Aquila Capital has marked its entry into the Portuguese real estate market with the development of 115,000sqm of logistics assets in Lisbon.

The Hamburg-based alternative investment manager said the development of the green properties in Azambuja is expected to begin in early 2020.

All the properties will be sustainable real estate assets with solar panels, the manager said.

Rolf Zarnekow, head of real estate at Aquila Capital, said: “Portugal is a highly attractive market for institutional investors looking for established logistics hubs in the eurozone with significant upside potential.

“Given Lisbon’s excellent infrastructure and its status as an access point for international imports into the Iberian Peninsula and Europe as a whole, it is little wonder that the demand for large contiguous, modern logistics space exceeds the offer significantly.”

Roman Rosslenbroich, co-founder and CEO of Aquila Capital, said: “I am certain that this new site in the established logistics park of Azambuja will offer a valuable new asset for our new Southern European strategy as well as for future tenants and the local community.

“Furthermore, the focus on the environmental standards that the asset will uphold demonstrates our commitment to sustainability.”

Last month, Aquila Capital moved into the Spanish logistics real estate market with a deal to develop over 500,000sqm of properties in Toledo.

The manager already has a long logistics track record in Germany, where the group carried out large projects across the country.