Portugal’s tourism board mulls buyback of historic boutique ‘pousada’ hotels from Pestana Group

Portugal’s tourism bureau, Turismo de Portugal, which holds a 51% stake in State-run ENATUR, plans to buyback 49% of the Pestana Group’s share in Pousadas de Portugal.

It plans to do so by the end of 2026 when the concession to run the network of Pousadas held by the Pestana Group, – one the country’s largest hotel operators with hotels in Portugal, Brazil, and the UK – ends.

Portugal’s Pousadas are historic charm hotels, often located within old refurbished forts, castles, and convents converted into premier hotels in key historic cities and towns throughout the country.

ENATUR (Empresa Nacional de Turismo, S.A.) is the Portuguese state-owned company that previously managed the Pousadas de Portugal hotel network and now oversees its concessions.

Its main objective is to develop and operate tourism activities and assets, which includes granting concessions to private companies and supervising the operation of these historic and traditional hotels.

In 2023, the Portuguese State bagged €28 million from the partial privatisation of ENATUR.

It was back in 2003 when the government decided to sell 49% of ENATUR’s capital after accumulating a decade of losses, to the Pestana Group.

Tourism de Portugal now plans to buy back the Pousadas chain after Pestana indicated it was planning to sell it, according to the business daily Negócios.

It would mean that ENATUR would have a 100% stake in the hotels company Pousadas de Portugal by the end of 2026, and then put the management of the properties again out to concession – but with a key difference. There would be a clearer division of who owns the properties (In this case the State, going forward) and who manages them (a private entity). Currently these lines are blurred causing conflicts of interest.

So far, neither the ministries of the Economy or Territorial Cohesion have issued a statement. The secretary of State for Tourism has also not issued a comment.

Going back in time, when the Portuguese government decided to privatise part of the company to Pestana Group (58.8%), it decided to farm out the management of the hotels to a hotel group that won the concession tender.

The winner was the Pestana Group (GPP). The other shareholders in Pousadas de Portugal are Grupo Caixa Geral de Depósitos (25%), the Oriente Foundation (15%) and 0.2% to another two companies – Abreu and Portimar both held by the Pestana Group.

GPP then became responsible for managing the Pousadas chain (44 hotels and inns of which 18 are in historic buildings) from September 1, 2003 with a 15-year management concession.

But why is Portugal’s government effectively re-nationalising the pousadas chain when it made successive losses up to 2003?

According to sources close to the process, the government’s aim in taking back 100% control of ENATUR involves taking advantage of the concession term to “adjust the current model” which in practice meant that GPP was both the landlord and the tenant of Pousadas de Portugal.

Moreover, GPP (Pestana Group) itself has more than once recognised, the mistake. For example, in 2014, the group admitted that “being landlord and tenant at the same time was not healthy”.

Later, in 2017, the group again admitted that there were “often situations of a conflict of interest”, particularly when GPP presented proposals for new projects, something that will be corrected for the 2026 concession competition to run the chain of pousadas.

As for ENATUR, one of its priorities has been to reduce the debt from the pousadas which in 2024 Shrank by 50’% to €2.7 million, although it had a positive net result of €1 million for that year.

Source: Negócios; Images: Pousadas de Portugal