This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
PRIMEWEST has now officially taken on the name of its parent company, Centuria, 13 months after the major merger.
The Perth-based real estate funds manager’s formal adoption of the Centuria Capital Group brand marks the unified group’s expansion across Western Australian, following the 2021 merger, with its assets under management and workforce across the state growing significantly.
“This is a new era for our company and we believe, now that our investors are familiar with the wider Centuria Group, it is an ideal time to change to the Centuria brand,” said David Schwartz, John Bond and Jim Litis, who founded Primewest back in 1995.
“With a number of new colleagues joining the fold, it also made sense to come under the one umbrella with our co-workers across east coast Australia, New Zealand and The Philippines.”
Centuria’s platform across the state now totals $4.2 billion, accounting for 22% of the group’s combined Australasian real estate assets under management.
With the group’s investment in its Perth team resulting in a 37% boost to its workforce, bringing its personnel in the city up to 85 individuals.
“This is still the same highly proficient group of professionals who have managed our investors’ funds for years. Nothing else about the business has changed. We are continuing to do what we do best – just with a different moniker,” added the founders.
Centuria has also increased the size of its workplace footprint in Perth by 40%, moving its office from the previous Murray Street location to the 1,100sqm space at Level 27, 140 St Georges Terrace.
As part of the merger, the WA business expanded its platform to three new real estate sectors, Daily Needs Retail (DNR), Large Format Retail (LFR) and Agriculture.
“Since the Primewest business merged with Centuria, our collective real estate platform has grown beyond our expectations, especially across our newer real estate sectors. This is largely thanks to the talented WA team,” said John McBain and Jason Huljich, joint CEOs at Centuria.
The group’s balance sheet facilitating further growth in the sectors, with DNR growing by 39% to $1.8 billion, LFR up 23% to $1.6 billion and Agriculture up 300% to $0.4 billion.
“Together, we have one of the largest and most successful capital transactions teams in the nation in addition to a significant facilities and property management teams who are at the coalface of tenant relationships,” added McBain and Huljich.
The WA team has also headed up the acquisitions of multiple high-quality assets, such as the $71 million Northgate Shopping Centre, the $34 million Byford Village Shopping Centre and the recent 50% stake in the Allendale Square office building.
“We both have immense respect for David, John and Jim who continue to lead our WA colleagues and intend to do so for the foreseeable future,” concluded McBain and Huljich.
