Perfection Fresh will continue to operate the glasshouse after it was secured for A$168mn from Fresh Country Farms
Australasian real estate funds manager, Centuria Capital Group , has expanded its agriculture real estate platform to A$820mn by acquiring the Perfection Fresh-operated 43ha glasshouse facility in Two Wells in South Australia.
The asset is Australia’s largest hydroponic glasshouse facility and increases Centuria’s agricultural portfolio by 25 per cent to more than 150ha of glasshouse assets and over 160ha of protected cropping agriculture.
The off-market transaction was secured for A$168mn by the open-ended unlisted Centuria Agriculture Fund (CAF) from Fresh Country Farms of Australia.
“We have grown Centuria’s 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,” said Jason Huljich, Centuria joint CEO.
“Centuria 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’s expanding population. This strong track record is credited to partnering with experienced, well established operators.”
Located at Germantown Road, Two Wells, South Australia, the asset provides snacking tomatoes, ‘Quke’ baby cucumbers and other snacking vegetable varieties each year. It is operated by one of Australia’s largest privately owned fresh produce businesses, Perfection Fresh, which has secured long term contracts with major supermarkets, airlines and foodservice businesses.
Andrew Essey, Centuria Chief Investment Officer, added: “It’s a pleasure to welcome Perfection Fresh to the Centuria fold. It is one of the country’s leading, premium quality fresh produce suppliers, delivering exclusive fruit and vegetable brands such as Broccolini, Qukes and Calypso mangoes.
“We are immensely proud to secure the Two Wells glasshouse facility – a trophy asset being the largest in Australia and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Centuria will continue to seek convincing investment opportunities across the agricultural property market, which harness persistent sector tailwinds”.
The acquisition is secured by a 17.4-year triple net lease, meaning all maintenance and upkeep of the property is the responsibility of the operator, providing reduced overheads for CAF.
The asset provides five glasshouses, supported by five storage dams, an evaporation dam, packhouse, fertigation and boiler room, and office and staff amenities buildings within a 166ha site. It has extensive irrigation infrastructure and an on-site electrical generating plant equipment supports year-round production.
Andrew Tout, Centuria head of agriculture, added: “This acquisition delivers full diversity of Australia’s top tenant covenants and strengthens our geographic spread across the country’s premier glasshouse growing regions”.
