By Thabang Mokopanele

Tenants seeking to renegotiate terms and refurbishment costs increasing.

Property company Putprop said yesterday although it was investigating possible opportunities in the market, there were no properties that met its investment guidelines and criteria.

The company, which declared an interim dividend of 15c a share for the six months to December, said it had no major capital projects under way in its portfolio.

Putprop said trading conditions in the next six months were expected to continue to be challenging with rising vacancies, longer collection times and a deterioration of rental escalations.

In existing rental agreements, tenants were seeking to renegotiate terms. Maintenance and refurbishment costs would increase substantially for the six months to June.

The group said: "The board is of the opinion that a reasonable growth in earnings will still be achieved in the second half of the year. The group will resume paying interim and final dividends for the foreseeable future."

Property revenue for the period was up 10% to R17,8m compared with R16,2m previously.

Source: Business Day