The sunshine surveyors

On the face of it, there are some pretty straightforward reasons why a British surveying company might want to set up in Portugal’s Algarve. A year-round suntan and regular two-hour lunch breaks make great business sense when they are complemented by the region’s high demand for property.

Wealthy northern Europeans are anxious to throw towels down at villa developments bordering the area’s golf courses, retailers are keen to capitalise on demand for high-street brands, and greater fluidity of business within the EU means professionals from architects to lawyers are hunting for office space.

However, Portugal’s laid-back lifestyle, which extends to a distinct lack of urgency in its planning and development processes, has traditionally meant that British construction firms in the region have mounted a quiet retreat to Blighty once the sunburn sets in.

Contractors Bovis, Mowlem and Alfred McAlpine were among the big hitters that established a presence in the 1970s, only to pull out later in frustration at the disorganised planning process.

Almost 30 years on, Portugal is again attracting British involvement, but it appears to be the consultant rather than the contractor that is eyeing up opportunities. Worldwide firm Northcroft has blazed a trail in the region, setting up a permanent office in the late 1980s and having a key hand in new stadia built for the Euro2004 football tournament.

Hertford-based Millbridge Group officially established a base in the Algarve in March, making it the only British practice with a permanent presence in the region. The specialist in project management and building surveying realised Portugal’s potential two years ago, when one of its clients asked for their help on a development in the Algarve.

Managing director Graham Clarke says the region offered a clear opening for the company’s services. “Our side of the industry is less developed in Portugal, so clients were looking for British-style expertise” he explains. “The architects here had some involvement in our areas, but the sector was mainly functioning by ex-pats giving advice on an ad hoc basis in return for cuts of deals.”

Putting down roots

Initially, Millbridge offered services to its established clients who wanted to work in Portugal. These included Aprirose, an Edgware-based property investment fund that teamed up with E3 Property to work on the Palmyra luxury apartment and townhouse scheme on Vilamoura’s Villa Sol development. The project’s first phase (60 units) is now complete.

During this time, Millbridge was still operating from the UK, with Clarke and Tony Scott (director of the firm’s Portuguese arm) flying out to Portugal virtually every week. However, with an increasing number of clients asking for help securing property and construction teams in the region, they considered the market strong enough to risk establishing a permanent base.

Portugal has to change. People here are starting to appreciate quality and recognise the need to get better.

Toni da Silva, Prime Design

“We saw the potential for commercial work as the Algarve grew,” Clarke says. “The region needs supermarkets, distribution and retailers. Establishing a base in Portugal meant we could easily look for sites for companies.”

The move to permanence, though, has not been simple. Portugal’s legal system is not the easiest to navigate, as was demonstrated on the eve of Millbridge’s launch in the country. Having gone through the protracted application procedure to become a plc, the firm was told at the 11th hour that Millbridge was unsuitable as a company name as it was too similar to that of a local developer. After panicked debate, they settled on Hanbury: the name of a golf course near its UK base.

Millbridge has also suffered with the slow planning procedure, which takes into account every aspect of a development, with detailed information on the entire project from design stage to M&E fittings. There is no recognisable appeal procedure if things go wrong and a plan is rejected. “We asked a number of lawyers, but they all had different ideas,” Clarke says.

Cost is a drawback

Clarke acknowledges that the level of integration required at the Portuguese planning stage is hugely costly for developers. “That’s why a lot of British firms don’t come out here,” he says. Millbridge itself has suffered from the delays: phase two of the Palmyra development is still awaiting official approval, despite being on the local authority’s books since July 2004. The planning authority has even returned another client’s designs for being incorrectly folded.

As a smaller company, however, Millbridge seems more ready to adapt its work to the situation than its larger counterparts, because the potential benefits of an untapped market vastly outweigh the inconvenience of the delays. Tony Scott acknowledges this. “You need rules, but you have to play the game and be flexible as well.”

Its Portuguese counterparts recognise that this stance provides work for Millbridge in Portugal. QS Toni da Silva, of Portuguese practice Prime Design, trained under English practitioners in Zimbabwe and is aware of the differences between the English and Portuguese divisions of the industry. “They have different styles, but English suits me more,” he says. “It is more disciplined, has more vision and produces higher quality products.”

According to da Silva, this knowledge gap will only increase demand for British involvement in Portuguese projects. “I think Portugal has to change,” he says. “People here are starting to appreciate quality and recognise the need to get better. This didn’t happen in the ‘70s, as no care was taken with work and there was no follow-through to the projects.”

If da Silva proves right, expect the towels of a host of other British firms to challenge Millbridge’s place in the sun before too long.