FAST-growing property syndicator Century Funds Management has set its sights on the wholesale market.

"It's a channel that we think would be an opportunity," managing director John McBain said.

Century has about $440 million in funds under management after its merger with Bankminster early last year. Mr McBain stressed Century remained committed to its existing business, but was limited to buying properties up to $60 million.

"Where we've missed out in the past are properties that are too large to syndicate," he said. "This means every year we see deals go through to the keeper that we would love to be involved with. We don't want to compete with our existing products".

Mr McBain said Century had held meetings with superannuation funds and was seeking an initial mandate of $200 million from one or more clients.

Mr McBain said Century would continue to focus on office, high and low-tech industrial, and bulky goods retail property.

Century's most recent acquisition was the $36.8 million office building at 107 Mount Street, North Sydney, bought from Mirvac last December.

Mr McBain said the acquisition was a good example of Century's counter-cyclical strategy and there were "already deals being transacted close by, at far higher rates per square metre".

Mr McBain said Century was "barely retail" at present, with direct clients required to invest a minimum of $100,000, although financial advisers could group together clients with $25,000.

He said Century's fees were the lowest in the market at 65 (basis) points.

"Wholesale clients are reasonably generous if you overperform."

Mr McBain said Century's style was to add value and reposition assets. According to a Lonsec report published last December, a representative sample of unlisted trusts initiated by Century had delivered investors an annual average total return of about 16.8 per cent since January 2000, compared with the Mercer Unlisted Index return of 11.5 per cent a year over the same period.

Mr McBain said Century had succeeded taking a counter-cyclical view in the past, for example in B-grade office properties in Melbourne, such as 601 Bourke Street.

Mr McBain also flagged the possible launch of a diversified bulky goods retail trust, "particularly because it's not the flavour of the month".

The open-ended unlisted trust, which would require unitholder approval, would probably be called the Century balanced fund No2 and was likely to include existing centres in Griffith and Sydney and a newly-purchased centre.

Mr McBain said the integration of Bankminster, acquired in early 2005, had gone smoothly.