Centuria Reaps Alternative Asset Rewards

Assets under management at Centuria have reached a new peak of $21.2 billion, which the fund manager has credited to the growth of the alternative real estate sector. 

Group assets under management (AUM) consisted of $20.4 billion of real estate funds with unlisted AUM increasing to $13.9 billion.

Gross real estate activity of $1 billion was secured across $616 million of real estate acquisitions, Centuria said, and $349 million of real estate lending during HY23.

For the six months to December 2022, total operating revenue grew 14.6 per cent to $159.7 million.

Centuria said this “strong” performance was underpinned by organic growth across its real estate platform and strong capital management.

“Throughout HY23, Centuria has delivered on its commitment to expand across alternative real estate sectors, which has contributed to our strong organic growth within the unlisted platform,” Centuria joint chief executive Jason Huljich said. 

Fellow joint chief executive John McBain said that Centuria’s performance showed a disciplined approach during “times of great volatility”.

“We have recently entered the agriculture and credit markets, examples of alternative sectors with strong investor demand,” he said.

“We are also in a good position to take advantage of value-add market opportunities when they arise, delivering attractive returns to our securityholders.”

▲ Centuria’s joint chief executives Jason Huljich and John McBain particularly put Centuria’s growth down to a strong performance in alternative assets.

During the period, Centuria Capital Group alongside joint venture partner MA Financial Group secured one of Perth’s A-Grade office towers, Allendale Square, for $223 million. 

Another highlight was the growth of its agricultural assets. While office still led the way at $7.5 billion AUM, agriculture AUM grew by 20 per cent to $420 million, largely through its Centuria Agricultural Fund. 

As a result of this investment it has become the single largest owner of glasshouses, with $247 million of assets in that space.

Industrial assets also rose slightly to $6 billion AUM.

During the six-month period, Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investment acquired a 50 per cent stake in a collection of Centuria logistics assets for $181 million, creating the Centuria Prime Logistics Partnership joint venture.

Meanwhile, healthcare reached $1.72 billion, and was identified as another area of growth.

Ahead of The Urban Developer’s Australian Property and Economic Outlook in Sydney this week, panellist and Centuria head of development André Bali highlighted subsectors of healthcare, including pharmaceuticals and mental health as opportunities for the business looking forward.