Latest news and stories about business growth in Portugal for expats and residents.
Arrow expands its portfolio in the Portuguese market by adding SolarWinds' IT management and observability solutions.
Trim NW, which specialises in non-wovens (textile materials not made by weaving or knitting), expected to grow by 10% this year. With the conflict in the Middle East, everything is up in the air, but the company believes that growth is still possible. The CEO of the Cartaxo-based textile firm states that the sector has faced several crises in recent years and they have continued to grow.
The accumulation of overdue payments is identified as a major obstacle to the expansion and financial stability of Portuguese companies.
Eating at a shopping centre is often associated with a quick, convenient meal. However, Braza wants to change this mindset by positioning itself as a destination for barbecue. Co-owner José Luiz Penha explains that the chain, which has been operating since 2021, shifted its strategy after a successful experience at the Via Catarina centre in Porto. With 11 units currently in operation, the business focuses on quality, attention to detail, and staff training. The company plans to expand to 35 stores across Portugal over the next five years.
Commerce, Media, Data, and Experience are the four areas of expertise for Flywheel, an Omnicom Media Group unit now arriving in Portugal. The introduction of Flywheel in Portugal represents a shift in how brands can grow, moving from a logic centered on media metrics to a results-oriented approach.
“We should have growth as a national goal, and for that, we need the ambition to grow and scale up. Rather than discriminating against large companies in favour of small ones, it is important to understand that large companies can accelerate medium-sized ones and create a virtuous cycle of growth and economic contribution,” argued the president of the José Mello group on Wednesday, the 22nd. Vasco de Mello, speaking at the M&A - Consolidating to Grow conference, promoted by DN and PwC, said that Portugal is a country of “small players” regarding the size of its business fabric, but that it is the large companies that carry the most weight in contributing to the economy. “We need to take the contribution of large companies more into account,” he reiterated. During his speech on a panel under the theme “Consolidating to grow”, the businessman highlighted that company scale is only a relevant factor if it is intrinsically associated with value creation. “Scale is important, but only in the perspective that it creates conditions to attract talent, pay better wages, and have a higher level of capabilities and skills. It allows for investment in process modification, innovation, and internationalisation. Ultimately, scale must create value; it is not an objective in itself,” he listed. For Vasco de Mello, “there are no magic turnover numbers” that define ambition. “I have known small companies that had the capacity to attract talent,” he exemplified. The president of the group that owns companies such as Brisa, Bondalti, and CUF acknowledged that, in the chapter of mergers, the biggest challenge is creating a common culture. “The issue of execution must be very clear, and how we will manage to make two companies result in more than the sum of their parts. You need to have a very clear idea of how the necessary changes for the transition will be implemented,” he noted. The manager also defended the importance of ensuring corporate governance with an adequate structure featuring “diversity, knowledge, and the capacity to ensure a solid foundation.” “It is a factor that distinguishes an operation that succeeds from one that does not,” he stressed. The Portuguese Development Bank plans to inject more than 30 billion into the economy over the next three years. António Esteves: “Portugal is an interesting playground for private equity.”
Portuguese businesses are being represented at a food and hospitality industry event in Singapore.
Cloudcomputing, a Portuguese company specialising in digital identity and cybersecurity, announced this Monday the acquisition of the British tech firm Innovate IT. This deal, the value of which was not disclosed, will have a 400% impact on the delivery capacity of the company led by Ricardo Martins in the British and North American markets. With the purchase of Innovate IT, which has...
In an increasingly demanding and competitive economic context, organisations today face a central challenge: ensuring their professionals are prepared to respond to a market in constant transformation. The speed at which knowledge evolves is currently one of the defining characteristics of the business world. New legal frameworks, new technological tools, and new...
Aquitex, a Portuguese chemical company, announced on Monday, the 6th, that Iberis Capital has become its majority shareholder in a move to drive growth and international expansion. While the deal value was not disclosed, Iberis Capital has taken control of the company, with Jorge and Matilde Faria remaining as minority shareholders and executive managers. Founded in 1963 and based in Maia, Aquitex manufactures and markets chemical products for the textile, ceramic, detergent, and cosmetic industries. The company plans to use this partnership to accelerate expansion, develop new products, and explore new business segments, while maintaining the current management team and strengthening the Board of Directors.
Iberis Capital has purchased a majority stake in the chemical company Aquitex, which specialises in the production and sale of chemical products for the textile, ceramic, detergent, and cosmetic industries, to support it in the development of new products and the exploration of other business segments. The entry of the Lisbon-based private equity firm into the capital of the Maia-based company...
At DST, the question is always 'why not us?' when considering business. Therefore, the group remains attentive to opportunities arising in different sectors. For José Teixeira, low productivity is a problem that needs urgent resolution. The leader of DST also laments the ease with which people give up.
Duarte da Costa states that one of the company's bets for expanding its sales is the Brazilian market, which, due to local characteristics and the warmer climate, is expected to absorb more refreshing wines.
The Portuguese platform is changing the way entrepreneurs learn and helping to take businesses to the next level.
The auditing firm Forvis Mazars is in negotiations to buy a firm of statutory auditors in Aveiro and is analysing the possibility of acquiring another auditing company in Braga. The company intends to move forward with an inorganic growth model and the creation of regional hubs to have a presence closer to...
The Visabeira group has agreed with Goldman Sachs to increase investment in Nearing Visabeira by an additional 50 million euros, based on an enterprise value exceeding 2 billion euros, a figure that has doubled in the last four years since Goldman Sachs' initial investment. The stake now stands at approximately 25%. In 2025, sales rose by 18%.
Andersen Iberia closed the year 2025 with a business volume of 80 million euros, representing a growth of 13.3% compared to 2024. In Portugal, the office reached 6.58 million euros in turnover, 40% more than in the previous year. The 2025 results confirm the solidity of...
Clustie, a brand associated with FULLVENUE, has launched a tool to help companies better interpret their data and optimise results. The guide, titled 'Shopify Growth, Upgraded', outlines a four-stage methodology to simplify processes and make data management accessible to teams without advanced technical resources. Tiago Costa Rocha, CEO and co-founder of Clustie and FULLVENUE, emphasises that AI should support decision-making rather than replace human judgement, encouraging businesses to focus on consumer behaviour patterns and long-term customer value to drive growth in a competitive market.
Four Portuguese SMEs are trying to win over international buyers in Bologna. The sector is growing in Portugal, with exports rising and perfumes leading the progress in 2024.
Financial services company Baker Tilly has strengthened its presence in the Portuguese market with the acquisition of the audit firm Anjos & Associados. The tax consultancy's deal is part of a new strategic plan to reach an annual turnover of 100 million euros by 2028. The purchase agreement for the Portuguese firm Anjos – a company...
The Your group is moving forward with a business model involving revenue sharing for accounting services with other firms. The company, which specialises in tax consulting and payroll processing, has chosen this growth vehicle after setting aside acquisitions in the short and medium term. The goal is to differentiate itself.
The newly appointed CEO of the Your group believes that the accounting business must evolve into tax consulting, but it cannot rely purely on technology, as competitors entering the market are doing. In an interview with ECO/EContas, Pedro Flores reveals that, after a phase of acquisitions, the Portuguese company's growth will focus on...
Aveleda relies on innovation, premium wines, and wine tourism as the strategic pillars to maintain a growth cycle that has been setting sales records for 14 years.
In a market where attracting a new customer costs seven times more than retaining an existing one, the Portuguese fashion brand Quebramar generated 6.5 million euros in two months by focusing on its own database.
Factorial has announced the AI Acceleration Fund, a 10-million-euro initiative aimed at promoting the digitalisation of business operations and the adoption of artificial intelligence by European companies. The measure marks the tenth anniversary of the Spanish-founded tech firm and seeks to reduce financial and technical barriers to digital transformation. The fund addresses evidence that only a minority of companies extract significant value from AI, highlights the tech firm, which officially became a 'unicorn' in October 2022. Studies cited by Factorial indicate that generative AI can create massive productivity gains, but only about 5% of companies capture this value at scale, while 60% see no material benefit despite investments. The company warns that the lack of an AI strategy could leave organisations at a competitive disadvantage. The ten million euros are divided into two equal components: five million in direct cost reductions applied at the time of contracting, and five million in credits for AI tools within the Factorial platform itself. The design seeks to alleviate initial implementation costs while supporting the expansion of AI capabilities over time. The fund is aimed at companies with 20 to 1,000 employees that sign an annual contract for Factorial's Personal or PRO packages for the first time, and is available in all European markets until the funds are exhausted. Applications are processed automatically during the proposal phase for eligible companies, the platform, which centralises and optimises HR processes for SMEs, stated in a press release. The initiative focuses on applications in operational areas with direct economic impact, such as human resources, finance, IT, payroll, productivity analysis, and strategic planning. In addition to financial support, companies can access training, events, and guidance materials to accelerate transformation, Factorial assures. 'The next decade of business performance in Europe will be defined by how effectively companies integrate AI into their operations,' says Jordi Romero, CEO of Factorial, in the same document. 'With this ten-million-euro investment, we are removing barriers and enabling ambitious companies to accelerate their transformation with confidence.'
Andersen Iberia has announced the integration of the Portuguese firm PRA – Raposo, Sá Miranda & Associados, an operation that raises the group's turnover in the Iberian Peninsula to over 110 million euros by 2026 and increases revenue in Portugal to approximately 23 million euros. The merger brings over 700 professionals to Andersen in the Iberian Peninsula, including 129 partners, and incorporates PRA's team and client portfolio. The operation strengthens Andersen's presence in strategic sectors such as energy, infrastructure, real estate, finance, technology, and healthcare. PRA, founded in 2001, provides regulatory expertise and national coverage with offices across Portugal. Pedro Raposo and Miguel Miranda, chairman and managing partner of PRA, will join the board of directors of Andersen Iberia.
“This performance reflects our technical capacity to deliver high-quality solutions,” comments the company's CEO. Opensoft marks 25 years of activity this year.
Apex and Sebrae are bringing ten Brazilian companies to Lisbon for a nine-month incubation period as part of an innovation program. The agency's president, Jorge Viana, praises Portugal's startup ecosystem and discusses the profile of the project participants. The Radar DN Brasil podcast airs every Friday at 8 am on the DN Brasil YouTube and Spotify channels, providing a weekly summary of interest to Brazilians in Portugal.
In an increasingly demanding international context, Portugal faces the imperative of strengthening its business base as an essential condition for economic and social progress. National Accounts data show GDP growth of 1.9% in 2025, following 2.2% in 2024. This is a sign of resilience, but clearly insufficient to ensure rapid and sustained convergence with more developed European economies. Growth was based exclusively on domestic demand, with the contribution of net external demand being negative for the second consecutive year—a reality that deserves deep reflection, as the Portuguese economy cannot structurally depend on domestic dynamics to sustain output expansion; it is a model that proves vulnerable and limits the potential for competitive assertion in the European and global space. Furthermore, investment is showing signs of slowing down. Excluding changes in inventories, Gross Fixed Capital Formation has been decelerating, with a decline even observed in investment in machinery and equipment. When companies invest less in technology, productive modernisation, and innovation, future productivity gains are compromised, and the ability to compete in increasingly sophisticated external markets is reduced. This is an especially worrying situation during a period of implementation of crucial European funds, such as PT 2030. Export intensity has also regressed, standing at 43.6% of GDP in 2025, a value lower than that recorded in previous years and far from the levels we aim to reach. The escalation of the conflict involving the United States of America, Israel, and Iran, with disruptions already visible in one of the main arteries of global energy trade (the Strait of Hormuz), accentuates high international uncertainty, with repercussions on rising production costs (energy prices and maritime freight). For an economy heavily dependent on energy imports, such as the European one, this risk cannot be underestimated. Persistent inflationary pressure could lead to a tightening of monetary policy, with rising interest rates, which would have consequences for business investment, making financing more expensive and conditioning strategic decisions, precisely at a time when we need more innovation and international expansion to grow solidly. It is up to us to create the conditions for companies to invest, innovate with ambition, and strengthen their international presence. For all these reasons, the motto of the Action Programme for the current AEP board's mandate continues to make perfect sense: 'Valuing Companies to Serve Portugal', so that we may be capable of bringing our country closer to the core of Europe's most developed economies.
Mota-Engil intends to increase its net profit margin from 3% to 4% by 2030 and distribute 30% to 50% of profits to shareholders. The 'FOCUS 2030' strategic plan also aims to grow turnover from 5.3 billion to 9 billion. Mota-Engil sets its growth objective for business volume at...
