General Daily Briefing — Saturday, 1 August 2026
Good morning. Here is your Saturday briefing for 1 August 2026 — six stories shaping Portugal today, from a new chief at the tax office to a brewer’s shorter working week, plus a new guide to granting a power of attorney and a partner note on buying property in the north:
Granting a Procuração (Power of Attorney) in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide
Sooner or later most residents and foreign owners need someone to act for them — to sign at a notary, close on a flat, or handle the Finanças while they are abroad. Our new guide explains what a procuração is, when a plain signed document will do and when you need a notarial deed or an authenticated private document, the special rules for property, and how to register, revoke or use one from another country.
- The systems engineer Mário Campos took over as head of the Tax and Customs Authority, ending Helena Borges’s eleven-year run at the top of the tax office.
- Super Bock agreed a five-year deal with its union to phase in a 35-hour week for all staff and lift pay 2.3%, a rare private-sector move to the shorter week.
- Tourist overnight stays in the Azores fell for a ninth straight month in June, down 3.8%, as local rentals emptied while hotels held on.
- The government opened just €30 million of a promised €100 million to shield Portugal’s energy-intensive factories from EU carbon costs in their power bills.
- Martifer agreed to pay £9 million to settle a fifteen-year-old court fight in Glasgow, clearing the last big liability on its books.
- Media Capital, the owner of TVI, slid to a €1.6 million half-year loss after an extraordinary bet on the World Cup and its newsroom.
An Engineer Takes the Helm of Portugal’s Tax Authority, Ending Helena Borges’s Eleven-Year Tenure
On Friday 1 August, Mário Campos formally took over as director-general of the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (Tax and Customs Authority, or AT) — the body that runs the IRS income-tax season, VAT, property taxes and the NIF numbers every resident and foreign buyer needs. The 51-year-old is an insider: an engineering graduate who spent the past decade at the AT, latterly running its information systems. He was chosen through a public competition and given a five-year mandate to 2031, with digital transformation, the fight against evasion and a stretched workforce among his stated priorities. His arrival ends the unusually long eleven-year tenure of Helena Borges, in charge since 2015.
Super Bock Agrees a Phased 35-Hour Week and a 2.3% Pay Rise in a Five-Year Deal With Its Union
The Super Bock Group, the Matosinhos-based drinks maker behind Portugal’s best-known beer brand, has signed a five-year collective agreement with the union Sintab that will gradually bring its whole workforce down to a 35-hour week. The deal, reached after nine months of talks and backed by 81% of workers who voted, also raises pay 2.3% with a guaranteed €75 monthly minimum, backdated to January. The pay rise sits just below July’s 3.0% inflation, so the real prize for staff is time rather than money — and, unusually, the shorter week is being agreed in the private sector, where a 40-hour standard still prevails, rather than legislated.
The Azores Log a Ninth Straight Month of Falling Overnight Stays as Local Lodging Empties
The mid-Atlantic archipelago recorded 506,400 tourist overnight stays in June, down 3.8% on a year earlier and the ninth consecutive monthly fall, according to the regional statistics service. The pain is uneven: classic hotels actually grew and lifted revenue 9.3%, but licensed short-term rentals fell 8.9% and rural tourism dropped 13.1%. Portuguese holidaymakers led the retreat, down 9.2%, while foreign visitors barely dipped. The Ponta Delgada Chamber of Commerce demanded an “immediate strategic response,” blaming reduced air capacity, thinner airline competition, higher travel costs and weak international promotion for a destination almost entirely dependent on air access.
Portugal Opens Just €30 Million of a Promised €100 Million for Its Energy-Hungry Factories
Portugal’s most electricity-intensive industries — steel, cement, paper, chemicals and glass — were promised €100 million this year to offset the EU carbon costs baked into their power bills. Instead, the Fundo Ambiental (Environmental Fund) opened a call worth €30 million, down from €50 million in 2025, cutting the expected reimbursement rate to about half of eligible costs. The large-consumers’ association APIGCEE has appealed for the full sum, noting that Spain, France and Germany support the same firms far more generously; measured against GDP, Portugal’s help works out at roughly a quarter of Spain’s. The window closes on 10 August.
Martifer Pays £9 Million to Close a Fifteen-Year-Old Glasgow Building Dispute, Clearing Its Last Big Liability
Martifer, the Portuguese steel-structures group, has agreed to pay £9 million (about €10.4 million) to settle a long-running case before Scotland’s Court of Session over the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, where its UK arm supplied the metal structure and roof. In a filing to the CMVM market regulator, the company said the payment was made “without admission of responsibilities” and closes its “sole and final” outstanding contingent liability. The timing matters: Martifer has been at the centre of a takeover battle on the Lisbon market, and a balance sheet cleared of an open-ended court claim is worth more to any prospective owner.
Media Capital Slides Into a €1.6 Million Half-Year Loss After Betting on the World Cup and Its Newsroom
Media Capital, the group behind the television channel TVI, fell to a €1.6 million net loss in the first half of 2026, reversing a small profit a year earlier. Revenue actually grew 4% to €84.68 million, but costs climbed faster on a busy news calendar — storms, a presidential campaign and international conflicts — a salary policy and, above all, an extraordinary investment in this year’s World Cup. The flagship TV arm bore the strain, with its earnings down 35%, while the group’s production and press units thrived. Net debt swelled to €41.2 million, leaving the company betting the tournament pays back over the full year.
Helping International Buyers Navigate Northern Portugal
Most newcomers start their property search in Lisbon or the Algarve, but a growing number are looking north — to Braga, Porto and Guimarães — for a more grounded pace of life, greener surroundings and better value. In a piece produced in partnership with an advertiser, property professional Marcello Valle explains how he helps international buyers understand not just the homes in front of them but the whole purchase process across northern Portugal.
