The Amorim Group marks 150 years of history and permanent renovation. 2020 is the 150th anniversary of the Amorim Group. Throughout the year, the entire Team - dispersed across more than 40 countries - collectively celebrates this event: the vision, entrepreneurial capacity, work and passion that successive generations of the Amorim Family have placed at the service of the Group and the entire cork sector. And, with the Family, all the employees who, in Portugal and the world, have dedicated their skills, talent and commitment to this shared goal of creating value, in harmony with Nature.
Several internal and external initiatives are organised throughout 2020, that mark the main pillars of the group’s activity: History, Renovation and Future; Cork, Sustainability and Innovation; People, Family and Community; Education and Values.
By celebrating this 150th anniversary, we are also renewing our commitment to the future, expressed through a renewed visual identity, including the new AMORIM logo, which expresses AMORIM as solid, cohesive and dynamic brand, maintaining the cork oak tree and sustainability as the key identity references.
The future begins every day.
In April, Corticeira Amorim celebrates the 30th anniversary of its listing on the stock exchange with a special session at Euronext Lisbon, closed by the symbolic ringing of the bell.
In the closing session, the Secretary of State for Industry, Ana Teresa Lehmann, states: “this is not just any company or family. It is a company that has shown that it understands the advantages of the capital markets and has known how to use them in its favour". She highlights the fact that Corticeira Amorim is an example of "innovation in tradition, an industry of the future”.
The Fernanda Ramos de Amorim Wine Museum Centre, part of Quinta Nova Nossa Senhora do Carmo, receives the Visitable Collection award from the Portuguese Museology Association. The Museum harbours a unique collection, with more than 500 items from the 19th and 20th centuries, contributes to the centuries-old memory of wine practices in the Alto Douro Wine Region, and ensuring that the culture of the local people is handed down to future generations.
The Amorim Group invests in the Dão Demarcated Region (Portugal), through the acquisition of Taboadella, a 50-hectare property, recognised to be one of the most important high-altitude vineyards in the region.
Dão is one of Portugal’s most emblematic and promising wine regions, home to great wines with a classic profile and enormous longevity, a unique and historic terroir that demonstrates not only the full potential of the touriga nacional and encruzado varieties, and also traditional Portuguese grape varieties.
With great regret, in July 2017, the Amorim Group and Family bid farewell to Américo Ferreira de Amorim (1934-2017), the charismatic leader who presided over the Amorim Group for decades, successfully leading its expansion, crossing borders and diversifying its activity in sectors such as real estate, finance, telecommunications and tourism.
Américo Ferreira de Amorim was the forerunner of the Group's professionalisation, modernisation, innovation and sustainability.
A unique, brilliant, tenacious and concrete man who leaves his mark on the history of business, Portugal and the world.
“We are what we do consistently. Hence, excellence is not an act, but a habit.”
Américo Ferreira de Amorim
Paula Amorim, Américo Ferreira de Amorim’s eldest daughter, is appointed as Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Amorim - Investimentos e Participações, SGPS, S.A., the holding company of the Amorim Group.
Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo wins the Best Wine Tourism Award, in the category of Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices.
The Amorim Group signs an agreement with Lantal Textiles AG for the sale of Gierlings - Velpor, expected to deliver significant added value to Gierlings - Velpor and all its stakeholders.
Quinta Nova is chosen as the Unique Luxury Hotel of the Year by the prestigious English guide Luxury Travel Guide.
Américo Ferreira de Amorim celebrates his 80th birthday, marking 62 years of work dedicated to building a successful business. He is an example of the power of work and individual determination that has inspired multiple generations all over the world.
Celebration of the 250th anniversary of the official foundation of Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo, which is marked with the launch of the book 250 Years of Stories and the special edition of the Colheita Unoaked vintage collection.
Luísa Amorim, the director of Quinta Nova says that by means of this wine “we are sharing this very special date with our loyal consumers and customers”.
Quinta Nova Nossa Senhora do Carmo is awarded the international Best of Wine Tourism Award 2010, in the Innovative Wine Experience category. It has previously received three distinctions in these same awards; Art and Culture in 2009, attributed to its wine tourism project in Pinhão railway station; Architecture, Parks and Gardens, in 2008; and Accommodation in 2007.
Américo Amorim is awarded the medal of Grand Officer of the Order of Bernando O'Higgins from the President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, in recognition of the relevant contribution, both personally and through the Amorim Group companies, to reinforcement of the cultural and economic relations between Portugal and Chile.
St. John’s University (New York) awards Américo Amorim an honorary doctorate in Commercial Science, stating that it thereby “pays tribute to a businessman who has lived in a truly remarkable manner. A successful businessman, he transformed a small cork factory, founded by his grandfather in 1870 - the same year that St. John’s University was built - into the world's biggest cork producer. Under his leadership, the Amorim Group has expanded its operations to other investment areas, including real estate, finance, tourism, energy and infrastructure”.
The Amorim Group sets up Amorim Global Investors, the sub-holding for a new area of private equity, dedicated to implementation and management of investment opportunities in companies that have a strong track record in terms of profitability, leaders in their business sector and endowed with a solid management team and recognised professional merits.
Américo Ferreira de Amorim is awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Infante D. Henrique, in recognition of his relevant services to Portugal, at home and abroad.
Américo Amorim receives the title of Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Hungary in Portugal in recognition of his distinguished work in favour of fostering strong relations between the two countries, in particular after 1990, when he became the country’s Honorary Consul in Portugal.
The Amorim Group establishes the Museu do Fundador - Cork and the Amorim Family, in the emblematic building that housed the family’s first business premises, in Santa Maria de Lamas. It is a meeting point and a crossroads between the history of cork and the history of the Amorim Family in its entrepreneurial journey.
Reorganisation of the Amorim Group's business portfolio, through sale of two business areas - Real Estate and Tourism. The group refocuses its interests on CORTICEIRA AMORIM, SGPS, SA, AMORIM DESENVOLVIMENTO, SGPS, SA, and also on analysis and monitoring of new business opportunities.
The sub-holding Natureza, SGPS, SA sells Burmester and Gilberts, and focuses on an innovative project in the wine tourism sector - the Quinta Nova Nossa Senhora do Carmo Rural Hotel – Portugal’s first wine hotel, and continues to invest in the brands Quinta Nova (wine) and Casa do Porco Preto.
As part of its strategy to expand its shopping centres, Amorim Imobiliária acquires the real estate consulting company, Larry Smith, from Spain, which specialises in retail activities, and as a result is responsible for managing and commercialising twenty shopping centres, with a total of 750,000 m2 of gross leasable area. Of these shopping centres, fourteen are located in Spain (500,000 m2) and six in Portugal (250,000 m2).
Amorim Imobiliária and ING Real Estate Development Ibérica establish a joint venture for the development of Portugal’s biggest shopping centre, Dolce Vita Tejo.
Amorim Imobiliária and the Auchan Group establish a partnership to develop and promote a commercial space in Amadora, to be implanted in a total area of 400,000 m2 with 192,000 m2 of construction, which is the largest commercial space in the Greater Lisbon area, assuming structural importance for the municipality of Amadora.
Presentation of the City of Arrábida, a project by Amorim Imobiliária, which includes the Studio Residence Arrábida, the private condominium Arrábida Plazza and the Arrábida office centre.
Launched about 10 years ago and resulting from a global investment of 240 million euros, the City of Arrábida also includes Arrábida Shopping, a private hospital and two hotels, among other facilities that, as a whole, create around 2500 jobs.
Amorim Imobiliária and Somague Imobiliária invest in the Espaço Belém, in partnership with the football club, Os Belenenses. This real estate project combines commercial and residential spaces and services, in an area of 33,000 m2, whose construction begins in 2005.
Amorim Imobiliária opens Dolce Vita Douro, the first large-scale shopping centre in the Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro region.
Opening of the Dolce Vita Douro, a shopping centre with a new philosophy – with a bold architecture, modern and unique features, planned with the well-being of its visitors in mind. It is called Dolce Vita because it conveys animation, fun, pleasure and passion. The same concept is subsequently applied to all of Amorim Imobiliária’s shopping centres.
Amorim Imobiliária and ING Real Estate Development Iberia, the world’s third largest company in the real estate sector, sign an agreement to develop the largest shopping centre ever built in Portugal (Amadora), as part of a real estate project that also includes an important residential and industrial area.
Amorim Imobiliária begins the restoration and reconversion works of the Convento dos Inglesinhos, an emblematic 17th century building in Lisbon.
The Amorim Group and the Sonae Group sign a cooperation agreement within the framework of the tourist development in Tróia, encompassing a total area of 440 hectares, which includes the recovery, refurbishment and completion of existing infrastructure and structures, demolition of structures that are not suited to the new high-quality urban requirements, and the construction of new tourist complexes, including 5-star hotels, a congress centre, sports harbour, water recreational park, sports and equestrian centres, an environmental centre for monitoring the environmental system, and execution of works of protection and enhancement of the Roman ruins of Tróia.
Amorim Imobiliária, SGPS, S.A. presents the Dolce Vita shopping centres, projects to be developed in Porto, Vila Real and Coimbra, in an investment worth more than 270 million euros, a strong bet in the retail business area.
Presentation of the Vilamoura real estate/tourism project, between the Marina and the Praia da Falésia, in a total land area of 105,000 m2. The project includes a Sofitel Resort Hotel (202 rooms) and a residential condominium (95 apartments) and is developed by Amorim Turismo and Amorim Imobiliária, reflecting an innovative and excellent vision of the hotel and leisure sector in Portugal.
This real estate development, of recognised international prestige, is developed in a total area of 1600 hectares and has important infrastructures, including a marina for 1000 boats and four golf courses, which permit diversification of the leisure services offered.
Amorim Imobiliária secures the international tender for the construction of Eurostadium, in Coimbra, a real-estate complex that includes a shopping centre (28,000 m2), a multipurpose pavilion, a facility with Olympic swimming pools, a housing development and the Cidade de Coimbra Football Stadium. Construction began in 2003.
Natureza, SGPS, S.A. acquires the company Barrancarnes - Transformacao Artesanal, S.A., the owner of the prestigious brand, Casa do Porco Preto, which it uses to produce and commercialise cured ham of protected designation of origin (PDO) and also traditional sausages. It thereby adds another genuinely Portuguese product to its existing portfolio of wines. The company has clear objectives: to preserve centuries-old history and traditions, develop the potential of Portugal’s demarcated regions; create value for the land as a precious asset; and create businesses driven by passion, patience and persistence.
Amorim Imobiliária promotes a housing project in the Quinta da Pícua (Maia), solely consisting of private condominiums.
The Grupo Amorim and Grupo ECOP, with the Futebol Clube do Porto, formalise the ANTAS project, an ambitious real estate development project, encompassing a residential area of 50,000 m2 and a commercial area of 190,000 m2, an office complex and a 4-star hotel, in a global investment of €300 million.
Amorim Imobiliária launches a real estate development in Praça de Espanha (Lisbon), with 30,000 m2 and offices.
Incorporation of Amorim.com, SGPS, S.A., a sub-holding aimed at concentrating the group’s investments in new technologies, which acquires stakes in Ski Station, Finte and WebLab, thereby opening the doors to the New Economy.
Formation of Amorim & Ceoser, a corporate holding company owned in equal proportions by the Amorim Group and Corporatión Empresarial ONCE, dedicated to the provision of services in several areas - such as integrated security, building maintenance, temporary work and personnel selection and training.
Acquisition of a qualified shareholding in Estoril-Sol, SGPS, S.A. with the objective of increasing the group’s investments in an important leisure area - casinos.
Following negotiations with the State, to create a competitive operator in the Portuguese energy sector, GALP - Petróleo e Gás de Portugal, SGPS, SA is set up in 1999, which groups the holdings of the two companies Petróleos de Portugal - Petrogal, SA and GDP - Gás de Portugal, SGPS, SA. The next step was to form national and international strategic alliances that enabled GALP to position itself more effectively in the international markets. In this context, in the year 2000 several private shareholders, including the Amorim Group, accepted the proposal to sell their shareholdings in GALP to ENI and to EDP.
Incorporation of the sub-holding Natureza, SGPS, S.A., that aggregates the existing investments in genuinely Portuguese natural products that offer very high quality. It adds the Port wine brands - Burmester, Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo and Gilberts to its portfolio of assets.
Joint Venture between Gierlings Velpor - Veludo Português, S.A. and the German group AUNDE, that specialises in the development of velvet fabrics for automotive upholstery, leading to the creation of Aunde Velpor, S.A.
Incorporation of Amorim Broking, SGPS, S.A. - a sub-holding of the Amorim Group for the insurance area - and incorporation of the company Unibroker Mozambique, created with local partners.
Acquisition of the tourist resort Vilalara (Algarve), which has a total area of 100,000 m2, offering complete privacy, including a small bay and beach on the Algarve coast. An exclusive environment, with total tranquility and 5-star facilities, internationally recognised as one of the finest resorts in Europe and the World.
Amorim Imobiliária launches two innovative residential products: Highgrove – Residential Clubs, in conjunction with the Caixa Geral de Depósitos Group, aimed at senior citizens, by fostering autonomy and high standards of living; and Studio Residences, aimed at university students, professionals and displaced workers. The latter venture is established through a collaboration protocol with the BCP Group. In 2003, a partnership with the Spanish group Realia Business, extends the concept of the Studio Residences to the Iberian market.
Amorim Imobiliária, through its subsidiary, Imolisboa - Projectos Imobiliários, S.A., establishes a joint venture with Renta Imobiliária, an investment company owned by GE Capital Real Estate.
The Amorim Group, through Amorim Imobiliária, acquires the stake previously held by ISM in INOGI, and now owns 100% of the company's share capital.
INOGI invests in large-scale, high-quality real estate projects in the greater Lisbon area, such as the Teatro Éden (remodelled and adapted into an aparthotel, with 10 700 m2 of intervention area), Torres de Lisboa (business centre, housing some of the leading national and international companies), the Nova Campolide and Entrecampos 28 real-estate complexes and Sintra Business Park.
Acquisition of 40% of Wood-Interbrok - Corretores de Seguros, Ltda., the largest independent insurance broker in Brazil.
Creation of the company Aunde Velpor, SA, a partnership between Gierlings Velpor (Amorim Group) and the German company Aunde (Aunde-ISRI Group), to create an industrial unit that specialises in the production of upholstery for public transport - in particular trains and buses. The new industrial unit is formally opened in 1999 and immediately signs a supply contract with the multinational ALSTON.
A new corporate image for the Amorim Group. The new Amorim logo incorporates a stylised tree with the name Amorim, symboliaing the Group's principles: environmental harmony, natural strength and confidence in growth, unity and diversity. This is an important step in strengthening Amorim's identity and culture, internally and externally.
Public presentation of the closed condominium, Arrábida Place (Vila Nova de Gaia, next to the Douro river), consisting of two buildings in a vast and privileged green area.
Amorim - Empreendimentos Imobiliários, a sub-holding of the Amorim Group for the real estate sector, acquires various real estate assets associated to the Sintra Business Park project, including an investment in the Greater Lisbon area and a real estate development project (warehouses and offices) with a construction area of approximately 52,000 m2 above ground. Subsequently, INOGI (a company operating in the real estate market) assumes the global management of the Sintra Business Park project.
The Amorim Group and ACCOR Group reinforce their alliance for the hotel sector, concentrating all their shareholdings in a common holding company - Amorim Hotéis e Serviços, SA, which encompasses all the existing hotel assets in Portugal (more than 4000 beds), hitherto held by the two groups. They also set up a new management company, Coralie, responsible for these hotel units, with the exclusive right to use and explore the brands, Novotel, Ibis, Formule 1 and Sofitel.
Completion of the real estate project, S. João Bosco, located in the centre of Porto, comprising a residential condominium, support infrastructures and a commercial area, with a total construction area of 62,000 m2.
Opening of Arrábida Shopping in Vila Nova de Gaia – construction area of 77,000 m2, with 176 stores, a hypermarket and a 20-screen multiplex. The first of a series of large-scale shopping centres, which consolidated themselves in Portugal as authentic centres of culture and leisure.
A consortium led by BNC, and solely formed by Amorim Group companies, competes in the reprivatisation process of Banco de Fomento e Exterior, aiming to further the Group's strategy to re-establish a leading position in the banking sector. The reprivatisation process is decided in favour of another competitor, but the highly arbitrary decision is widely contested.
In November, within the framework of one of the most relevant and successful initial public offerings (IPO) of a private corporation, the Amorim Group decides to sell part of its stake in Telecel. In 1997, it sold the remainder. These operations generate significant financial gains for the Group and offer a solid basis for new business ventures.
Imobis - Empreendimentos Imobiliários Amorim, SA presents the project, Paço da Boa Hora (Leça da Palmeira), a consortium with BCM to build a luxurious and exclusive private condominium – with about 12 000 m2 of construction, in a total area of more than 50,000 m2.
The Amorim Group joins Finpetro - a consortium of investors that is set up to acquire Petrogal - Petróleos de Portugal – in the context of its privatisation process. In the following year, under the new management team, Petrogal reverses the trajectory of losses which had been traced for several years, and obtains a positive net result.
Merger between Velpor - Veludo Português, S.A. and the German company Gierlings, to create Gierlings Velpor - Veludo Português, S.A., Europe’s second biggest producer of velvets and artificial furs.
Imobis - Empreendimentos Imobiliários Amorim, S.A. launches a housing and commercial real estate venture in the Foz do Douro, Porto. This means that after developing projects in Coimbra, Évora and Setúbal, Porto now receives a high-quality real estate project, Vila Mar, with more than 11,500 m2 of construction above ground.
Imoloc - Investimento Imobiliário, S.A. promotes construction of the real estate complex, Edifício do Lago (Porto) that includes offices, commerce and housing, with a total construction area of 36,000 m2.
LS - Sociedade de Construções. Lda. - a partnership between the Amorim Group and the Swedish group, Bullfighter - begins the restoration and real estate development of several of the most iconic buildings in the centre of Lisbon.
Incorporation of Heath & Amorim - a joint venture between the Amorim Group and C.E. Heath, one of the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance brokerage firm. Heath & Amorim is subsequently acquired by SMS - Corretores de Seguros (whose name was changed in 1998 to Unibroker - Corretores de Seguros, S.A.).
Indústria Têxtil do Ave, S.A. inaugurates a new high performance production unit, providing textile solutions for the rubber industry.
Creation of a joint venture between Velpor and the German firm. V. Gierlings, for the development of production in Portugal and greater penetration of European markets, enabling the textile portfolio to be expanded to more technological and sustainable solutions, for sectors such as transport, decoration and clothing.
Imobis - Empreendimentos Imobiliários, S.A. launches the real estate venture, Edições Topázio, in Coimbra (with 7000 m2 above ground and 3000 m2 below ground).
Presentation of the real estate venture, Capitólio (in Porto) - a modern business, commercial and residential centre in one of the new central zones of the city of Porto.
Sociedade Figueira Praia creates a joint venture with Perfect Nº 1, Primeiro Fundo Imobiliário Europeu, and with the Stilo Group to develop a real-estate project in Entrecampos, Lisbon, with a construction area of over 12,000 m2 above ground, involving an estimated total investment of PTE 6500 billion (€32 million).
Infologia establishes a partnership with the French company, Sybel, which enables it to expand its portfolio of products and solutions and thereby expand its market beyond the SMEs where it is already well established. The company enjoys remarkable success over the ensuing years culminating in its sale in 1999 to the French division of the SAGE Group:
The Amorim Group is a member of the winning consortium for the creation of the first private mobile telecommunications operator in Portugal - Telecel. The first phase of the digital network is subsequently planned, built and put into operation, in record time. Within only 12 months, it already covers a broad range of the Portuguese population (>80%) and territory (>57%).
Américo Amorim leads the creation of a new bank, BNC - Banco Nacional de Crédito Imobiliário, S.A., that is dedicated to providing real estate credit, formally constituted on July 2.
The Amorim Group and Américo Amorim begin to cut their ties with BCP, which culminates in 1996 with Américo Amorim resigning as Chairman of the bank’s Superior Council, a position that he had held for ten years.
Creation of a specific sub-holding for real estate operations - Amorim Empreendimentos Imobiliários, SGPS, SA, which includes important projects in its portfolio, such as the innovative office park, Torres de Lisboa, the recovery of the Teatro Éden, the residential complex Nova Campolide, Sintra Business Park, among many others.
Acquisition of a stake in Imoloc, SGPS, S.A., a holding company of real estate and financial investments. Its main real estate venture is located in a prime area of Porto, involving a total investment of PTE 7,5 billion (EUR 37,5 million).
Imofoz - Investimentos Imobiliários launches the real estate project, Edifício Portugal (in Figueira da Foz), a multi-purpose building (carpar, health club, shopping centre and residential area), with a total area of 18,500 m2, promoted by Sociedade Figueira Praia.
Creation of the sub-holding, Amorim Hotéis e Serviços, SGPS, S.A. a holding company for the partnership between Amorim and Accor and also the Group's holdings in Lusoreste and Sociedade Figueira Praia, S.A.
Veldec acquires 80% of Velpor, as part of a commitment to diversify markets and enter the automotive sector.
Grupo Suez, one of Europe's leading industrial and financial holding companies, through its subsidiaries, Compagnie du Suez (France), Société Générale de Belgique (Belgium) and Mercapital (Spain), establishes a link with the Amorim Group, by acquiring a 20% stake in Amorim Investimentos e Participações.
Acquisition of Sociedade Figueira Praia, S.A., the concessionaire of Casino da Figueira, owner of a vast set of real estate assets, including five hotel units, an urbanisation project for over 1000 homes, a casino, the Palácio Sotto-Mayor and bingo concessions in Leiria, Viseu and Aveiro. This serves as an instrument to stimulate tourism activities throughout the Centro region of Portugal.
Creation of a new sub-holding of the Amorim Group, Prisma, dedicated to capital development, which brings together companies from different sectors, that are not integrated within its other structures.
Américo Amorim is appointed Honorary Consul of Hungary in Portugal.
Alcobre - Condutores Elétricos, SA, a subsidiary of the Amorim Group, begins a restructuring process that culminates, in 1992, with the inauguration of a new production unit in Ovar, thereby responding to the strict demands of the market, both in terms of quality, reliability and innovation.
Incorporation of INOGI - Inovação e Gestão de Investimentos Imobiliários, S.A., a real estate company that results from a joint venture between the Amorim Group and ISM - Immobilière Suréne Montalivet. INOGI subsequently creates a group of specialised subsidiary companies: Morate, for development of projects; Espaço Urbano, for the development and construction of real estate venture - Selecta, for real estate leasing.
In March, COFIPSA is created, in response to Carlo de Benedetti's desire to create a financial holding company in Portugal, for which he chooses the Amorim Group as a partner. Its main objective is to invest in sectors that have strong growth and profitability potential, acquiring shareholdings in companies and create value by providing them with Cofipsa's expertise – industrial, on the part of Amorim, and financial, on the part of the other partners (Grupo Construcciones Y Contratas, Banco Bilbao-Viscaya and CISF). However various difficulties arise in attaining this objective and the fact that international partners are involved in this project leads the Amorim Group to withdraw from the project.
In 1989, Cofipsa also organises a major increase in its share capital to finance two major acquisitions:
The Portuguese stock exchange is beginning to lose steam after its initial boom, but interesting one-off deals are still possible. In October, the Amorim Group acquires a stake in the first brokerage company established in Portugal, Socifa & Beta, which quickly becomes the country’s biggest insurance broker, simultaneously listed in the Lisbon and Porto Stock Exchanges.
Shareholdings are acquired in several companies in the financial services area: Credifin, a credits acquisition company, also owned by Soserfin, Banco Nacional Ultramarino and Cofinoga; Autoleasing, dedicated to long-term car rentals; and Lusofactor, a factoring company, acquired in association with Banco Nacional Ultramarino and Banco Hispano-Americano.
In view of the relevance that new technologies are likely to acquire in the future, assuming increased weight in Portugal’s GDP and economy, the first companies in this field are incorporated:
Acquisition of the factory of velvet fabrics, the Fábrica de Veludos de Água Longa, is another step in the diversification of the group’s business portfolio, this time in the production of decorative textiles. The company is immediately restructured and its name changed to Velpor - Veludo Português, S.A.
The Amorim Group acquires a stake in the Bank of Lisbon International, based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Major corporate restructuring of the Amorim Group, leading to the formation of AMORIM INVESTIMENTOS E PARTICIPAÇÕES, SGPS, SA, the Group’s principal holding company, and CORTICEIRA AMORIM, SGPS, SA, a sub-holding for all the companies related to the processing and commercialisation of cork. This paves the way to creating a major economic group, through diversification of the Amorim Group’s intervention areas within the Portuguese economy, in particular in the fields of industry, real estate, tourism and the financial sector
After the October 1987 stock market crash, the climate for new stock market operations is highly unfavourable. It is only due to the major prestige, strength and dynamism of the four companies - Amorim & Irmãos, Corticeira Amorim, Ipocork and Champcork - that it is possible to successfully launch the initial public offering in the stock exchange, on June 27, 1988, which generates total gross proceeds of PTE 4.3 billion.
Joint venture with the French group ACCOR, the world's largest hotel operator, with 1908 hotels in 127 countries, 220,119 rooms, 5800 restaurants, and the owner of several internationally renowned brands: Novotel, Sofitel, Ibis, Mercure, Les Jardins de Paris, ETAP , Formule 1, Motel 6.
With varying shareholder positions, the two Groups create a series of companies to explore the various brands in the different segments: Portotel, to create the Novotel network; Portis, to create the IBIS network, Portimer, to convert existing hotels to the standards of the Mercure brand; and the opening of a Sofitel in Lisbon - Accor's premium seal.
Constitution of Lusoreste, to run commercial spaces in motorway service stations and install establishments under the various ACCOR catering brands therein.
In February, the Amorim Group becomes the main shareholder of Soserfin - Serviços Financeiros, Lda. - an international investment company, which also involves Banque Worms and the insurance company UAP. Initially constituted to provide services and consultancy in the area of international financial management, in March 1990 it is transformed into an investment company.
The first Portuguese private commercial bank since the 1974 revolution, is incorporated by public deed in June 1985 – the Banco Comercial Português, S.A.R.L..
This public deed culminates a series of audacious and visionary conversations and negotiations, that began in February 1984, in Buçaco, between the Minister of Finance, Prof. Ernâni Lopes and a group of entrepreneurs, including Américo Ferreira de Amorim, who proposed the idea of creating a private bank, which was the embryo of the future BCP.
In that same year, the first official meeting of the Promoter Group of a private commercial bank is held in the Palácio da Bolsa, in Porto, orchestrated by Américo Ferreira de Amorim. The meeting is followed by a formal request for the constitution of a new commercial bank, signed by Américo Ferreira de Amorim and Joaquim Ferreira de Amorim, in representation of the companies Corticeira Amorim and Amorim & Irmãos, and is also signed by ten other companies and important individual investors.
Américo Ferreira de Amorim subsequently declares: “I did not do this with the intention of creating an Amorim Bank, although I always wanted to be a permanent reference shareholder of the institution. I did it to create a bank for the country.”
Inauguration of Labcork, the Amorim Group’s Central Laboratory, in the presence of the then President of the Portuguese Republic, General Ramalho Eanes, who distinguishes Américo Ferreira de Amorim with the title of Commander of the Civil Order of Agricultural and Industrial Merit (Industrial Class).
He says: “The decision is obviously mine and I fully assume my decisions. And, to ensure that everyone in Portugal is aware of this fact, I would like to focus on the quality and importance of your work and, of course, the work of your team and employees.”
Creation of Amorim Trading - Comércio de Importação e Exportação, Lda., dedicated to the international trade of several Portuguese products, including footwear, textiles and wines.
“We must keep in touch with the whole world, in order to promote trade and mutually exchanging things that are useful, establishing the best possible friendly relations with everyone,” comments Américo Amorim.
The Amorim Group is one of the founders of SPI - Sociedade Portuguesa de Investimentos (today the Banco BPI), a pioneering initiative, that has a well-defined purpose: to finance private sector investment projects, relaunch the capital market and foster modernisation of Portuguese businesses.
Américo Amorim was a member of SPI’s General Board.
Creation of the insurance broker, Mediadora de Seguros Albertina Ferreira de Amorim, Lda., the forerunner to Unibroker - Corretores de Seguros, S.A., subsequently founded in 1998, a major insurance broker in the Portuguese market, with a portfolio that includes some of Portugal’s most important companies.
The Amorim Group begins to develop operations in the real estate sector, complementing its core business linked to cork processing companies.