News and Media

Oversubscribed raising confirms Sydney mid-town precinct as rising star

Read the press release here

Centuria expands property team

Centuria expands property team

Centuria Capital - Market Update

Read the ASX announcement here

Read the Appendix 3B here

Centuria Property Funds announces sale of 100 Bennelong Parkway

Read the Media Release here

Centuria announces sale of 71 Moorland Street, Footscray

Read the Media Release here

Jason Huljich interviewed on Switzer

Centuria Property Funds CEO Jason Huljich featured on Switzer to discuss commercial property investments.

Centuria's Sydney offer well-timed

Centuria’s latest investment opportunity, Centuria 175 Castlereagh Street Fund featured in the NZ Star Times.

Click here to read the article

Centuria Purchases Property in Sydney CBD

Read the Media Release here

CNI - Sale of Legacy Investment Properties

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Green buildings are go – despite loss of subsidies

Despite the Federal Government’s decision to axe the $1bn Green Building Fund incentive, the value and benefit of improving NABERS rating and energy consumption remains, says unlisted commercial property specialist Centuria Property Funds.

Click here to view media release

Centuria purchases in Southgate Corporate Park

Read the Media Release here.

Centuria Property Funds announces its intention sell a commercial property in Melbourne’s CBD.

Read the Media Release here.

Olympic Fever pays off down the Sydney track

Read the Media Release here.

Centuria announces the sale of 607 St Kilda Road

Despite volatile economic times, the demand for commercial property on St Kilda Road is not showing signs of slowing down with Centuria Property Funds announcing the sale of 607 St Kilda Road. Centuria originally acquired the commercial property in 2002 for $21 million and it has now been purchased by a private investor for $28.54 million, representing a yield of 8.23%. Since 2002, Centuria has undertaken extensive refurbishment and service upgrades throughout the building.

Read our press release here.

Centuria purchases on St Kilda Road

Centuria Property Funds has announced the $58 million purchase of 441 St Kilda Road, an A-grade office building on behalf of the Over Fifty Guardian Friendly Society. The property was purchased from the Dexus managed AXA Wholesale Australian Property Fund.  The building enjoys a 4.08 year Weighted Average Leasing Expiry profile underpinned by a high-calibre tenancy mix.

Read our press release here.

Prime commercial property available in Wollongong

Centuria Property Funds, has announced its intention to sell two commercial properties in the growing city of Wollongong, NSW. The two available properties, 60 Burelli Street and 125 Crown Street, are situated in prime locations in Wollongong’s CBD.Property Council of Australia (PCA) research indicates that the Wollongong vacancy rate has reduced from 9.0% to 6.5%, the second lowest on record. Furthermore, the A-grade office market has an even lower vacancy rate with only 0.6% of space currently available and no new construction anticipated to commence for at least 12 months.

Read our press release here.

The Lang Centre for sale in Parramatta

Centuria Property Funds has announced its intention to sell a fully leased prominent building in Parramatta CBD. The 9.700 sqm commercial office building at 132 Marsden Street includes seven levels of office space and 231 secure undercover car spaces.Joint Agents for the sale are Chesterton International and Colliers International with Expressions of Interest closing 29 March 2012.

Read our press release here.

St Kilda: the big turnaround story

Centuria Property Funds has announced that after a major refurbishment and service upgrade, 607 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, is now fully leased – lending proof to an increasing trend of positive net absorption in the area. The Property Council of Australia recently reported a reduction in the vacancy rate in St Kilda to 10.8% and Colliers research forecasts that this will further decline to 8.0% by years end.

Knight Frank and Colliers International have been appointed to sell the asset that was acquired by Centuria in 2002. Expressions of Interest for the sale of 607 St Kilda Road close 15 March 2012.

Read our press release here.

Centuria Property Funds has sold 16-18 Bridge Street, Epping

Centuria Property Funds has sold a suburban office building located at 16-18 Bridge Street, Epping following the decision by Unit Holders to sell the property as the 10 year life of the fund was approaching in May this year.

The property was originally purchased in 2002 for $11.25million and has sold for $14.2million to aMelbournebased private syndicate, headed by Tom Borsky. It was marketed and sold by Chesterton International represented by Bevan Kenny and Tyler Talbot and Knight Frank represented by Brett Burridge and James Parry.

Read our press release here.

Centuria's view of the 2012 investment landscape - risk reduction and yield to dominate

Centuria Capital today issued its market and investment forecasts for 2012. The diversified fund manager believes market conditions in the year ahead will lead investors to continue their focus on risk reduction over returns and renewed interest in income over capital gains.

Read our press release here.

Every loss counts, so reset against volatility now

Investors must rethink the conventions of asset allocation in light of financial markets that will remain highly volatile at least in the medium-term and very possibly beyond it, said John McBain, CEO Centuria Capital. Conventional ‘time in the market’ wisdom, which holds that taking a long-term position will smooth short-term losses and lead to net investor gains over time, should be viewed with fresh scepticism by many investors in the face of the new reality of market volatility.

Read our press release here.

These comments form part of a Centuria Capital white paper titled: The Centuria Solution: achieving superior returns in a volatile new world.

View the full white paper.

John McBain live on Switzer

Centuria Capital CEO John McBain featured on Switzer last night (November 7) to discuss our recent white paper on asset allocation and market volatility. Watch the interview.

Expansion of leading property firm continues: Ben Butler joins Centuria Property Funds

In line with its strategic commitment to growing the business, Centuria Property Funds has announced the appointment of Ben Butler as Senior Portfolio Manager. Mr Butler joined the firm on 4 October 2011 and adds additional strength to the expanding property team, bringing over 14 years’ experience in the industry. Read our release here

Sydney Olympic Park: no white elephant

With less than a year until the London Olympics, unlisted commercial property manager Centuria Property Funds believes Sydney’s Olympic precinct has well and truly thrown off the ‘white elephant’ tag, with continued strong demand for commercial office space and proven long term performance for investors. And Centuria believes significant additional value could be unlocked for investors as properties within the area are developed for residential and mixed-use to support the ongoing commercial growth. Read our release here

New era of market volatility highlights urgent need to shift focus: look to unlisted property

With the recent swings in local and offshore share markets expected to continue into the medium term, investors are rethinking their portfolios. And – especially with deposit rates already falling – cash is a long way from fitting the bill. Investors need to have true diversification across their investment classes and according to Jason Huljich, CEO of Centuria Property Funds, investors should look to unlisted property for a less volatile investment. Read our release here

Centuria supports disclosure benchmarks for unlisted property

Centuria Property Funds has supported ASIC’s initiative to improve disclosure in the unlisted property sector with the property group leading the industry in implementing internal benchmarks to protect the rights of its investors.  The ASIC Consultation Paper sets out eight benchmarks to improve the level, comparability and consistency of disclosure for retail investors in unlisted property.  In providing feedback on each of these benchmarks in its submission to ASIC, Centuria noted that it had already identified and instituted a series of initiatives to improve investor understanding and rights.  Read our release here.

Property opens right doors at right time

While the direct property sector may not be as large as that of the A-REITs, there are good reasons for advisers to survey this part of the investment landscape once again.

Read the article written by Jason Spits, featuring comments from Jason Huljich published in the August edition of Financial Planning magazine.

Why is now the time to buy commercial property?

Given the issues suffered in the past by the property market, it may come as a surprise to hear that right now there are some significant opportunities in unlisted commercial property.

The simple explanation for the appeal of unlisted property is that we are, in the view of many commentators, at the bottom of the commercial property market. This means there is opportunity to buy in low and enjoy strong returns in the period to come. But there is more to it than that, as Jason Huljich, CEO of Centuria Property Funds, explains in his article in The Australian.

Unlisted Property: Understanding diversification. What advisers should be telling their clients

Many investors need to add growth to their portfolios after the GFC retreat but, in a risk averse and edgy environment, are unsure how to reliably achieve it.

Unlisted property is making a comeback and is looking particularly attractive given lacklustre equity returns and the opportunities in the broader economy and certain pockets in the property market.

Ten-year performance data shows that unlisted property continues to offer leading performance and low volatility – it’s just a matter of choosing the right fund.

Read the article written by John McBain and Jason Huljich published in the latest FS Advice – The Australian Journal of Financial Planning.

Low prices, increasing tenant demand, and greater fund inflows spell opportunity for investors

Australia’s commercial property market is offering increasing pockets of opportunity for investors, who can now take advantage of positive market conditions not seen for well over a decade, according to Centuria Property Funds.

“While it is near impossible to pick the bottom, or peak of any cycle, valuations in the property market are low, with prices at levels we’ve not seen in 15 years,” said Centuria Property Funds CEO Jason Huljich.

Factors that bode well for the market include both Australian economic factors and more localised market conditions. Despite a volatile share market and uncertain consumer sentiment, there are parts of the economy which are powering ahead, such as the mining and resources sectors. This, along with very high employment figures that reveal a continuing strong hiring trend, has led to a flow-on demand for commercial property to meet the increased requirement for services in certain locations. Linked to these positives, and reinforcing them, are the significant recent increases in fund inflows to the sector, which are playing a stimulatory role. Read our release here.
 

Finding opportunity in commercial property

The latest round of global investment jitters has failed to shake the continuing recovery in the commercial office market. Vacancy rates, already on the decline in key centres, are now also falling in some of the areas hardest hit in the recent downturn.

Jason Huljich, CEO of Centuria Property Funds, can cite a number of specific examples to support the wider figures on the recovery. These include very strong inflows to Centuria’s latest Fund, the 8 Australia Avenue Fund, which owns a commercial office building in Sydney’s Sydney Olympic Park precinct – and a recent surge in leasing interest in Chatswood, another Sydney metropolitan office precinct.  Read our release here.

The five hallmarks of a sound commercial property investment

Jason Huljich, Centuria Property Funds CEO outlines what to look for in a property to maximise the chance of sound long-term performance. This article was published in this month’s Professional Planner magazine. Click here to view the article.

Investors keen to return to unlisted commercial property

Centuria Property Funds, announced Friday that its recent purchase of 8 Australia Avenue in Sydney Olympic Park, has settled with strong support from dealer groups and investors. The support for the $19 million capital raising reinforces the positive outlook of the unlisted commercial property market and increasing interest from planners and their clients in the underlying assets.

The success of this exercise also further demonstrates Centuria’s ability to source funds in a market with scarce equity. Centuria are steadily building funds under management with $300 million of property funds growth over the last 9 months alone. Read our press release here.

Investor rights a welcome initiative - industry and planners back new benchmarks

Centuria Property Funds has received overwhelming support from industry and financial planning groups following the introduction of a series of initiatives to increase the rights of investors in direct property.

The peak industry body representing the direct property investment industry – the Property Funds Association of Australia – has welcomed the initiatives, as have some of Australia’s largest financial planning groups. Geoffrey Gedge, CEO of the Property Funds Association of Australia said the initiatives would help the industry restore faith with investors. Read our press release here.

New management benchmarks for unlisted property

Centuria announces the launch of an industry first: a major investor rights initiative. Until some of the poor management behaviour endemic among unlisted property funds is addressed at the individual fund level, the sector will continue to encounter perception problems, according to Jason Huljich, CEO of Centuria Property Funds.

And as a consequence, Mr Huljich warned that both advisers and investors may miss out on the very real benefits that a well managed unlisted property fund has to offer: benefits such as steady returns, low volatility and genuine diversification. This is especially the case in the current environment, when there are strong pockets of genuine opportunity in commercial property, at the same time as limited growth in the equity market to date this year which is causing many investors to look for alternatives. Read the press release here.

Hurstville refurbishment supports story of improving office leasing market

Centuria Property Funds has announced plans for a substantial refurbishment and leasing program of one its most prominent and sort after office buildings – 4-8 Woodville Street Hurstville. The timing coincides with an improving metropolitan office leasing market, as is being reported by commercial real estate observers and industry commentators. According to the CB Richard Ellis’s Q1 Market Summary, demand for office space within the Sydney’s suburban markets has continued to remain healthy with the vacancy rate falling from 8.8% to 8.1% during the 12 months to January 2011. Leasing enquiry has already been solid at 4-8 Woodville Street; nearly 600 sqm of the building has recently been leased to MTC Training Solutions, one of Sydney’s largest employment agencies and Adecco has agreed terms for a further tenancy in the building. South Sydney Commercial is coordinating the leasing campaign for Centuria.

Online retail no threat to furniture and whitegoods

The increased uptake of online shopping is showing no real threat to the bulky goods retail sector, with the latest Australian retail trade numbers surprisingly on the upside despite the much publicised threat of online competitors. And, according to property manager Centuria Property Funds, growth in the sector is translating to strong demand for rental property for bulky goods retailers. Read the press release here.

New Property Manager

Centuria Property Funds today announced the appointment of Carina Cowham as the company’s newest Property Manager. Read the press release here.

Centuria secures government tenant

Centuria Property Funds today confirmed that the Northern Territory Government has signed a five-year lease extension providing a significantly increased rental income in one of the Centuria Direct Diversified Property Fund’s significant assets. Read the press release here.

Centuria launches new fund with superior rating

Centuria Property Funds has had its latest property investment fund, the Centuria 8 Australia Avenue Fund, rated by Lonsec as Recommended (Upper End). Read the press release here.

Centuria sells strata office space on Sydney’s North Shore

Centuria Property Funds has sold 632 square metres of strata office space in its prominent office holding in Gordon, on Sydney’s North Shore. The strata premises includes a balcony and 22 car parking spaces. The sale price of $2,780,800 represents $4,400 per square metre based on the strata office area. Read the press release here.

Centuria Property hits $1 billion in FUM

Centuria Property’s latest purchase of a commercial property at 8 Australia Avenue, Sydney Olympic Park continues an aggressive growth strategy. Read the ASX Announcement.

Centuria sell Melbourne property

Centuria Property Funds has sold 17 Market Street, South Melbourne for $8.95 million. The property has a net lettable area of 2,596 sqm across three levels and is 100 per cent leased, with the major tenant being the ASX listed Redflex Holdings Limited. Read the press release here.

Centuria backs QLD commercial property

Centuria Property Funds has purchased a 10 level commercial building at 200 Creek Street, Brisbane for $37.7 million. The building is 100 per cent leased to a mix of quality multi-national and Government tenants and has recently undergone a recent refurbishment program. Read the press release here.

Plans to Replace Opus Capital as Manager of Opus Income & Capital Fund No 21

One of Australia’s most successful property fund managers, Century Funds Management has accepted the request of major unitholders to propose itself before a vote of unitholders to replace Opus Capital as Responsible Entity in the Opus Income & Capital Fund No. 21 (Opus Fund). Read the announcement.

Major leasing deal secured in Adelaide

Century Funds Management has completed one of the Adelaide fringe’s largest office leasing deals of the year, signing Royal District Nursing Service of SA (RDNS) as a tenant for its office building at 1 Richmond Rd in Keswick. Read the announcement.

Becton Unitholders Vote To Replace Responsible Entity

Unitholders today convincingly voted to replace Becton Property Group subsidiary Lachlan REIT as the responsible entity of Becton Office Fund No 2 and Becton Diversified Direct Property Fund with Century Funds Management. Read the announcement.