Inversiones Centenario S.A.A.

What it is

Inversiones Centenario, together with its subsidiaries, develops urban land in Peru, operating across four lines: sale of residential, macro and industrial lots; leasing of office space; leasing of shopping centres; and other property services. It describes itself as the real estate company with the greatest geographical and business diversification in Peru.

Its urban development division sells land in Piura, Chiclayo, Trujillo, Lima Norte, Lima Este, Lima Sur, Ica, Tacna and Huancayo, and it holds an extensive land bank for future projects in these cities. On the office side, its portfolio covers 92,486 m² of leasable area, anchored by its Real Business Centre in San Isidro.

Who owns it

The four main shareholder blocks are: the Romero family with 34.56%, the Verme family with 23.03%, Credicorp (Peru’s largest financial group) with 15.69%, and the Brescia family (Breca) with 13.92%. The remaining roughly 33.56% belongs to approximately 2,220 smaller shareholders.

Three of Peru’s most powerful industrial dynasties thus hold roughly two-thirds of the stock between them, with the Romero family — who also control Credicorp — holding effective influence well beyond their direct stake. The company is listed on the Lima Stock Exchange with nearly 2,000 shareholders, among which are some of the main economic groups in the country.

Who runs it

The board is chaired by Dionisio Romero Paoletti, and the chief executive (Gerente General) is Eduardo Martín Herrera Vásquez. Romero Paoletti was born in 1965 and holds a degree in Economics from Brown University and an MBA from Stanford.

He also chairs the boards of Credicorp, Banco de Crédito del Perú, Pacífico Compañía de Seguros, Alicorp, and several agribusiness companies — a web of cross-directorships that places him at the centre of Peru’s private economy. A CFO is not separately named in available public sources.

The money, in plain words

Revenue reached S/ 587M (US$172M) in 2024, up from S/ 461M (US$135M) the year before — a rise of 27% (our calculation). The jump came mainly from stronger lot sales in the residential and industrial divisions.

Despite the revenue gain, the company was loss-making in 2024. Through the first nine months alone the group recorded a net loss of S/ 98M (US$29M), driven by a large write-down in the book value of its investment properties.

Total debt at end of September 2024 stood at S/ 1,094M (US$320M), with an average interest cost of 7.68% and an average remaining term of 4.75 years.

What it is doing now

In January 2025, Centenario agreed to sell its Minka shopping centre to Chilean group Parque Arauco for S/ 381.1M (US$111M at current exchange rates). CEO Eduardo Herrera described the sale as driven by “strategic considerations,” signalling a deliberate exit from retail.

The group’s remaining focus sits on its 100,000+ m² office portfolio at the Real Business Centre in San Isidro, the MacrOpolis industrial park in Lurín, and its national lot-sales network. In its 2025 annual report the company noted a further 7% rise in consolidated revenue compared with 2024, suggesting the refocused business continues to grow.

What to watch

• Minka proceeds deployment. The S/ 381M (US$111M) cash inflow — large relative to the company’s market value — could reduce its S/ 1.1 (US$0.32)B debt pile or fund industrial and office expansion; how management deploys it will define the next phase.
• Investment-property valuations. The 2024 loss was accounting-driven: fair-value write-downs on offices and commercial properties. A Lima office-market recovery would reverse that drag without any operational change.
• Industrial land — the growth bet. The Nova Lurín satellite city integrates residential, commercial and industrial projects, and industrial lot sales were a key driver of 2024’s 27% revenue surge. Execution speed here is the main growth variable.
• Liquidity and governance. Centenario’s shares trade infrequently on the Lima exchange, making the stock hard to buy or sell quickly — a structural risk for any minority investor to weigh.

This is news, not investment advice.