Business & Operations Consulting in Lisbon
Relocating to Portugal? - Services for Expats in Portugal — Start, Run, Operate & Optimize
Our Approach - One partner. One entry point. One accountable team.
Who We Work With
For International Founders, Buyers & Investors, Foreign Owners, English-Speaking Teams in Portugal who need clarity, control, and trusted coordination on the ground.
We help clients assess opportunities, fix operational issues, coordinate the right local partners, and keep projects moving with structure, accountability, and business logic.
Portugal is full of opportunity — but it can also be fragmented, slow, and difficult to manage from abroad.
Many international clients do not need ten different consultants, disconnected contractors, or vague advice.
Experience Across Different Stages of Growth
Our work has included companies generating approximately €75K to €20M in annual revenue.
Across those engagements, the total value of projects delivered exceeds €4.5M.
What International Buyers, Founders & Owners Often Need
Capital alone does not solve local execution, coordination, or visibility.
Many clients prefer one trusted point of contact rather than managing multiple disconnected parties.
Clear communication, structure, and practical coordination often matter as much as strategy itself.
The objective is not process for its own sake, but clearer decisions, better alignment, and more effective execution.
Core Services & Solutions
Portugal Business Advisory
We help international founders, buyers, investors, and foreign owners make better-informed decisions in Portugal through structured advisory, local insight, and practical business guidance. Our role is to bring clarity, reduce uncertainty, and help clients move forward with stronger logic, better coordination, and a clearer understanding of risks, priorities, and next steps.
Operations, Systems & Strategy
We help address operational inefficiencies, realign business priorities, and build clearer systems that support stronger performance, efficiency, and profitability. This may include process improvement, workflow structuring, execution planning, and strengthening the operational foundations needed for growth, transition, or stabilization.
Acquisition & Ownership Support in Portugal
We support buyers and foreign owners before and after a transaction by helping them assess opportunities, understand operational realities, plan transitions, and maintain better visibility across the moving parts involved. We look beyond surface-level information to better understand how a business or asset functions in practice.
Local Execution, Procurement & Project Coordination
We support clients in navigating execution-critical work in Portugal through trusted local partners. This may include procurement, contractor coordination, supplier sourcing, renovation support, vendor communication, and selected on-the-ground project assistance. Our role is to help improve visibility, reduce fragmentation, and structure to projects involving multiple parties.
Additional / Specialized Support
Opportunity Review, Market Insight & Deal Screening
We help clients assess business and asset opportunities through early-stage review, market insight, and structured deal screening. This support helps filter options, identify red flags early, and focus attention on opportunities that may justify deeper evaluation.
Procurement, Supplier Sourcing & Cost Control
We support supplier sourcing, procurement coordination, and cost control across selected projects, helping clients improve visibility, reduce inefficiencies, and make better-informed purchasing and vendor decisions.
Buyer-Side Due Diligence Coordination
We help international buyers structure the review process, coordinate the appropriate specialists, and better understand operational, structural, and execution-related risks before moving forward.
Asset Improvement, Value Creation & Exit Planning
We help owners identify where value may be unlocked through operational improvement, cost control, project execution, vendor optimization, repositioning, and better coordination. Where relevant, we also support planning around resale, long-term hold strategies, or broader exit considerations.
Market Entry & Setup Coordination in Portugal
We support international clients entering Portugal with structured planning, local coordination, partner alignment, and practical execution support. This is especially useful for clients who want to reduce confusion, avoid fragmented communication, and establish a stronger operational footing from the outset.
Risk Mapping & Decision Support
We help clients identify hidden risks, execution dependencies, and decision-critical issues before capital is committed. This support brings greater clarity to complex situations and helps clients make more informed, better-sequenced decisions.
Transition & Post-Acquisition Integration Support
We help buyers and new owners navigate the transition period after a transaction by clarifying priorities, supporting coordination, and helping reduce disruption across operations, communication, and execution.
Optional Design & Space Coordination
For selected residential, commercial, and hospitality projects, we can support functional design direction, space planning, and coordination with trusted local contractors. The aim is to help maintain practicality, consistency, and alignment with the wider business or project objective.
How We Help
We focus on long-term asset value, risk reduction, practical coordination, and clearer management visibility.
We begin every engagement with a structured diagnostic conversation — not a sales pitch.
At the very least, you leave with more clarity. If the fit is right, we may then move forward together in a way that supports the wider goals of the business, project, or asset.
We do not believe in selling services for the sake of process. We believe in supporting clearer decisions, stronger alignment, and long-term value.
How We Work
Diagnose
Clarify Priorities
Coordinate the Right Support
Oversee Execution
Why Clients Choose D7
One accountable point of contact
Business-first thinking
Operational clarity
Trusted local coordination
Less fragmentation, more control
Credibility / Proof
Experience across growth, restructuring, and execution
International perspective with local coordination support
Business-first advisory, not surface-level presentation work
Selective, hands-on engagement model
Legal / Scope Clarity
We coordinate and support. Where required, we work alongside trusted licensed local professionals such as lawyers, accountants, brokers, architects, contractors, and tax advisors.
How It Works
Initial Diagnostic Conversation
We begin with a structured conversation to understand your goals, situation, constraints, and the moving parts involved.
Clarify Priorities & Scope
We help define the key issues, identify where support is needed, and clarify the practical priorities, risks, and next steps.
Strategy, Coordination & Planning
Where appropriate, we shape a practical plan, coordinate the right local partners, and help structure the process in a way that is more focused, realistic, and easier to manage.
Execution Support & Ongoing Guidance
As the work moves forward, we may continue to support coordination, communication, and decision-making across the parties involved — with the aim of improving visibility, reducing fragmentation, and helping the project or business move more coherently.
Need a clearer view of your project, business, or next move in Portugal?
🇵🇹 Why International Investors and Founders Consider Portugal
Open to International Ownership — Portugal is generally open to foreign investment and follows a principle of non-discrimination based on the investor’s nationality. As a general rule, there is no requirement to have a Portuguese shareholder, and there are no general limitations on the repatriation of profits or dividends. For international buyers and founders, this creates a more accessible starting point for ownership, investment, and long-term planning.
A Stable European Base — Portugal presents itself as a politically stable, business-friendly economy within the European Union and the Eurozone. Official investment materials also highlight the country’s stable borders, global-market orientation, and welcoming approach toward foreign business, which is one reason Portugal continues to be considered by international companies, investors, and owner-operators looking for an EU base.
Strong Connectivity for International Operations — Portugal’s location at the crossroads of Europe, Africa, and the Americas is consistently presented as a strategic advantage for international business. Official sources point to direct global air connections, major Atlantic positioning, and developed port infrastructure, including six international ports and four international airports on the mainland. For investors and founders, this matters not only for travel, but for logistics, supplier access, regional coordination, and cross-border operations.
Quality of Life That Supports Talent and Demand — Portugal’s official investment agencies repeatedly frame quality of life as part of the country’s economic attractiveness, not just its lifestyle appeal. They point to education, healthcare, safety, climate, and work-life balance as factors that help attract international talent and support long-term living and operating decisions. For some buyers and founders, these conditions also matter because they can influence recruitment, retention, customer appeal, and the long-term attractiveness of certain locations and asset types.
Talent, Innovation and International Business Capability — Portugal promotes itself as a location with strong talent, international business capability, and growing appeal for technology, shared services, R&D, and knowledge-based operations. Official materials highlight skilled human capital, language capability, innovation culture, and continued foreign investment across sectors. This is especially relevant for founders or investors evaluating Portugal not only as a place to own assets, but also as a place to build, operate, and scale.
A Country with Depth, Identity and Long-Term Appeal — Portugal’s investment messaging often combines modern infrastructure and international openness with something less easily measured: depth of place. Official materials reference the country’s long history, cultural identity, design awareness, and architectural heritage as part of its distinctiveness. For some clients, especially in hospitality, residential, mixed-use, or brand-led projects, this can create meaningful value-add potential through repositioning, renovation, concept development, and experience-led differentiation.
Stability & Privacy — Portugal consistently ranks among the safest countries in the world with low crime rates, enhancing the overall security of investors' assets. It offers strong legal protection for property owners, equal rights for foreign buyers, transparent registration systems, and a stable EU-based legal framework that ensures long-term asset security and property rights.
Common Questions from International Buyers, Founders & Owners
1. Can foreigners buy a business in Portugal?
Yes. As a general rule, Portugal does not impose nationality-based restrictions on foreign investment, and the rules applicable to foreign investment are broadly similar to those that apply to domestic investment.
2. Do I need a Portuguese shareholder to set up a company?
As a general rule, no. Official investment guidance states that there are no requirements to have a Portuguese shareholder when incorporating a company in Portugal.
3. Are there general limits on repatriating profits or dividends?
Official investment guidance states that, as a general rule, there are no limitations on the repatriation of profits or dividends.
4. What support do international buyers or owners usually need in Portugal?
This usually depends on the asset, sector, and stage of the project, but common needs often include business review, local coordination, risk mapping, partner alignment, and practical support across multiple moving parts.
5. How do you work with lawyers, accountants, brokers, contractors, and other local specialists?
Where needed, we work alongside trusted local professionals and help clients structure communication, clarify priorities, and coordinate the process more effectively. Our role is not to replace regulated specialists, but to help connect the moving parts in a more coherent way.
6. What legal and tax setup questions usually come up first?
The right structure depends on the nature of the investment, the ownership model, and whether the activity is being carried out through a Portuguese company, a sole-shareholder company, or a branch of a foreign entity. In practice, these questions are usually clarified early with the appropriate legal and tax professionals. Portuguese investment guidance also notes that non-resident shareholders must obtain a Portuguese taxpayer number, and non-EU/EEA residents must appoint a Portuguese tax representative for dealings with the tax authorities.
7. What company structures are commonly used in Portugal?
Official investment guidance identifies the most commonly used structures as the joint-stock limited liability company, the limited liability company, and the sole shareholder limited liability company. Which one is appropriate depends on the investment, ownership, liability, and governance requirements involved.
About Us | D7 Strategy
D7 is headquartered in New York and New Jersey and works internationally across selected markets in the U.S. and Europe. We support founders, buyers, investors, and management teams who need clearer strategy, stronger operational thinking, and more structured execution.
We support businesses and projects through growth, transition, complexity, and change — helping clients bring more clarity to decisions, better alignment to operations, and a more practical path forward.
Our work combines strategic thinking, operational perspective, and hands-on coordination where needed. Rather than offering disconnected services, we aim to support the broader business, ownership, or project objective with a more integrated and disciplined approach.
Core Areas of Work
Business Advisory
Operations, Systems & Strategy
Project & Execution Support
Talent, Partner & Capability Alignment
To learn more about D7 and our broader work, visit: D7ST.COM
D7 Strategy • Advisory • Operations • Coordinated Execution