Martínez-Echevarría opens new office in Carvoeiro
Martínez-Echevarría has expanded its presence in Portugal with the opening of a new office in Carvoeiro. The office was officially inaugurated in July. The new office adds to Martínez-Echevarría’s existing presence in the Algarve, where the firm also has offices in Quinta do Lago, Vilamoura, Lagos and Albufeira. Its Portuguese network also includes offices in Porto and Estoril.
The Carvoeiro office is overseen by Ignacio Cacho, managing partner of Martínez-Echevarría in Portugal, in coordination with the firm’s management and with the support of its central structure in Spain, which comprises more than 325 professionals.
The local team currently includes three senior lawyers, whose work is divided between Carvoeiro and the firm’s nearby offices in Lagos and Albufeira, as well as three junior lawyers working under their supervision. The office is also supported by two business development professionals covering the region and an administrative professional based at the Carvoeiro office.
Practice focus
The practice is primarily focused on real estate, corporate and tax matters. The firm says that almost all of its clients in the region are foreign nationals, either already living in Portugal or preparing to relocate there.
According to the firm, the regulatory environment for international clients has changed significantly over the past two years. Portugal’s non-habitual resident regime was closed to new applicants and replaced by the Incentivised Tax Regime for Scientific Research and Innovation (IFICI), with more stringent eligibility criteria. Meanwhile, the Golden Visa programme no longer includes real estate investment, while immigration procedures handled by AIMA continue to form part of the process for many international clients.
The firm also advises clients on the tax implications of property purchases, including IMT, Stamp Duty and IMI, as well as property and licensing due diligence, corporate structuring where a business is involved and succession planning for clients acquiring assets in Portugal.
Cacho said the decision to open in Carvoeiro reflects the firm’s focus on the Algarve as a market for international residents and investors. “The opening of Carvoeiro is a conscious commitment to the Algarve, one of Europe’s most dynamic regions for international residents and investors. It is based on a very clear conviction: to genuinely support those who decide to live or invest here, you need to be by their side, on the ground, rather than hundreds of kilometres away”, he says.
According to Ignacio Cacho, “clients often face the purchase of a property, the establishment of a business or their tax planning without advice that simultaneously understands the Portuguese reality and their starting point abroad — and this is where Martínez-Echevarría wishes to makes a difference, with a local team combining knowledge of the market with the strength of a large firm”.
“This office iis a long-term investment in Portugal and the Algarve, a firm commitment to growing with the region and confirmation that our Iberian project — with Spain and Portugal operating as one firm — is now a reality”, he concludes.
