The North American asset manager Davidson Kempner, the Portuguese private equity firm ECS Capital and the Iberian builder Magna Industrial announced the creation of a joint venture to invest in logistics and industrial assets across the Iberian Peninsula. Davidson Kempner manages over 40 billion dollars in assets, ECS is a Portuguese management company active in real estate, venture capital and restructurings, and Magna specializes in logistics, industrial and digital infrastructure projects in Spain and Portugal, having already delivered over one million square meters of logistics and industrial space in the region.
The first investment of the partnership is the acquisition of Benavente Prime Hub, a plot of approximately 630,000 square meters in the Greater Lisbon logistics corridor, with capacity to develop approximately 380,000 square meters of gross floor area. The project will be executed in seven phases, with a maximum of 48 units, with construction of the first phase expected to start in 2026 and all works due to be completed by 2030. All buildings will aim for BREEAM Excellent environmental certification.
The joint venture aims to invest institutional capital in modern logistics assets, betting on opportunities created by supply chain reconfiguration, nearshoring and e-commerce, in a region where the supply of Grade A properties remains limited in the main corridors. According to Manuel Noronha Andrade, CEO of ECS, the logistics and industrial segment continues to be one of the most evident examples of how long-term structural demand, operational complexity and disciplined capital allocation can combine to create lasting value.
Davidson Kempner and ECS were advised by PLMJ, Linklaters and Arcadis, while Magna was advised by Cuatrecasas.
