Centurion raises $70 mil at first closing of global student accommodation fund

SINGAPORE (Dec 10): Centurion Corporation's second student accommodation fund, the Centurion Student Accommodation Fund, achieved an aggregate committed capital of $70 million at its first closing.

The committed capital of $70 million comprises a committed capital of $10 million by Centurion Overseas Investment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Centurion, as well as a committed capital of $60 million by a third-party cornerstone investor, which is a “reputable educational institution”.

The fund aims to generate stable and recurring income, delivering a total return by investing in purpose-built student accommodation assets globally (excluding the United States).

Currently, the trust holds dwell Castle Gate Haus, Nottingham, UK, which was recently acquired by Centurion and seeded into the fund.

The trust, which will draw down on the committed capital from time to time, has issued drawdown notices of $1.26 million and $7.54 million to COI and the third-party investor respectively, and will receive the capital contributions by Dec 14.

Upon the completion of the drawdown, the group will hold 14.3% stake in the fund.

Kong Chee Min, CEO of Centurion, says, “Our first private fund, which closed last year with US$89.5 million raised, has already shown positive returns and we are optimistic that the launch of a second fund is the direction to expand our footprint across the different geographies in a sustainable manner.”

“Investments through this asset light strategy enables us to efficiently leverage our capital and resources to gain optimum returns in a relatively short timeframe. The trust will continue to build on our momentum and boost our fast-paced expansion plans to deliver higher returns to our shareholders. We aim to take this opportunity to continue working with like-minded investors to pursue these types of investment and management services opportunities to strategically grow our business,” Kong adds.

As at 12.40pm, shares in Centurion are trading at 40 cents.