There is a construction company in Coimbra with a valid construction license, taking on work right now. It is called Bati-Concept. And behind it lies a trail of companies with similar names, Promoconcept, Interconcept, Polyconcept, that went into insolvency, were liquidated, and left creditors without a cent. It is always the same family signing the papers.
The case was the subject of an investigative report by the Portuguese channel NOW, presented by journalist Raquel Frederico. We went to cross-reference the public records to understand what is, in fact, accessible in official sources about these companies. We gather here everything that has come to light, with each fact anchored to its source. Nothing described here amounts, in itself, to an accusation of a criminal offence, that can only be declared by a court.
This article brings together two different things. On one hand, the official public records we confirmed and cross-referenced: company incorporations and liquidations, insolvency proceedings, enforcement actions, and the history of the companies and the people who run them. On the other, the accounts and allegations that came to light through the report and the affected clients. We always signal which is which. The accounts are not, in themselves, officially confirmed, and are presented as what they are, testimonies and data, not guaranteed truths. Only what is verifiable in a public source enters the official ObraXRAY report on each company.
The web, in summary
What sets this case apart from an isolated complaint is the pattern. It is not one company, it is several, all with the "Concept" suffix, all linked by the same names in management, and several already dissolved through liquidation following insolvency. The constant in all of them is Maria da Graça Rafael Ascenço Cardoso, wife of José Manuel Rama Cardoso, who appears as a partner or manager in each one. In several, the couple's son also appears.
| Company | Incorporated | Status in the records | IMPIC license |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polyconcept - Civil Systems Portugal, Lda | 2018 | Insolvency closed, liquidated (2025) | No |
| Promoconcept - Investimentos Imobiliários, Lda | 2018 | Active, no published activity since 2021 | No |
| Interconcept - Construções, Unipessoal Lda | 2019 | Liquidated (2023) after insolvency | No |
| Polyconcept II, Lda | 2021 | Inactive | No |
| Bati-Concept - Reabilitação e Construção, Lda | 2023 | Active, it is the current vehicle | Valid |
The report named four of these companies. By cross-referencing the tax number of those who run them, we found five, plus the piece that may surprise most: Maria da Graça herself had a personal insolvency declared in 2009, predating this entire web of companies. We will get there.
Confirmed signals and allegations, kept apart
Confirmed in public records:
- Interconcept, managed by Maria da Graça Cardoso, liquidated in 2023 following insolvency.
- Polyconcept - Civil Systems, liquidated in 2025 following insolvency.
- Several enforcement actions against these companies closed for lack of assets.
- Bati-Concept, managed by José Manuel Rama Cardoso, active and holding a valid construction license.
- A personal insolvency of Maria da Graça Rafael Ascenço Cardoso, declared in 2009 and closed in 2011.
- José Manuel Rama Cardoso and Maria da Graça Cardoso currently appearing on the public list of tax debtors (Autoridade Tributária).
- Maria da Graça Cardoso on a public enforcement list, for a debt of 7,858.62 euros.
Attributed to the report and the affected clients (not verified by us):
- Unfinished works and advance payments with no matching progress on site.
- A repeated modus operandi across several victims.
- Amounts owed to clients, suppliers and subcontractors.
- Criticism of how the authorities handled the case.
The NOW channel report
The case came to light in an investigative report by the channel NOW, presented by journalist Raquel Frederico. According to the report, more than a hundred families across the country accuse José Manuel Rama Cardoso, of Montemor-o-Velho, of a construction scheme repeated for years, always in the same way and through different companies. The amounts run into the hundreds of thousands of euros, with individual victims reporting losses between 22,000 and 200,000 euros.
When approached by the reporting team, José Cardoso refused to answer and told the journalist to get away from him. In later conversations, he maintained that he honours his commitments and that "whoever pays, gets paid, and whoever does not pay, waits", denying that he owes money. Asked by a supplier about 22,000 euros in debt, he replied: "the time has not come yet, because I am not stealing, I am working." These are his own statements, recorded by the report.
Nothing the affected clients or the report describe amounts, in itself, to proof of a crime, that can only be declared by a court. What follows are accounts attributed to the report and to the affected clients themselves, alongside the public records we cross-referenced.
The affected clients' accounts
José Matos. In 2021 he signed a turnkey construction contract with Interconcept, worth between 300,000 and 400,000 euros, due for completion by the end of 2024. He says that, by the end of the year, he had paid more than 90% of the value and the work was practically untouched. He ended up advancing close to 200,000 euros without the work being completed. He says he paid, among other items, an invoice for "exterior works" that were never carried out.
Luís Ramos. A construction materials supplier with more than 50 years in the trade, he supplied the sites for about three years, with regular payments. In the last three and a half months he stopped being paid, left with around 22,000 euros outstanding.
António. He describes advance payments requested beyond the work carried out, allegedly so the company would have liquidity to order materials, and says he was left with around 35,000 euros of work not done.
The report also refers to several other unpaid suppliers and subcontractors, and to new affected clients emerging through the most recent company, Bati-Concept.
The described modus operandi
The accounts converge on a pattern. The work starts quickly and with many crews, to create a sense of accelerated progress and win the client's trust. The first months run above expectations. From there come requests for growing advance payments, outside the payment plan, on the grounds that materials need to be ordered. Then comes the gradual cut in contact, first the phone, then the visits, finally the abandonment of the site, with most of the money already received. It is the pattern the affected clients describe; confirming it case by case will be a matter for the courts.
What the public records show
Here we leave the accounts and enter what is verifiable in a public source: the commercial registry publications, the insolvency proceedings and the public enforcement lists.
Interconcept: insolvency and liquidation (2023)
Interconcept - Construções, Unipessoal Lda, incorporated in 2019, went into insolvency and was liquidated in 2023. The records show the full sequence: the judgment became final and was converted (January 2023), followed by the discharge of the judicial administrator (May 2023) and, on 10 May 2023, the liquidation. The manager is Maria da Graça Cardoso. This is the company José Matos contracted with.
In the public enforcement records, Interconcept also appears with two enforcement actions closed for "lack of assets", meaning there was no property to pay creditors, totalling around 18,000 euros, in Coimbra courts.
Polyconcept - Civil Systems: insolvency and liquidation (2025)
Polyconcept - Civil Systems Portugal, Lda, incorporated in 2018, followed the same path, later: the insolvency dragged on until the judicial closure of the proceedings and the liquidation, on 6 March 2025. It has, in the enforcement records, five enforcement actions closed for "lack of assets", in courts in Porto, Aveiro, Lisbon and Coimbra, totalling around 38,000 euros. Management: Maria da Graça Cardoso, with the couple's son as a partner.
The others: Promoconcept, Polyconcept II and Bati-Concept
Promoconcept (2018) appears in the records as active, but with no published activity since 2021. Polyconcept II (2021) is listed as inactive. And Bati-Concept - Reabilitação e Construção, Lda (2023) is the current company, the one taking on work, and the only one in the group with a valid construction license (private works). It is managed by José Manuel Rama Cardoso, with Maria da Graça as a partner.
The timeline, read together, speaks for itself. Interconcept is liquidated in May 2023. Bati-Concept is incorporated in November 2023. The next vehicle opens as the previous one closes.
The piece that ties it together: Maria da Graça Cardoso's personal insolvency
There is a public record that reinforces the pattern and that many people would not look for: Maria da Graça Rafael Ascenço Cardoso had a personal insolvency declared in 2009, in the Montemor-o-Velho court, with a declaration-of-insolvency judgment published that year and the closure of the proceedings, for insufficiency of the insolvent estate, in 2011. In other words: the person who is the thread running through this entire web of construction companies, who was the manager of the ones that went into insolvency and who today remains a shareholder of the company now taking on work, already had, before the web even started, a personal history of insolvency. It is the kind of link, the person and not just the company, that almost no verification makes, because public sources are indexed by the company number, not by the name of whoever runs it.
A valid license is not enough, and this case proves it
Bati-Concept holds a valid construction license. And even so, behind it lie two companies liquidated after insolvency, seven enforcement actions closed for lack of assets, and a shareholder who had previously been through a personal insolvency. A valid license says the company is licensed to build. It says nothing about what went wrong on previous sites, nor about the history of those behind it. That is exactly the gap this case exposes.
When you cross-reference all of this, the verdict changes. In the ObraXRAY report, Bati-Concept, despite its valid license, scores 0 out of 100, Do Not Proceed. And it is not only because of the other companies' past: the report shows that both José Manuel Rama Cardoso and Maria da Graça appear on the public list of tax debtors (Autoridade Tributária), and that Maria also appears on a public enforcement list, for a debt of 7,858.62 euros. There is also a detail that usually goes unnoticed: Bati-Concept's share capital is just 1,000 euros, which limits the assets available to creditors in case of default.
The authorities
The report directs criticism at how the case was handled by the institutions. IMPIC, the construction regulator, is criticised for granting a license without properly weighing the history of those responsible; the institute states that criminal records are taken into account and that convictions carrying an effective prison sentence can affect good standing.
On the criminal side, according to the report, the Public Prosecutor's Office closed the inquiry, finding no grounds to bring it to trial, while the Judicial Police reportedly took a different view, considering, on the economic analysis of the transactions alone, that there are indications worth investigating. It must be clear: a closed inquiry means that, at this point, there is no charge and no conviction. The people referred to are presumed innocent.
The signals on social media and forums
Beyond the official records, there is a public online trail that helps make sense of the case. These are not proof, they are signals and accounts, and that is how we present them.
Bati-Concept itself canvasses for work on social media, with posts promoting construction in ICF (an insulating-block system), some signed "José Manuel". At the same time, and on the same network, warnings from third parties against the company appear, with phrases like "stay away from a so-called Coimbra company called Bati-Concept" and "they have been closing and opening companies for decades".
On Fórum da Casa, a Portuguese construction forum, the pattern repeats. In January 2025, someone asks for references about Baticoncept; in February 2026, another user replies "run from that company"; shortly after, the discussion links the case to the report. There are also older threads, from 2020, where Polyconcept appears associated with ICF and Plastbau construction, based in Coimbra and expanding to Aveiro, a sign that the group has been using the same narrative for years.
And there is a curious operational detail: the Bati-Concept website (baticoncept.pt) appears indexed but, as of now, opens only with an "Account Suspended" message. It proves nothing on its own, but it is unusual for an active construction company, with a valid license, that is canvassing for work.
Why almost no one in Portugal cross-references this in time
The information exists, it is public and it is free. But it is scattered: the commercial registry publications, the official gazette, the insolvency proceedings, the public enforcement lists. And, above all, it is indexed by company, not by person. Whoever hires looks, at most, at the certificate and the license of the company in front of them. No one, alone and before a meeting, links five companies with similar names through a partner's name, nor discovers that partner's personal insolvency from more than a decade ago. It is that cross-reference, from the person to all the companies they have run, that we built from scratch.
How to check a construction company, and who runs it, before signing
- Confirm the license with IMPIC, but do not stop there. A valid license says nothing about the past of the same partners' previous companies. See how to check the license and why, on its own, it is not enough.
- Search for insolvencies and enforcement actions in the commercial registry publications and the public lists, both for the company and for the names of those who run it.
- Cross-reference the people's history, what other companies they have run, and what happened to them. This is where a pattern of companies that open, fail and close becomes visible.
If you would rather not do this work by hand, ObraXRAY cross-references and interprets public and official data from 9 sources, with proprietary technology that aggregates records from official sources, and returns a risk score from 0 to 100 in a single report, from the tax number.
In summary
On paper, Bati-Concept holds a valid license and is working. What changes the reading is the whole: two earlier companies, with the same names in management, liquidated after insolvency, seven enforcement actions closed for lack of assets, a shareholder who had previously been through a personal insolvency, and the accounts of a hundred families who say they paid for work that was never finished. Those signals were scattered across different sources, and almost no one cross-references them before signing. That is precisely the gap ObraXRAY tries to close: turning scattered records into a clear risk verdict, before a family hands over tens or hundreds of thousands of euros.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bati-Concept's tax number?
Bati-Concept - Reabilitação e Construção, Lda (sometimes written Baticoncept or Bati Concept) has the tax number 517806428, was incorporated in 2023 and is based in Coimbra. It is managed by José Manuel Rama Cardoso.
Does Bati-Concept have a construction license?
Yes, it holds a valid construction license (private works). This case shows precisely why a valid license, on its own, is not enough to trust a construction company: the history of the same people's previous companies does not appear on the license.
What other companies are linked to the same people?
In the records, Promoconcept (514988568), Interconcept (515530476), Polyconcept - Civil Systems (514988061, sometimes written Policoncept) and Polyconcept II (516420950), all linked by the same names in management. Interconcept and Polyconcept - Civil Systems were liquidated after insolvency, in 2023 and 2025.
Is Interconcept insolvent?
Interconcept no longer exists: it was declared insolvent and liquidated in 2023. It also has enforcement actions closed for lack of assets.
Has there been any conviction for fraud?
No. According to the report, the Public Prosecutor's Office closed the inquiry. There is, at this point, no charge and no conviction. The affected clients' accounts and the report's allegations do not, in themselves, amount to proof of a crime.
How can I check a construction company before hiring?
Confirm the license with IMPIC, search for insolvencies and enforcement actions in the public sources, and cross-reference the business history of whoever runs the company. ObraXRAY brings these sources together in a single report, from the tax number.
What this article does not say
This article does not state that José Manuel Rama Cardoso, Maria da Graça Cardoso or any of the companies referred to committed a crime; that conclusion can only be drawn by a court, and the criminal inquiry was closed by the Public Prosecutor's Office. The accounts of the affected clients and of the modus operandi are attributed to the NOW channel report and to the affected clients themselves, and were not independently verified by us. What we present as confirmed are only the public records of the companies and the personal insolvency published in the official gazette. The aim is to show that there were public signals of risk, scattered across several sources, worth checking before hiring.
This article is based on information made public by the investigative report on the channel NOW (journalist Raquel Frederico), on a right of reply published in Sábado, and on records available in the official gazette, the commercial registry publications and the public lists of insolvencies and enforcement actions. It is informational and does not constitute legal advice. As of this date, the criminal inquiry referred to was closed by the Public Prosecutor's Office. The companies and people referred to have a right of reply.