SPS-Barrilero, a Portuguese law firm in the top 30 of the Iberian Lawyer ranking, has strengthened its partnership structure by promoting five lawyers to capital partners, three to industry partners, and two to contract partners. The firm now has 18 partners and 93 lawyers total.
KPMG Portugal announced the launch of its Managed Services division focused on helping organizations transform AI adoption from isolated pilots to scalable, governed operations. The launch is aligned with an IDC study showing 98% of business leaders consider AI implementation critical, 91% see Managed Services as relevant for agentic AI delivery, and 87% have integrated these models into their digital transformation strategies.
Portuguese development bank BPF has disbursed 1.15 billion euros to 6,000 companies affected by devastating storms in January-February 2026, with plans to reach 2 billion euros in total support across 90 municipalities. The bank is also introducing new instruments for exports, investment, growth, and quality job creation.
Banco Português de Fomento made advance payments of 72 million euros to 1,113 companies under the IFIC program covering reindustrialization, defense and security, and AI sectors. This represents 30% of approved support, with remaining 70% to be paid upon validation of expenses during investment execution. The bank has approved projects for nearly 3,000 companies totaling over 2.2 billion euros in investment, with approximately 1,500 contracts currently in execution representing 436 million euros in eligible investment.
Sonae, the Portuguese retail conglomerate, reported strong Q1 2026 results with 47 million euros in profits (up 11% YoY) and record quarterly consolidated revenue of 2.7 billion euros. The company achieved improved profitability with EBITDA margins expanding from 9.8% to 10.4%, driven by growth across all retail operations and store expansion. Net debt decreased to 1.7 billion euros, reflecting strong cash flow generation and continued deleveraging.
Aon, the world’s second largest insurance broker, appointed Portuguese executive Pedro Penalva as CEO of its Latin America region, effective July 1, 2026. Penalva previously served as CEO of Enterprise Clients for EMEA and brings over 15 years of experience at Aon, having held positions including CEO for Iberia, Africa, and Israel, and CEO of Aon Portugal.
The Portuguese government authorized Infraestruturas de Portugal to implement a phased payment schedule for the modernization of the Alentejo Railway Line. The project involves a 410.68 million euro investment to replace and electrify 63 kilometers of track between Casa Branca and Beja, enabling speeds of up to 200 km/h for passenger trains and 120 km/h for freight. Disbursements will run from 2027 to 2033, with the government seeking additional European funding through Portugal 2030 and other EU financing instruments.
J+Legal advised BlueCrow Capital in a financing operation for Offcoustic, a Portuguese startup developing acoustic cabin solutions for work environments and co-working spaces. The transaction involved a combined investment and financing structure to support the company’s growth and productive capacity expansion.
Portugal’s Iberian candidacy for a European Commission AI gigafactory project will concentrate all operations in Sines rather than establishing a secondary hub in Pego. The €8 billion investment from public and private funds will create an AI infrastructure facility with 150 MW computing capacity, expected to be fully operational by 2028. Spain’s location is Tarragona in Catalonia.
AM Experience by MK Illumination, a Portuguese company based in Braga specializing in festive illuminations and ice shows, reported 8 million euros in revenue for 2025, up from 6.8 million in 2024. The festive lighting division generated 5 million euros with 2.6 million from Spain operations. The company is expanding its ice show concept to Spain, launching in PuertoVenecia shopping center in Zaragoza in November with plans to expand to Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Corunha and Bilbao. The ice show is expected to attract 60,000 spectators and generate 1 million euros in revenue over seven weeks.