Frequently Asked Questions
Find quick answers to the most common questions about our products, services, and processes. If you don't find what you're looking for, our team is always ready to help.
Founder-led companies at Series A preparing to raise capital and considering — or already committed to — establishing an operating presence in Portugal. The right client has a commercial reason to build in Portugal: R&D activity, technical talent acquisition, same time zone access to cost-competitive engineering and innovation capability, access to the Portuguese or broader European market, or a combination. We work best with founders who want material operational presence in Portugal — and who see that presence as a source of competitive advantage, not a compliance exercise.
Founder-led companies with revenue or a clear path to revenue, preparing for a Series Afundraise between £1m and £30m, or looking to establish a capital-efficient cross-border operating model. We work best with founders who have a thesis about their growth and want advisory support to execute it, not those seeking a miracle worker to fix a broken business last piece sounds agressive.
No. Balurca does not advise Portuguese companies. Our clients are UK-headquartered, often internationally founded — UK, US, Australian and other origins — and typically have no prior Portuguese connection. The criterion is not nationality — it is the commercial logic of building in Portugal. What matters is whether your growth strategy benefits from a Portuguese operational presence. We assess that at the Founder Diagnostic stage.
No. Portugal’s innovation funding instruments — including SIFIDE R&D credits and Portugal 2030 grants — are available to companies with qualifying operations in Portugal: a registered entity, employees, and R&D or operational activity on Portuguese soil. A UK company without that presence is not eligible. Balurca helps founders establish the Portuguese operating entity that creates eligibility — and then navigate the instruments that apply to their specific situation. The instruments are the institutional reward for a genuine investment commitment. Balurca’s job is to make sure that commitment is structured to qualify.
SIFIDE is a Portuguese R&D tax incentive that allows companies with qualifying R&D expenditure incurred in Portugal to deduct a significant portion of that cost against corporate income tax — up to 32.5% as a base rate, with an incremental rate of up to 50% on year-on-year R&D spending increases. It is available to companies resident in Portugal or with a permanent establishment there, with qualifying R&D activity confirmed by AI² (Agência para a Investigação e Inovação). The regime is currently extended through 2026. Balurca assesses eligibility before any application commitment — not every company with a Portuguese entity will qualify, and we will tell you that clearly.
The Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) is in its final execution phase, with most application lines closed as of early 2026 and a hard EU deadline of August 2026 for milestone completion. Balurca does not present PRR as a live general opportunity. The active forward-looking grant framework is Portugal 2030 — the EU co-funded programme running through 2027, covering digital transformation, innovation, and green economy projects. We assess open Portugal 2030 calls relevant to your company’s profile at the time of engagement.
IFICI — Portugal’s current selective tax regime for qualifying new residents, replacing the former NHR programme — offers a 20% flat tax rate on eligible Portuguese-sourced income for up to ten consecutive years. Eligibility is specific: the individual must not have been a Portuguese tax resident in the prior five years; must hold a qualifying academic credential (degree-level or above); must work in a defined eligible activity such as technology, R&D, or highly qualified roles; and the employer entity must itself meet qualifying criteria, including sector and export requirements. Former NHR beneficiaries are generally excluded. Balurca assesses IFICI eligibility individually and precisely. We do not present it as a general benefit.
Fee structures are agreed transparently at the Founder Diagnostic stage and are scoped to the specific mandate. We do not publish schedules. The Founder Diagnostic — two sessions of 30 minutes each — carries no charge.
Balurca Partners operates as a strategic advisory firm and is structured to remain outside FCA-regulated activities under FSMA and the Regulated Activities Order. We provide strategic advisory, market entry structuring, grant navigation, and investor introductions on a non-regulated basis. Investor introductions are made on a passive, informational basis — we do not negotiate investment terms or arrange deals in investments within the meaning of RAO Article 25. For any work that touches the FCA perimeter, we engage FCA-authorised partners. We are explicit about this distinction with every client from the outset.
Portuguese VC and family office investors tend to have longer relationship timescales, stronger sector ties to Portugal’s domestic economic priorities — energy transition, agritech, blue economy, tourism technology, fintech, and deep tech — and a different investment committee dynamic. A narrative calibrated for a Mayfair VC will not automatically land in Lisbon. Balurca prepares founders for both conversations.
