Australasian real estate fund manager, Centuria Capital Group (ASX:CNI or “Centuria”), has acquired a $21.5million greenhouse and glasshouse facility within the Adelaide Plains, South Australia, for its open-ended unlisted Centuria Agriculture Fund (CAF).

The asset, located at 234 Carmelo Road, Riverlea Park SA, provides 12 hectares of protected cropping within a 59-hectare land parcel. This includes six hectares of glasshouses and six hectares of double skinned plastic greenhouses. These facilities have the capacity to produce approximately 1,488 tonnes of tomatoes, 136 tonnes of cucumbers, 517 tonnes of eggplants and 43 tonnes of capsicums per annum. Additionally, the asset includes large packing sheds along with onsite energy, fertigation and reverse osmosis infrastructure as well as a c.40ML3 dam and 205ML3 bore water licences.

The asset continues to be operated by P’Petual Holdings. It provides strong lease covenants including a 10- year triple-net lease with annual rent escalations. P’Petual is one of South Australia’s largest vegetable growers of tomato, mini-cucumber, eggplant and jalapeno/mini capsicum varieties.

The acquisition expands CAF’s portfolio to four assets worth $351million with a 17-year WALE1 and 100% occupancy.

Jason Huljich, Centuria Joint CEO, said “The Adelaide Plains acquisition is aligned with CAF’s investment strategy to acquire high-quality agricultural assets, leased to reputable operators with strong ESG credent and in higher revenue producing sectors such as protected cropping.

Andrew Tout, Centuria Head of Agriculture, added, "Centuria is excited about this recent acquisition, which provides an exceptional opportunity for P’Petual to scale-up and implement operational efficiencies. It is another great example of Centuria partnering and collaborating with seasoned agricultural innovators."

The asset’s sustainability credentials extend to robust water management through recycled rainwater and surplus water, recycling carbon emissions, and integrated pest management via the introduction of “good insects” into the greenhouse facilities to combat unwanted insects.

The acquisition also includes Development Application (DA) approval for an additional four-hectare glasshouse, providing a value-add opportunity to further enhance CAF’s size and footprint in the agricultural real estate sector.

234 Carmelo Road is located approximately 38 kilometres north of the Adelaide CBD near the town of Virgina, in an area known as the food bowl of South Australia due to its extensive horticultural production. It is seven kilometres inland from the St Vincent Gulf.

CAF was launched at the commencement of FY23 as a new alternative fund vehicle for Centuria and its growth has been extremely rapid, proving popular with both retail and private bank investment clients.

Since inception, CAF has increased its distribution yield from 5.25 cpu to 5.50cpu5 while providing monthly distributions, daily unit pricing and a five-year liquidity event. It has a minimum entry investment of $10,000.

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