Centennial Hires Retail Leasing and Development Executive to Support Its Expansion Into Retail Assets Targeting $1BN

• Centennial appoints 20-year asset management veteran, Jessica Lacy to Retail Asset & Leasing Manager 
• Ms Lacy previously managed Charter Hall’s $2bn portfolio of neighbourhood shopping centre and hotel assets in Qld, NSW & VIC
• Her reputation for executing high-impact growth strategies will support Centennial’s expansion into the retail sector, targeting $1bn in assets

Centennial has hired retail and hospitality executive, Jessica Lacy to the new role of Retail Asset & Leasing Manager, to support its expansion into the national retail sector, which is quickly gaining pace.

Ms Lacy, a twenty-year property industry professional, has considerable retail and hospitality asset and leasing experience having most recently managed a $2bn portfolio of hotel and shopping centre assets across the eastern states. She is widely respected throughout the industry for executing high-impact growth strategies to maximise asset value and tenant and stakeholder relationships.

Her track-record for adding value to shopping and lifestyle precincts was honed early in Ms Lacy’s career, which included a five-year role at Charter Hall as Qld Retail Development Manager. Prior to that, she was part of the development team at FKP (now Aveo) tasked with the regeneration of Brisbane’s landmark Gasworks precinct, which saw it transformed from an industrial wasteland into one of city’s most vibrant urban lifestyle precincts.

Centennial’s Joint Managing Director, Paul Ford said Jessica’s extensive retail and hospitality sector experience underscored by a strong development background, would be drawn upon as the company prepares to take over the management of Brisbane’s upscale Portside Wharf riverfront retail and lifestyle precinct at Hamilton.

“Portside Wharf is due to settle in mid-June and this acquisition takes our retail exposure to three centres in Queensland and New South Wales, valued at around $250m,” Mr Ford said, adding the latest acquisition “aligns well with our medium-term goal of acquiring $1bn in retail assets.”

“Centennial is looking forward to building on Portside Wharf’s reputation as one of Brisbane’s premier retail and lifestyle precincts and Jessica brings an ideal skillset as an active, hands-on manager across the retail management and leasing sectors that will complement our growth objectives into the wider retail sector.”

Heavily active in the mid-space, industrial urban and last-mile infill sectors overseeing an industrial portfolio valued at around $1.6bn, Centennial has a combined asset portfolio of 82 properties worth in excess of $2.6bn. It also has a further $1bn of projects in the pipeline.