle hotels which may be transformed into senior residences».
Jorge Costa, administrator at Visabeira Turismo, Imobiliária e Serviços, sub-holding from the construction group, informed the weekly newspaper that all across the country’s rural areas, «there are good conditions for these units. There is a wide portfolio of sleeping hotels, some of which can be easily converted, particularly those built more recently».
