Before you trust the project
Check the company behind it.
The brochure may show a strong brand. The CPCV may be signed by a different company. Your staged payments may go to a project SPV created specifically for this development. Before you transfer money, find out who legally sells the property, who receives your payments, who manages and controls the company, what official records show, whether public financial-distress signals exist and which claims remain unverified.
- From €900
- Source-backed written report
- Licensed Portuguese lawyer
A strong brand name is not the same as a strong legal counterparty
Property marketing usually focuses on the group name.
Your contract may involve:
• a newly created project company
• an SPV with limited history
• a company related to the developer but not identical to it
• a landholding company
• a promoter
• another company receiving buyer payments
None of these structures is automatically wrong. But the buyer should understand the structure before signing.
The practical questions are simple: which company owes you the unit, which company receives your money and what public information supports the story in the sales material?
What the report helps you understand
The companies and people behind the project
- 01
Who is actually selling the unit?
We identify the company named in the reservation agreement, CPCV or project materials. We compare it with the developer, promoter, group and project SPV.
- 02
Is the project company new or established?
A recently created SPV can be normal for a development. But the buyer should know when it was incorporated, what activity is registered, who manages it, whether its corporate history raises questions and how it connects to the better-known developer brand.
- 03
What do the official company records show?
We may review incorporation, registered status, company name, registered office, corporate purpose, share capital, managers or directors, changes in management, changes of name or office, registered corporate acts, pending registration requests and relevant statutes where available.
- 04
What do the available accounts suggest?
Where accounts are available and relevant, we may look at filing currency, turnover, profit or loss, equity, liabilities, major year-to-year changes and whether the financial profile appears consistent with the claims being made. This is not a financial audit or credit rating. It is a buyer-side review of available information.
- 05
Are there public insolvency or restructuring signals?
We search relevant Portuguese entities for publicly available references to insolvency, PER or other listed restructuring proceedings. A search result needs context. A similar company name is not enough.
- 06
Does the company appear in public execution records?
We check relevant public sources and explain any result found. This is one risk signal, not a complete debt or litigation database.
- 07
Who manages and controls the business?
We review registered directors, managers and publicly visible links between relevant companies. Where possible, we build a practical map from developer brand to promoter, parent or group entities, project SPV, registered management and relevant key people.
- 08
Can the claimed project history be verified?
We compare marketing claims with available independent sources. We may look for completed projects, projects still under construction, delivery history, public references to delays, entities used for previous projects, visible brand or company changes, public buyer complaints, credible media coverage and publicly available project records. The report separates developer claim, independently corroborated fact, unverified statement and contradictory information.
- 09
Are there visible public disputes or adverse signals?
Depending on the entity and available sources, we may review public insolvency and enforcement records, published court decisions, official notices, credible media reports, public complaints with enough detail, regulatory references, sanctions screening and public procurement history where relevant. This is not presented as a complete record of every lawsuit or complaint. Portugal does not offer a single unrestricted public search showing every dispute involving a company.
- 10
Does the sales story match the legal structure?
This is often the most useful part of the report. We compare statements such as “20 years of experience”, “part of an international group”, “projects delivered across Europe” or “financially strong developer” with the entities and public information we can actually verify. A claim may be true. It may also refer to another company, another country or the personal experience of a manager rather than the SPV signing your contract. The report shows the difference.
What you receive
A written Developer & SPV Background Report
You receive a written Developer & SPV Background Report.
Clear conclusion on page one
The report begins with one of three practical conclusions: no material public red flags found in the reviewed scope; proceed only after the listed points are verified; material public red flags identified. This is not a guarantee that the project is safe. It is a clear summary of what the reviewed sources show.
Entity map
A simple diagram-style explanation of developer brand, legal seller, promoter, project SPV, related companies, registered managers and relevant group connections.
Company history
A timeline of relevant events such as incorporation, management changes, name changes, office changes, capital changes, material registered acts and available annual-account history.
Financial and distress signals
A plain-language review of available annual accounts, filing gaps, insolvency or PER results, public execution results and other public financial-distress indicators.
Track-record review
A comparison between claimed projects, independently identified projects, delivered projects, unclear project status and visible delay or dispute signals.
Red-flag matrix
Each point is classified by priority: material, important, worth clarifying or low significance.
Source file
Material findings are linked to their sources so the buyer can see where the information came from.
Questions to send the seller
The report may include direct questions such as: Why is the project sold by this SPV rather than the group company?; What is the contractual relationship between the promoter and the SPV?; Who owns the project land?; Which entity receives staged payments?; Can the seller provide evidence of funding?; Which previous projects were delivered by the same legal entity?; Who is responsible for warranty and after-sales work?; What happens to buyer payments if construction is delayed or stops?
Evidence standard
We do not present assumptions as facts.
Every material point is marked as:
• confirmed — supported by an official or direct primary source
• corroborated — supported by several credible independent sources
• unverified — claimed by the developer or sales side but not independently confirmed
• contradicted — reliable information conflicts with the claim being made
• not publicly available — the information may exist, but cannot be verified through lawful sources available for the review
This makes the report useful. You know not only what was found, but how much confidence to place in it.
When to order the check
The best moment is before:
• paying a non-refundable reservation fee
• signing an off-plan CPCV
• making the first large deposit
• making staged construction payments
• accepting a change of seller or SPV
• buying a unit in an unfamiliar project
• relying on a developer’s claimed history
• investing remotely
The earlier the check is done, the more options the buyer still has.
How it works
- 01
Send the project
Send the project link, brochure, developer name, legal seller if known, draft CPCV if available, payment schedule, names of related companies, main concern and signing or payment deadline.
- 02
We identify the entities
The first task is to establish exactly what should be checked: marketing brand, developer, promoter, legal seller, project SPV, parent company and key managers. We confirm the scope before starting.
- 03
We collect and compare sources
We review the agreed Portuguese official records and relevant open sources. If an international group is involved, additional jurisdictions may need separate scope.
- 04
Portuguese lawyer reviews the findings
The report is reviewed from the perspective of a property buyer. The question is not only whether the company exists. The question is what the information means for a buyer preparing to sign and pay.
- 05
You receive the report
You receive conclusion, entity map, company history, public financial and distress signals, track-record review, red flags, source references, questions for the seller and recommended next step.
- 06
Decide what happens next
Depending on the result, you may continue, request documents, ask for evidence of funding, change payment structure, ask for guarantees, negotiate the CPCV, move to the full Off-Plan Buyer Risk Pack or stop the purchase.
Price and standard scope
Developer & SPV Background Check — from €900
Included
- one developer or promoter
- one project company or SPV
- Portuguese commercial-register review
- available annual-account review
- public insolvency / PER search
- public execution search
- management and company-history review
- public track-record and adverse-source review
- written source-backed report
- buyer-side red-flag summary
- questions for the seller
Not included by default
- review of property title
- confirmation that the SPV owns the project land
- project licensing review
- construction-permit review
- CPCV Review
- staged-payment clause review
- technical inspection
- project valuation
- financial audit
- credit rating
- private bank or tax information
- guarantee of solvency
- guarantee that construction will finish
- full review of every court case
- criminal-record certificate without company authorisation
Output
Source-backed written report.
Expanded scope
The standard scope is designed for a Portuguese developer and one Portuguese project SPV.
A broader fee applies where the review includes several project companies, a large corporate group, foreign parent companies, several jurisdictions, numerous directors or beneficial owners, extensive previous-project research, complex insolvency or litigation history, enhanced sanctions and adverse-media review, urgent delivery or separate project-title or licensing review.
Expanded reviews commonly start from €1,500 depending on the entities and jurisdictions involved.
When another service is better
If you need the company check together with the project, CPCV, staged payments, delivery and handover risks, choose the Off-Plan Buyer Risk Pack.
Choose Off-Plan Buyer Risk Pack if you want developer, SPV, project documents, CPCV, staged payments, delays and handover reviewed together.
Choose Pre-CPCV Legal Due Diligence if you want the specific property, registered owner and transaction documents checked.
Choose Full Buyer Representation if you want a lawyer to coordinate the legal side of the purchase.
Choose Technical Property Inspection for new-build handover, snagging and visible physical defects.
Related services
The brochure tells you what the project should become.
The background check tells you who is asking for your money today. Developer & SPV Background Check — from €900. Official records, company history, public financial signals, previous projects and buyer-side red flags.