The Pestana Group has presented a plan to Enatur, the State overseer of Pousadas de Portugal, to extend its management contract from 2023 to 2028.Luís Castanheira Lopes, president of Pousadas de Portugal, said that under the contract with Enatur, the company is entitled to request an extension.
Enatur has received the request but has yet to issue an opinion.
The current 15-year concession to run the formerly State owned hotel business, already has been extended to 2023.
“We had a 15-year contract, which was to end on December 31, 2018, but we have presented an expansion plan so we have a right to another five years to December 31, 2023,” said Lopes who wants to continue with the Pousadas business by agreeing a second plan that he has sent to Enatur. This involves opening a further three Pousadas.
Part of the first expansion plan includes opening a Pousada in Vila Real de Santo António which is planned to be operational next summer.
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The Privatisation of the Pousadas de Portugal business
In 2003 the Portuguese Government, facing a decade of net losses, with €1 million loss in 2002 alone, decided to privatize 49% of the capital Enatur and cede the management of Pousadas de Portugal in a privatisation process.
The wining group was Grupo Pestana Pousadas, consisting of the Pestana Group (59,8%), CGD (25%), Fundação Oriente (15%) and two more companies with 0,2% (Abreu and Portimar).
On September 1st, 2003, Pestana became responsible for operating the current network of Pousadas de Portugal for a period of 15 years, with the possibility of an extension for another 5 years, if it presented a Supplementary Expansion Plan for 2 or 3 additional Pousadas or a total of 200 additional rooms, with the possibility of an extension for an additional 5 years if it complies with the Internationalisation Plan for Pousadas de Portugal (300 rooms or 5 new Pousadas located in buildings of Portuguese origin of recognised historic or cultural value).
