Centuria reignites $300m IPO aspirations

The new trust is the brainchild of former Mirvac chief executive Nick Collishaw who runs Centuria’s listed funds business.

“We are looking to amass a portfolio of property. We have spent all of this year working towards this goal,” Mr Collishaw said.

“At present we see that the market conditions are conducive to bringing a new vehicle to the marketplace in line with Centuria’s history over the past 17 years of dealing in the metropolitan markets,” Mr Collishaw said.

The group hoped to list the fund by the end of the year, Mr Collishaw said

Centuria would hold a stake in the trust of about 10 per cent, Mr Collishaw added.

The fund manager would also tap into its network of high net worth clients and retail investors to get the float away.

The fund would hold metropolitan offices and industrial properties located in the middle ring of major cities.

Centuria’s plans come as GPT pushes ahead with a $400m metropolitan office property fund listing on the ASX this year after deciding not to roll the fund out to wholesale investors in an unlisted vehicle.

Last year Centuria recruited CIMB to help it float a fund anchored by Northpoint tower in Sydney.

However, the float hit brokers at a time when the market was in a downward swing and the property was sold to Cromwell for just under $300m.

Separately, Centuria will hold a meeting of investors in its $113m Diversified Direct Property Fund next month to decide on the future of the fund that has been frozen since 2008.

Investors in the fund will vote on whether to pull the trigger on an immediate sale process for the five properties that are held within the vehicle or stick with its current plans for an staggered sale process.

Centuria’s plans for the meeting follows a push by 360 Capital, which owns a 20 per cent stake in the fund, to replace Centuria as the manager of the fund with itself.