Spanish-turned-Singaporean tycoon Ricardo Portabella sells 6 Singapore shophouses for $63.8M

The properties changed hands through a series of separate transactions, all involving Anpora Real Estate as the seller. The company, established in Singapore with Portabella and his son Ricardo Jr Portabella as its directors, holds an issued capital of just over S$127.7 million and currently has no charges, as reported by The Business Times.

Five of the properties, at 8, 15, 16, 17 and 30 Stanley Street, are freehold assets. The other unit, at 29 Stanley Street, sits on leasehold land with 64 years of tenure remaining. All six properties were transacted earlier this year, with the deals completed by July.

Portabella had originally acquired the shophouses between 2014 and 2019 for roughly S$75 million. The properties are now held by entities affiliated with Singapore-based real estate investment firm Clifton Partners.

A view of Stanley Street, Singapore. Photo by Wikipedia

The Portabella family’s business interests include Finova Group, a Singapore-based boutique corporate services firm that describes itself as a one-stop solution for companies or individuals setting up or operating in Singapore. Ricardo Jr Portabella serves as both its chairman and CEO.

Finova’s parent company Anpora Group is based in Luxembourg and focuses on the European and U.S. markets.

The family began investing in Singapore real estate in 2008 and had a portfolio of 13 shophouses in the city-state by 2022, according to a report by The Straits Times.

Singapore’s shophouses have been a popular investment for family offices, local developers and high-net-worth individuals worldwide.

It was revealed last year that American billionaire Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, acquired two such properties for S$25.5 million in 2021, according to the Australian Financial Review.

More recently, Zhang Ying, the wife of Alibaba founder Jack Ma, picked up three units for S$45 million last February.

But the market softened in the first half of this year with 42 transactions worth S$462.9 million, down from 50 deals totaling S$520.2 million a year earlier, Singapore Business Review reported, citing data by property consultancy Knight Frank.

Even so, prices have proven resilient. Average unit values inched up 0.5% from the second half of 2024 to reach S$6,431 per square foot (US$53,615 per square meter).

Knight Frank noted that while investors continue to eye shophouse purchases, private wealth can "afford to wait until price expectations align."

The firm added that prices remain supported by the scarcity of such properties and their appeal as long-term investments.

For the full year, it forecasts shophouse sales in Singapore to total S$700-800 million this year, as against last year’s S$947.8 million.