Centuria Capital has bought an A$80m (€50m) tomato glasshouse facility in Australia on behalf of its open-ended agriculture property fund.

The ASX-listed investment manager said it bought the 20-hectare facility in Guyra, northern New South Wales, on behalf of the Centuria Agriculture Fund (CAF). The facility includes a one-acre nursery, 65 megalitre dam, packing and distribution sheds and cool rooms.

Tomato Exchange, the existing tenant of the facility, has agreed a 15-year lease extension.

CAF, which was established in July last year, now has around 74 hectares of glasshouse assets, worth A$323m, in its portfolio.

Andrew Tout, Centuria’s head of agriculture, said: “In just over six months, CAF has secured three high-value, off-market glasshouse assets. In recent years, the pandemic and other climatic and geopolitical events have highlighted the importance of food security and access to non-discretionary fresh produce.”

Jason Huljich, Centuria joint CEO, said: “We believe strong demand fundamentals will drive continued investor interest in agricultural real estate, and Centuria will continue to seek high-quality assets leased to reputable operators with strong sustainability credentials in high-revenue-producing sectors such as protected cropping.”

Huljich said several possible acquisitions had been identified and when finalised they would lift CAF’s total agriculture assets under management to more than A$600m during this fiscal year which ends 30 June and growth, he said, was expected to continue into next financial year.

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