22 October 2020

Centuria’s New Zealand Platform Secures Visy Glass’ NZ$178m Auckland Facility

Pro Forma Group AUM increases to $10bn, prompting updated guidance

Centuria Capital Group has announced the acquisition of a NZ$178.3m Visy Glass industrial facility in Auckland, via Augusta Capital – Centuria’s New Zealand platform, on a 20 year sale-and-leaseback, triple net lease.

With more than $700m of healthcare and industrial assets secured since the beginning of FY21, a further c.$300m under due diligence, and the additional Visy Glass acquisition, Centuria’s assets under management (AUM) are set to expand to $10bn.

The additional earnings associated with this AUM expansion has prompted Centuria to upgrade its FY21 guidance with operating Earnings Per Security (EPS) guidance increasing to 11.5 –12.5 cents per security, up 9.1% from previous guidance , and Distribution Per Security (DPS) guidance increasing to 9.0 cents per security, up 5.9% from previous guidance .

The Visy Glass facility will form a new, New Zealand single asset unlisted fund, underwritten by Centuria. It will be the largest single asset unlisted fund launched by Centuria to date and is transformative for Augusta Capital, bringing the New Zealand operation to scale ahead of schedule.

John McBain, Centuria Joint CEO, said “The Visy Glass acquisition in New Zealand follows the recent $416.7m acquisition of Telstra’s data centre in Victoria and Centuria is pleased to partner with both groups in these initiatives. Centuria has upgraded both its operating EPS guidance and DPS guidance following strong property funds management activity to date in FY21 with a meaningful proportion of these earnings generated from our New Zealand business unit underpinning our ongoing confidence in this acquisition.”

Jason Huljich, Centuria Joint CEO, added, “The industrial sector in both Australia and New Zealand has enjoyed exceptional growth over the past three years and we continue to take advantage of these tailwinds. Together with recent healthcare property transactions, Centuria is on track to expand assets under management to $10bn, a 14% increase in since the end of FY20.”

The acquisition extends Centuria’s relationship with Visy, with more than 123,000 sqm leased to the international paper, packaging and recycling company across Centuria’s industrial platform. It is one of the Group’s largest clients.

The Visy Glass facility is New Zealand’s only glass bottle and jar manufacturing site since 1922. It provides a 20 year WALE and 100% occupancy. The 8.6 hectare site, at 752 Great South Road in Penrose, is located approximately nine kilometres from Auckland’s CBD and 15km from the Auckland International Airport.

Mark Francis, Augusta Capital Managing Director, said, “We have a long history and successful track record in single asset unlisted funds. The Visy Glass acquisition will be our third equity raise in New Zealand this year, following the Augusta Property Fund and NZX-listed Asset Plus initiatives. This is indicative of the strong investor appetite for funds underpinned by quality assets delivering robust yields against the current low interest rate environment.

“The Visy acquisition is also demonstrative of our merged business’ capabilities. With Centuria’s strong balance sheet, we are able to act on larger, high quality market opportunities to the benefit of our deep investor network.”

Centuria’s industrial portfolio includes 90 properties worth $3.1bn. This is a significant increase from 2017 when the company assumed management of the former 360 Capital industrial portfolio, which included 36 assets worth c.$900m.

The Visy Glass acquisition will be funded by a $100m equity raising including an $80.5m entitlement offer and $19.5m fully underwritten institutional placement. After the equity raising, Centuria will have approximately $105m of working capital available.


Disclaimer

This announcement contains selected summary information and does not purport to be all-inclusive, comprehensive or to contain all of the information that may be relevant, or which a prospective investor may require in evaluations for a possible investment in CNI. It should be read in conjunction with CNI’s periodic and continuous disclosure announcements which are available at https://centuria.com.au/

This announcement is provided for general information purposes only. It should not be relied upon by the recipient in considering the merits of CNI or the acquisition of securities in CNI.

Before making an investment decision, the recipient should consider its own financial situation, objectives and needs, and conduct its own independent investigation and assessment of the contents of this announcement, including obtaining investment, legal, tax, accounting and such other advice as necessary or appropriate.

This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, guidance, forecasts, estimates, prospects, projections or statements in relation to future matters (‘Forward Statements’). No independent third party has reviewed the reasonableness of any such statements or assumptions. No member of CNI represents or warrants that such Forward Statements will be achieved or will prove to be correct or gives any warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, likelihood of achievement or reasonableness of any Forward Statement contained in this announcement.

  1. Pro forma Group AUM includes the Visy Facility ($0.2bn) and assets under exclusive due diligence ($0.3bn)
  2. Based on guidance midpoint. Previous FY21 operating EPS guidance of 10.5 – 11.5 cents per security
  3. Previous FY21 DPS guidance of 8.5 cents per security
  4. Centuria reserves the right to accept oversubscriptions under the Placement