Centuria Acquires $216M Port Adelaide Industrial Estate to Launch Australia's Largest Single-Asset Industrial Fund

Centuria (ASX: CNI) has acquired the Port Adelaide Distribution Centre at 25–91 Bedford Street, Gillman, South Australia, for $216 million, in what the firm describes as South Australia's largest industrial real estate transaction on record. The deal will underpin the Centuria Port Adelaide Industrial Fund (CPAIF), which the firm says will be Australia's largest single-asset unlisted industrial fund to date.

The acquisition was secured at approximately 70% below the property's estimated replacement cost, according to a Property Insurance Reinstatement Cost Assessment provided by CDC as of March 28, 2025, inclusive of land estimated at $450 per square meter.

Property and Tenant Profile

The Port Adelaide Distribution Centre spans 32 hectares and comprises 13 buildings across nine titles, totaling approximately 175,000 square meters of gross lettable area — a footprint the firm notes is more than 10 times the size of the Adelaide Oval. Individual warehouse units range from 1,700 square meters to 21,000 square meters, providing a diversified mix of unit sizes suited to a broad tenant base.

The estate is leased to 17 national and international tenants, including Visy Logistics, agricultural product supplier Ameropa Australia, Toll Transport, and Spendless Shoes. As of November 1, 2025, the property carries 93% occupancy by gross lettable area — inclusive of a tenancy with pending lease approval — and a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 3.4 years by net income, inclusive of a rental guarantee over one vacant tenancy.

The estate benefits from direct connectivity to major road and port infrastructure, including the Port River Expressway, Grand Junction Road, the Northern Connector, Port Adelaide, and the Osborne Shipyards.

Adelaide's Industrial Market Context

Adelaide's northwest industrial precinct, where the estate is located, recorded a vacancy rate of 1.5% in the first half of 2025, according to CBRE research. Adelaide's broader industrial market vacancy stood at 1.6% over the same period — among the lowest of any Australian capital city and well below the national average of 2.8%, as reported by the Property Council of Australia in July 2025.

Supply constraints are further underscored by the fact that 60% of the city's industrial pipeline was already pre-committed as of Q2 2025, according to CBRE's Adelaide Industrial & Logistics report.

Andrew Essey, Centuria Chief Investment Officer, said, "This was a rare opportunity to secure a trophy Adelaide asset at a time when the local market benefits from cyclical tailwinds credited to low vacancy, strong leasing demand and limited new supply. Adelaide has one of Australia's strongest leasing markets with materially lower rents in comparison to other capital cities. We are very excited to secure this asset at a substantial discount to replacement cost."

Essey added: "With 60% of Adelaide's industrial pipeline already pre-committed, we believe supply constraints will continue to drive opportunities for positive rental reversions within the industrial park. The estate has a long history of low vacancy due to occupiers' preference to be within close proximity to the port and road and rail infrastructure."

South Australia's broader macroeconomic environment also factors into Centuria's investment rationale. The state has allocated 17% of its budget to infrastructure projects over the next four years, according to SA Budget Papers and Deloitte and CBRE research. High-profile projects in proximity to the estate include the $368 billion AUKUS defence program centered on the Osborne Naval Precinct, the Port Adelaide (Gillman) Renewal Project, and the Henderson Defence Precinct.

Fund Structure and Investor Access

The Centuria Port Adelaide Industrial Fund is structured as an unlisted fund with an initial five-year term, subject to extension per the terms of the product disclosure statement and information memorandum. The fund is expected to open for investment in September 2025, with settlement of the property anticipated in October 2025.

CPAIF targets a $116 million equity raise, with investments starting from $50,000. The fund is open to retail, wholesale, and institutional investors, both domestic and international. Forecast distributions are 7.50% per annum for FY26 — covering November 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 — and 8.50% per annum in FY27, paid monthly on a pre-tax, annualized basis. Centuria's responsible entity does not guarantee fund performance, repayment of capital, or any income or capital return.

Jesse Curtis, Centuria Head of Funds Management, said: "Centuria Port Adelaide Industrial Fund is an attractive opportunity for investors to gain exposure to an industrial investment that provides potential for strong income yield and capital and income growth from anticipated rising rental rates and value-add potential."

Curtis noted that the estate's scale creates future optionality: "Given the size of the estate, future value-add potential is available through subdivision, repositioning or redevelopment options." Subdivision is subject to council approval.

Essey said the acquisition reflects improving conditions across the broader transactional market: "We anticipate further, attractive investment opportunities for both domestic and international capital over the year. We continue to see improving conditions within the transactional market with falling debt costs, strong international investor interest for well-priced and well-located property, and healthy retail/wholesale investor appetite."

Industrial Platform Expands to Over $6 Billion

The Port Adelaide acquisition expands Centuria's industrial assets under management to more than $6 billion, adding to a platform that includes Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP), described by the firm as Australia's largest listed industrial REIT, as well as three institutional mandates and several industrial-specific unlisted funds across Australia and New Zealand. Total assets under management across Centuria's broader real estate platform exceed $20 billion.

The CPAIF launch follows the recent close of the Centuria Logan Super Centre Fund, which acquired the Logan Super Centre in Queensland for $115 million and was oversubscribed, according to the firm.

Colliers' Gavin Bishop, Sean Thomson, Tom Barrett, and Paul Tierney, along with CBRE's Chris O'Brien, Andrew Bell, and Paul McKay, acted on behalf of the vendor in the transaction.