The measure proposed by PCP (Portuguese Communist Party) was approved at the beginning of July, and it includes the suspension of rental payments for shop owners until March 2021. Until then, shop owners only pay variable rents and common expenses.
On the letter from the investors, to which press agency Lusa had access, APG Asset Management, AM Alpha KVG, Commerz Real, Ceetrus, DWS, Klépierre, Light House, Mitiska Reim and Merlin Properties manifested that this measure is «the opposite of all that is necessary right now: it is a disproportionate, unbalanced, misjudged and radical measure. It placThe measure proposed by PCP (Portuguese Communist Party) was approved at the beginning of July, and it includes the suspension of rental payments for shop owners until March 2021. Until then, shop owners only pay variable rents and common expenses.es all of this industry’s value chain at risk, and it also destroys one of the most important assets Portugal and its economy have: its reputation as a country where it is safe to invest».
Highlighting the «context of enormous uncertainty» that was created, the investors noted that «the State’s interference in the contractual relation between two private institutions, unheard of within the European Union, opens a very serious precedent». They considered that, it is thus necessary «to keep in mind that contracts can be, at any time and in a completely discretionary fashion, be altered by legislative intervention».
They consider that «all this has now been called into question by the exceptional regime which suspends the payment of fixed rents in shopping centres», quoted Eco. As such, they defended the need to «legislate with knowledge, consideration and balance, especially in challenging times such as the current one», when it is «imperative to create the necessary conditions for all economic agents to recover their activity in a sustainable fashion».
The investors further stated that: «we believe in Portugal, in its economy and in the talent of its workforce. That is why – and because we feel confidence – we invest in this country and apply here the funds which are entrusted to us by the savers we represent».
On the other hand, they recalled that «since 2015, foreign investors, insurers, real estate and pension funds invested 2.7 billion euro in shopping centres, an industry of excellence, which modernised (revolutionised) the country’s commerce».