Prime Avenida da Liberdade Office Building Liberty 227 Attracts Joint Marketing by CBRE and Savills

In a notable development for Lisbon's premium office market, two of the world's leading commercial real estate advisory firms have joined forces to market a fully rehabilitated office building on the city's most prestigious avenue. CBRE Portugal—the Portuguese division of the global real estate services giant that advises institutional investors, corporations, and property owners across all commercial real estate sectors—and Savills—the London-headquartered international property advisor with extensive European market expertise—will co-market Liberty 227, a comprehensively renovated nine-story office building located on Avenida da Liberdade in central Lisbon. This collaborative marketing approach signals strong institutional confidence in the property's appeal and underscores the competitive dynamics of Lisbon's prime office sector.

The building is owned by Arish Capital Partners, a real estate investment firm specializing in value-add and opportunistic property investments across European markets, with a particular focus on repositioning underutilized assets in prime locations. The involvement of two major international advisory firms to market a mid-sized office property reflects the heightened interest among small and medium-sized enterprises seeking modern, sustainable workspace in Lisbon's most recognizable business address.

Scheduled for completion by the end of 2025, Liberty 227 represents a strategic bet on continued demand for boutique office space in Lisbon's traditional business core, even as newer districts like Parque das Nações attract large corporate tenants. For foreign investors, this transaction type offers insights into the evolving preferences of Portugal's growing community of international businesses and the premium commanded by heritage locations with modern amenities.

Liberty 227 occupies a strategic position on Avenida da Liberdade, Lisbon's grand 1.5-kilometer boulevard that serves as the city's primary business artery, connecting the historic downtown Baixa district northward to Praça Marquês de Pombal and the modern business areas of Saldanha and Campo Pequeno. This tree-lined avenue, often compared to Paris's Champs-Élysées, sits approximately 2 kilometers north of the Tagus River waterfront and runs parallel to the Avenida Metro station on the Blue Line, providing direct connectivity to the airport, Parque das Nações, and residential neighborhoods throughout the city. The avenue itself hosts luxury retail flagships, five-star hotels including the Four Seasons Ritz, corporate headquarters, and some of Lisbon's most expensive residential properties, with office rents in top buildings reaching €35-40 per square meter monthly.

For foreign investors and international companies, Avenida da Liberdade represents Lisbon's most prestigious business address, offering immediate brand recognition and proximity to government ministries, financial institutions, and professional services firms. The area attracts a diverse tenant mix including law firms, financial advisors, technology companies, and regional headquarters of multinational corporations seeking a European foothold. The concentration of high-net-worth residents in surrounding neighborhoods like Príncipe Real and Avenidas Novas, combined with extensive public transport options and walkability to cultural amenities, makes this corridor particularly appealing to companies recruiting international talent. Our comprehensive Lisbon neighborhoods guide provides detailed analysis of how different business districts compare for corporate location decisions.

Market Implications for Commercial Real Estate Investors

The decision by Arish Capital Partners to engage both CBRE and Savills for a relatively modest 1,475 square meter property carries significant implications for understanding Lisbon's commercial real estate dynamics. This dual-agency approach, common for trophy assets in major European capitals but less typical for mid-sized properties, suggests the owner anticipates strong competition among potential tenants and wants maximum market exposure across different corporate networks. For investors, this signals that even smaller-scale office properties in prime locations can command institutional-grade marketing efforts when positioned correctly—a positive indicator of market depth and liquidity in Lisbon's core business district.

The property's design specifications reveal important tenant preferences shaping Lisbon's office market. Floor plates of approximately 165 square meters are specifically sized for small and medium enterprises, professional services firms, and regional offices of larger organizations—tenant categories that have shown particular resilience and growth in Lisbon's post-pandemic office market. This contrasts with the large floor plates of 1,000-2,000 square meters favored by multinational corporations in newer developments like those in Parque das Nações or Amoreiras. The boutique approach reflects a strategic positioning toward the growing ecosystem of technology startups, consulting firms, investment managers, and international companies establishing initial Portuguese operations without committing to large-scale space.

Liberty 227's BREEAM certification—an internationally recognized sustainability assessment method for buildings that evaluates environmental performance across categories including energy efficiency, water consumption, materials selection, waste management, and occupant wellbeing—addresses an increasingly critical factor in commercial property investment. As detailed in our sustainability in Portuguese real estate guide, environmental credentials are transitioning from optional amenities to essential requirements for attracting quality tenants and maintaining asset values. European corporate tenants, particularly those with parent companies subject to ESG reporting requirements, increasingly mandate sustainable office space, making BREEAM or similar certifications essential for competitive positioning and long-term value preservation.

The late 2025 completion timeline positions Liberty 227 to capture demand during a period when Lisbon's office market is expected to face limited new supply in the central business district. Most new construction activity has concentrated in emerging areas, leaving the traditional core with few modern options for quality-conscious tenants. This supply constraint in prime locations creates a favorable leasing environment for well-positioned properties, potentially supporting premium rents and high occupancy rates—key drivers of investment returns for commercial property owners.

The Rehabilitation Strategy and Value Creation

Arish Capital Partners' comprehensive rehabilitation of Liberty 227 exemplifies a value-creation strategy increasingly prevalent in Lisbon's commercial real estate market: acquiring older buildings in prime locations and repositioning them with modern specifications to capture contemporary rental rates. This approach allows investors to access prestigious addresses at acquisition costs below new construction while delivering product that meets current tenant requirements. The complete rehabilitation—as opposed to cosmetic renovation—signals a substantial capital investment to modernize building systems, enhance energy performance, and create amenity spaces that compete with new developments.

The inclusion of a shared terrace represents a strategic amenity responding to post-pandemic workplace preferences. Outdoor spaces, natural light optimization, and design elements promoting occupant wellbeing have gained importance as companies seek to encourage office attendance and differentiate their workplace environments. For investors evaluating commercial properties, buildings offering these features command rental premiums and demonstrate lower vacancy risk compared to conventional office stock lacking modern amenities.

Lisbon Office Market Context

Liberty 227 enters a Lisbon office market characterized by diverging performance across different submarkets and property quality tiers. While the overall market has absorbed pandemic-related adjustments, prime properties in established locations have demonstrated resilience, maintaining occupancy levels and rental growth that contrast with challenges facing secondary buildings in less-connected areas.

Several factors continue to shape investment dynamics in Lisbon's commercial office sector:

• International Business Expansion: Lisbon continues attracting technology companies, shared services centers, and regional headquarters from multinational corporations seeking lower-cost European locations with strong talent availability, lifestyle appeal for relocating employees, and improving digital infrastructure. This sustained demand from international tenants supports rental growth in quality buildings and provides diversification from domestic economic cycles.
• Flight to Quality: Tenant preferences increasingly favor modern, sustainable buildings with strong connectivity and amenities over older stock, even when rental premiums reach 30-40% above secondary properties. This bifurcation creates opportunities for repositioning strategies like Liberty 227 while presenting challenges for owners of outdated buildings unable to justify modernization investments.
• ESG Requirements: Environmental performance has evolved from differentiator to baseline expectation, particularly for international corporate tenants subject to sustainability reporting requirements. Buildings lacking energy efficiency certifications face growing obsolescence risk, making environmental upgrades essential for maintaining competitiveness and protecting asset values over investment hold periods.
• Flexible Space Demand: The rise of hybrid work models has not eliminated office demand but has changed space utilization patterns, with many companies seeking smaller but higher-quality environments emphasizing collaboration and culture rather than individual desk space. This trend favors boutique buildings like Liberty 227 offering flexible floor plates over large-format properties designed for traditional space allocation models.

These dynamics create a nuanced investment landscape where property-specific factors—location quality, building specifications, tenant mix, and environmental credentials—matter more than broad market trends. Successful commercial property investment in Lisbon increasingly requires detailed understanding of tenant preferences and careful asset selection rather than relying on general market appreciation.

António Almeida Ribeiro, CBRE's Director of Offices Investor Leasing, characterized Liberty 227 as "a differentiated solution for companies seeking modern, sustainable offices in one of Lisbon's most emblematic locations." This positioning statement reflects the property's strategic targeting of the quality-conscious segment willing to pay premium rents for the combination of prestigious address, modern specifications, and environmental credentials—a tenant profile offering stable occupancy and reliable cash flows valuable to commercial property investors.

Investment Considerations for Foreign Buyers

For international investors evaluating Portuguese commercial real estate, the Liberty 227 transaction offers several instructive elements. The property exemplifies how rehabilitation strategies in prime locations can create modern product competing with new construction while accessing established submarkets with proven tenant demand. The BREEAM certification demonstrates the importance of environmental credentials for competitive positioning, while the boutique scale and flexible floor plates address growing demand for adaptable workspace from small and medium enterprises.

Foreign investors considering similar opportunities should carefully evaluate location quality within Lisbon's commercial geography, as performance divergence between prime and secondary areas has widened significantly. Properties on or near Avenida da Liberdade, in the Saldanha office district, or in select Parque das Nações locations demonstrate fundamentally different risk-return profiles compared to buildings in emerging or peripheral areas. Working with investment property specialists who understand these micromarket dynamics is essential for accurate underwriting and risk assessment.

The involvement of international advisory firms like CBRE and Savills also provides comfort regarding market liquidity and exit optionality. Properties marketed through recognized institutional channels typically achieve broader buyer exposure and more competitive pricing when investors eventually seek to divest, an important consideration for foreign capital with defined hold periods. Additionally, consulting with English-speaking real estate lawyers experienced in commercial property transactions is essential for navigating Portuguese lease structures, tenant rights, and ownership considerations that differ significantly from other European markets.

Looking Ahead

The Liberty 227 project reflects broader confidence in Lisbon's evolution as a European business destination and the enduring appeal of prime central locations despite the emergence of alternative office districts. As the property approaches completion in late 2025, its leasing performance will provide valuable market signals about tenant appetite for boutique office space, sustainable building features, and premium pricing in Lisbon's traditional business core.

For stakeholders in Portugal's commercial real estate sector, developments like Liberty 227 demonstrate that thoughtful repositioning strategies in established locations can create competitive modern product while preserving the character and prestige that make central Lisbon distinctive. The combination of institutional-quality rehabilitation, environmental credentials, and strategic marketing through leading advisory firms positions this asset to capture demand from the growing community of international businesses seeking Portuguese operations. For expert guidance on commercial property investment opportunities in Lisbon's evolving office market, contact realestate-lisbon.com.