Australasian real estate fund manager Centuria Capital has bought a glasshouse for $168m (鈧�94m) for its open-ended unlisted Centuria Agriculture Fund (CAF) from Fresh Country Farms of Australia.
The asset is Australia鈥檚 largest hydroponic glasshouse facility and increases Centuria鈥檚 agricultural portfolio by 25% to more than 150 hectares of glasshouse assets and over 160 hectares of protected cropping agriculture. The agriculture portfolio is now worth A$A820m.
The 43ha glasshouse facility in Two Wells, South Australia, is operated by Perfection Fresh, a fresh produce business, on a 17.4-year triple-net lease.
Jason Huljich, Centuria joint CEO, said: 鈥淲e have grown Centuria鈥檚 Agriculture AUM and capabilities as part of a deliberate strategy to seed alternative real estate asset classes that appeal to our investors, are well supported by attractive themes, and provide a long runway for further growth.
鈥淐enturia is leading domestic institutional agriculture real estate investment with a bias towards sustainable farming infrastructure that aims to deliver high produce yields to meet rising demand from Australia鈥檚 expanding population.鈥�
Andrew Essey, Centuria CIO, said the Two Wells glasshouse facility was a 鈥渢rophy鈥� asset - the largest in Australia and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. He added: 鈥淐enturia will continue to seek convincing investment opportunities across the agricultural property market, which harness persistent sector tailwinds.鈥�
Andrew Tout, Centuria head of agriculture, added: 鈥淭his acquisition delivers full diversity of Australia鈥檚 top tenant covenants and strengthens our geographic spread across the country鈥檚 premier glasshouse growing regions.鈥�
Since its inception in 2022, CAF鈥檚 portfolio has grown to A$629m across six fully leased assets, all featuring a long average weighted lease expiry of 16.2 years.
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