Madeira’s pretty capital Funchal has long been overlooked, says MARC DA SILVA

Renowned for its cake, wine, flowers and sub- tropical climate, Madeira has long attracted tourists all year round. However, the Portuguese island’s historic capital city Funchal is often ignored as a place to buy a holiday home.
Just under half of Madeira’s population of approximately 250,000 inhabitants live in Funchal. The city offers a calendar of cultural events and festivities for tourists and locals alike, including a carnival plus flower, wine and jazz festivals.
Funchal attracts around one million tourists a year, primarily from Britain, Germany and mainland Portugal. They are drawn by the long stretch of harbour full of fishing boats, the fine selection of botanical gardens, the colourful market and array of old streets filled with stylish boutiques and restaurants offering traditional Portuguese cuisine.
“A lot of people would feel very comfortable owning property in Madeira,” said Robin Stickells, of Madeira Properties in the Sun. “[Funchal] offers an international, cosmopolitan community that has its fair share of local residents, too. Madeira appeals to those who see this as a good thing.”
Mr Stickells added: “The big challenge is to find the purchasers who are in the market to buy a home.”
Although Funchal’s domestic property market is well-established, only a small fraction of overseas nationals own holiday homes there.
Hotel occupancy levels averaged 90 per cent during April’s Flower Festival, according to official government statistics. However, there are signs that Funchal’s holiday home market is starting to take off, buoyed by the introduction of low-cost airlines and direct flights from around Europe, Venezuela and South Africa.
Steven Worboys, of Experience International estate agency, said: “With more than one million tourists visiting this pearl of the Atlantic each year requiring accommodation, opportunity abounds for the buy-to-let market.”
In fact, enquiries for short-term rental properties in the capital increased by 52 per cent during the first three months of 2010, according to searches on holiday rental firm HomeAway’s website.
With protected conservation land making up some 70 per cent of the island, which is reasonably compact at 35 miles in length by 14 miles at its widest point, most property buyers head for Funchal.
Indeed, Funchal is where property prices are highest but the greatest buy-to-let opportunities in Madeira are to be found.
Resales typically start from around £110,000, which buys a modern one-bedroom apartment or an old-fashioned house in need of renovation or reconstruction.
Although Madeira’s property market has not gone unscathed by Portugal’s financial turmoil, the adverse economic effect on the island has been less severe than on the mainland, according to various local experts.
Philippe Moreau, the project manager of Vilagiorgi, a high-end holiday home development under construction in Funchal, said: “Due to the limited residential inventory, the Madeira property market has not suffered as much as mainland Portugal.
“Prices have not necessarily dropped but sales have been at a standstill for more than a year. More sales enquiries are starting to appear again, though.”
Roger Still, of Palheiro Estate, said: “Madeira is a fresh, new entrant into the second home market. Property prices compare well with other markets. Most of the ingredients necessary for a second homes market to establish itself in Madeira have long existed, including good location, climate, natural beauty, living conditions and visitor infrastructure.”
Mr Still was enthusiastic about acknowledging the progress made in Madeira over the past 10 years. The expansion of the international airport and a network of new roads, tunnels, marinas and health facilities have all set the scene for what he described as “the emergence of a viable second homes market”.
Madeira’s hot summers and warm winters, with temperatures averaging 21C, are ideal for avid golfers. This inspired an 18-hole,  par-72 course on the Palheiro Estate, along with a selection of luxurious holiday homes.
Palheiro was arguably the fi rst high-end residential projection conceived, designed and constructed to suit the requirements of the second homes market in Madeira. Inaugurated in late 2008, it rivals some of the best golf-led property developments of the Algarve but at a fraction of the price.

Palheiro Estate:  www.palheiroestate.com

This article authored by Marc da Silva (Daily Express) From Wednesday 1st September, 2010

Captain Anibal Fernandes of Balancal was recently honoured by receiving a lifetime achievement award for his services to big game fishing in Madeira.  It was an emotional night for Anibal as shortly after receiving his award he was given another award for best captain of the competition!
The tournament was held at Marina da Calheta – Madeira – 11th to 13th June 2010

Foreword: The second Madeira Blue Marlin tournament is organised by the Big Game Clube de Portugal and Marina da Calheta in order to honour and perpetuate the name of the physician and surgeon Dr. António Ribeiro that is actually 96 years old, probably the oldest living legend of all blue marlin fishermen. 
Due to the great success of the first tournament, this year about 20 boats are expected to enter the competition with teams from Madeira, Azores, Portugal Continental, England, Germany, Luxemburg, Spain and Canary Islands, South Africa and USA.

General information: This trophy is exclusively a Blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) “ALL RELEASE” tournament. It is qualifying for IGFA – Offshore World Championship and is also integrated in the BGCP – Big Game Fishing Circuit whose winner will represent the BGCP in the HIBT – Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament in Hawaii.

Madeira Island is considered one of the best spots in the world for blue marlin fishing. 

Be welcome in this beautiful Marlin Paradise.

Visit Madeira Marlin - Balancal here.

Following the exciting experience that took place at Palheiro Golf in the summer of 2009 the junior holiday programme is back again this year, bursting with action.

The programme will run Monday through Friday, mornings only, for 2-week periods from June 28th to September 3rd, with golf activities and a whole lot besides. Juniors of all levels of ability and/or expertise may participate, aged 6 to 18.
Last year over 50 youngsters took part in this programme, including 12 non-residents, most of whom were children of Madeirans living in Britain.

For the grand finale, a closing tournament will take place on the last day, September 3rd. All the youngsters that participated in the 2009 programme will be invited to play and get in a fair fight for the 2010 edition of the Holiday Open Cup.

Last year’s champion was Gonçalo Araújo from Funchal. After taking part in the Palheiro Holiday Golf Programme and getting his first taste of the game last summer, Gonçalo joined the Palheiro Golf Academy. Almost one year later, at 14 years of age, he is one of the Academy’s most consistent players with a 24 Handicap.
Calling all youngsters: Come and participate in this great summer golf party!

For further information please e-mail academia@palheiroestate.com

The Funchal Town Hall, through its Department of the Environment, held an award giving ceremony on 1st June 2010, for local companies that were awarded bronze, silver and gold environmental awards.

It comes as a surprise to nobody that Palheiro Golf was awarded a gold. As part of the Palheiro Estate, environmental issues have always been at the forefront of the company’s priorities.

Madeira is bouncing back. After February’s devastating floods, it is on a fresh drive to attract second-home buyers from Britain.

Madeira is a small island — just 30 miles long — with 250,000 residents. Located 600 miles south-west of Portugal and 360 miles off the african coast, it enjoys year-round warmth.

It has long been a favourite with Britons, especially retirees, who love its lush gardens, hillside walks along the lavadas waterways, and spectacular views from steep volcanic mountains.

The island is officially Portuguese and British tourists account for about a fifth of the 900,000 foreign visitors who arrive by air each year and the 450,000 arriving on cruise ships.

They also make up the bulk of the foreign buyers of holiday homes.

In February, Madeira hit the headlines when flash-floods and mudslides took the lives of more than 40 islanders.

Severe storms battered the south of the island and bulldozers were required to clear mud from the streets of the old capital, Funchal.

Bridges were swept away and the airport was closed. The world’s most famous Madeiran, real Madrid football star Cristiano Ronaldo, even played a charity match on the island to raise money for the relief effort. it’s estimated this will cost about £1.2bn.

However, only three months on, transport and communications are back to normal, emergency homes have been built for locals who lost their properties and easyJet has resumed flights from Britain.

Buoyed by funding from the local authorities, the island’s estate agents are advertising in the UK and worldwide to tempt foreigners back.

Much of Madeira’s property history is tied up with the British Blandy family. John Blandy, who first visited Madeira in the early 19th century during the Napoleonic wars, later returned to establish his legendary wine business.

By the end of that century, his descendants had become one of the largest exporters of Madeiran wine and built a vast family estate on the island.

This estate, Palheiro — still run by the Blandy descendants, who also own several other businesses across the island — has been the scene of some exciting new holiday home developments.

In 1993, the 18-hole par-72 Palheiro golf course, designed by US golf architect Cabell Robinson, opened. it’s set in what used to be the estate’s hunting grounds.

The course was redesigned in 2003 and entered the list of Europe’s top 100 courses a few months ago in Golf World magazine.

Meanwhile, in 1997 a country house on the estate was transformed into the fivestar Casa Velha do Palheiro hotel.

The estate is home to new residential developments in what has become known as Palheiro Village.

‘Buyers can select plots on which villas or apartments can be built according to one of a variety of design options under either freehold or fractional ownership,’ says a spokesman for the Palheiro Village resort.

Designed by the algarvebased architect Michael Brown, all Palheiro Village homes have panoramic views over the Bay of Funchal and the atlantic Ocean.

A second scheme of new housing can be found on the Ponta de São Lourenço peninsula, home to the 16-hectare Lorde resort, a ten-minute drive from Funchal airport.

The houses capture the charm of a Madeiran seaside village; there are 127 one, two and three-bedroom villas and apartments on a scheme laden with restaurants, bars and shops, plus a marina boasting berths for 264 vessels.

Modern homes aren’t the only properties on offer.

In Funchal, where prices have fallen 20% from their 2007 peak, you could get a 70-year-old hillside villa for some £200,000, rising to £350,000 in the centre of the town, where a few small apartments cost £100,000 each.

In the north of the island — about 35 minutes from Funchal by motorway — there are large villas for about £225,000.

Although there are several new schemes of holiday homes to complement the stylish period property on the island, scope for future development is limited. Some 67% of Madeira is designated as protected land and national forest.

On many other areas, particularly the steep hills, building work cannot be undertaken and there are increasingly restrictive planning rules being introduced. as a result, there is unlikely to be substantial numbers of new-builds.

‘There are two options for financing a second home in Madeira,’ says Simon Smallwood, of international Private Finance, a mortgage firm specialising in helping Britons buy overseas

‘You can raise the money against your primary UK residence. The downside is that you will be raising funds in sterling and then need to transfer the money into euros, which will be expensive because of the current exchange rate,’ he says.

‘Or you can have a Portuguese mortgage, borrowing in euros on a mortgage secured against the property in Madeira. Portuguese lenders have historically been more cautious than lenders in the UK so are in a much stronger position, post credit crunch.’

Britons can buy on the island without restriction, but must pay 5% to 8% of purchase price in transfer tax and notary fees. Holiday home running costs include an annual tax of 0.2% to 0.8% of the home’s value.

Madeira has no inheritance tax and VaT is just 14%, but capital gains tax of 25% is payable on profits when you resell the home.

So if you want a warm welcome in the island known as The Floating Garden of the atlantic, Madeira might be the answer.

International Private Finance (020 7484 4600, internationalprivate finance.com).

—————

This article from Graham Norwood - 14 May 2010 - http://bit.ly/c9SXq7

Palheiro Estate “Help Madeira Campaign” raises €10.474,71 in aid of flood victims

Palheiro Estate, sgps, s.a. launched a campaign to help those affected by the floods that occurred in Madeira on 20th February 2010, raising money for the local branch of the Portuguese Red Cross.

Fund raisers included a tournament at Palheiro Golf, held on March 6th, that was heavily attended by local golfers, a luncheon, a tombola and an auction, with the revenue raised donated in full to this worthy cause.

These actions were supported by “Palheiro friends”, Palheiro Golf Club members and all those connected to Palheiro Estate, both corporate and individual.

The charity bank account “Palheiro Estate Help Madeira Campaign” was operational until the end of March 2010, and the balance of €10,474.71 was transferred to the local branch of the Portuguese Red Cross.

Funds raised were symbolically given to Colonel Ramiro Morna do Nascimento, President of the local Red Cross, by Adam Blandy, Chairman of Palheiro Estate, sgps, s.a., at the Palheiro Golf clubhouse

Most of yesterday was devoted to getting to the tiny Atlantic island of Madeira - not helped by having to evacuate the South terminal at Gatwick airport because of a fire. And, as anyone who has ever flown in to Madeira knows, there is a certain nerve-racking quality about the extremely short airstrip that has been grafted on to the south side of the island just east of Funchal. However, safe eventual arrival in a balmy 27 deg C and warm early evening sunlight was some consolation, as is the beautiful country house Casa Velha do Palheiro, now a super-discreet Relais & Châteaux hotel that is surely every Englishman’s, or every…

From www.jancisrobinson.com

Palheiro, the multifaceted resort development on the Blandy family estate in Madeira, is offering a unique property package for golfing enthusiasts.

With pleasant weather year-round, Madeira attracts golfers from across the globe to play at the island’s two golf courses. One of which is Palheiro, a Cabell Robinson designed, 18 hole par 72 golf course situated on the Palheiro Estate. The course, which opened in 1993, was imaginatively redesigned in 2003 and was included in Golf World’s 2009 list of Europe’s top 100 golf courses.

Located in an elevated position overlooking the Bay of Funchal, the 130 hectare Palheiro Estate was originally an early 19th century hunting lodge. The estate now boasts a world famous 18 hole golf course, the five-star Casa Velha do Palheiro hotel with a spa, award winning Palheiro gardens as well as Palheiro Village - a private development of 79 luxury villas and apartments.

Property prices range from €325,000 for a one-bedroom apartment to €1.15 million for a three-bedroom villa complete with a private swimming pool.

Included within the selling price, golfing enthusiasts buying at Palheiro will enjoy:
•    Entrance fees and full membership to the Palheiro golf club for three years (equivalent value €13,248)
•    All purchase completion costs paid for (excluding legal fees)
•    All development charges paid for the first three years

In addition, Palheiro offers a superb property management service and an established and successful rental programme which is available to prospective purchasers.

Palheiro golf course runs a number of golfing days throughout the year which are available to golf club members and their guests including: the Moynihan’s Open in January, Royal Savoy Classic and Palheiro open in June, October fest golf week and Anniversary Salver in October.

For more information on property at Palheiro, please contact: Palheiro Real Estate, Tel: + 351 291 794 015 or visit:  www.palheiroestate.com

A charity golf tournament in aid of victims of the recent floods in Madeira was held at the Palheiro Golf course on 6 March 2010.

The event was organised by the Palheiro Estate holding company, Palheiro Estate SGPS SA, with all proceeds going to the Cruz Vermelha (Red Cross).
The tournament was held in good weather and was very well supported, with approximately 100 players taking part. The format for the golf was Texas Scramble, with players in teams of two.

The winning team were Jonathan Fletcher & Michael Blandy, with 61 net; followed by John Holt & Peter Jacques, 66 net; and Peter Booth & Philippe Moreau, also with 66 net.

The prize for the “longest drive” was won by Jonathan Fletcher, with Rubina Laranja winning the “closest to the hole” competition.
After the tournament, the players assembled in the Clubhouse for a buffet lunch, followed by the prize giving ceremony. The prizes were given out by Patrícia Rodrigues of Palheiro Golf and Edgar Rodrigues, the Palheiro Golf Professional.
The original announcement of the charity event had brought a surge of support from all those associated with the Palheiro Estate – both companies and private individuals. This support not only took the form of turning up on the day to be part of the event, but also the donation of a large number of tombola prizes and items to be auctioned. The items donated included works of art; a cruise; various holidays – an array of valuables which gave an indication of the degree of support this worthwhile cause has attracted.

The “Palheiro Estate for Madeira” event ended with the announcement that approximately €9000 had been raised, all of which is destined to help the victims of the flooding which struck the island on 20 February 2010.

The “Palheiro Estate for Madeira” appeal continues until the end of March, at which time all funds collected will be handed over to Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa da Madeira.

Donations can be made to the following account:

• Account nº: 000836892624

• NIB: 0007 0000 0083 6892 62423

• IBAN: PT50 0007 0000 0083 6892 6242 3

Os asociados reafirmam a sua confianza no Presidente

No congresso da Associação, celebrado entre os dias 15 a 18 de novembro de 2009 em Biarritz, os membros de Relais & Châteaux reafirmaram a sua confiança no seu Presidente dando o seu voto de forma unanime à lista de candidatos para o Comitê chefiado por Jaume Tàpies.
Os associados escolheram na reunião anual os seus representantes para os próximos quatro anos nas duas comissões que compõem o conselho, a saber:
Os membros do Comitê Executivo eleito pelos sócios da Assembéia geral
Os membros da comissão de delegados eleitos pelos componentes das várias delegações da associação

Eleições: ações coerentes e esforços contínuos

A reeleição de Jaume Tàpies como Presidente Internacional de Relais & Châteaux assegura a coerência e a continuidade das actividades conduzidas pelo presidente e a sua equipa durante o seu primeiro mandato.
Os seus novos projetos e idéias também farão que a Associação atenda às necessidades de uma clientela internacional seleta.

“Minha paixão e ambição por Relais & Châteaux me levaram a apresentar-me novamente como Presidente da Associação e estou contente por minha reeleição. Agora podemos embarcar em uma maneira nova e robusta para garantir o futuro de Relais & Châteaux.
Os próximos quatro anos, me dedicarei a consolidação da nossa estratégia de vendas a nível mundial e ao desenvolvimento de nossas linhas de comunicação.
Juntamente com a Câmara de Relais & Châteaux e com o apoio de todos os nossos parceiros, continuar a impulsionar o nosso crescimento internacional e a criação de novas Rotas da Felicidade”, disse Jaume Tàpies, que foi reeleito para o cargo de Presidente Internacional de Relais & Châteaux por mais 4 anos.

Delegado para a Espanha e Portugal, um Português: Sr. Mario Morais GM Stromp Hotel Quinta das Lágrimas em Coimbra e Vilamonte Resort no Algarve

Sobre Relais & Châteaux:
Relais & Châteaux é um grupo exclusivo de 475 dos mais exclusivos hotéis e restaurantes de fina gastronomia em 57 países.
A missão da associação, fundada na França em 1954, é ampliar a sua forma única de viver pelo mundo mediante uma seleção de áreas com caracter verdadeiramente excepcional.
Além disso, Relais & Châteaux é também uma família de donos de restaurantes e Grandes Chefs de todo o mundo que compartilham de sua paixão e dedicação para oferecer momentos de grande harmonia e riqueza sensorial para seus hóspedes.
De vinhedos de Napa Valley para às praias de Bali e olivais de Provence aos abrigos (pousadas) na África do Sul, Relais & Châteaux oferece todas as paradas precisas sobre a melhor maneira de descobrir os lugares especiais em cada país.
A assinatura Relais & Châteaux reflete esse compromisso:
“EM TODO O MUNDO, ÚNICO NO MUNDO”.
www.relaischateaux.com