A Portuguese property development company that is half-owned by Irishman Gerry Fagan has said it is going to invest €700 million in the Azores over the coming five to 10 years.
Oceanico Developments, which sells approximately 80 per cent of its property to Irish customers, has acquired a stake in two golf courses in the Azores in a joint-venture deal with Grupo Siram, also based in Portugal.
Mr Fagan said he believed the demand for golfing developments would "soar" in the Azores, which lie in the Atlantic half-way between Europe and the US.
He said he anticipated the launch of direct flights from Dublin in the coming months.
Oceanico says it plans to design and develop two additional golf courses on the Azores. It says golf courses are to play a major part in its strategy for the years ahead. Last year the company launched Amendoeira, a five-star golf course in the Algarve.
Mr Fagan is a former chief operations officer with the Bewley Campbell group who moved to Portugal about five years.
He set up Oceanico, which develops four- and five-star residential holiday homes, with English property developer Simon Burgess.
