CEO Brian Azizollahoff attributed the increase to a number factors, including improved letting on the part of the company; an increase in rentals; lower interest rates; controlled expenses; and the performance of its listed property portfolio.

Redefine is a hybrid listed property fund which invests in both listed property portfolios on the JSE Securities Exchange SA as well as in fixed property assets. The term hybrid refers to an investment in both listed property stocks and fixed property assets.

Redefine has benefited from its interests in listed property loan stocks Hyprop Investments, ApexHi Properties and Spearhead Property Holdings, which produced positive financial results.

Redefine reported a distribution for each linked unit of 32c, compared with 29,75c the previous year.

Stanlib Property Income Fund fund manager Mariette Warner said that Redefine was on a "normalised base", after the Arnold Property Fund (A-Prop) "disappointment" where Redefine suffered a permanent loss in income from which it could not recover.

Listed property loan stock A-Prop, which has been turned around by its new fund managers Corovest, suffered a substantial drop in the value of its units, as well as a drop in distributions.

Redefine, whose interest in A-Prop was previously more than 30%, suffered a drop in distributions last year because of this. Redefine has also reduced its interest in A-Prop to 9,7%.

Warner said Redefine's 15% increase in net asset value from 240,79c a linked unit last year to 276,9c a linked unit emphasised the strengthening of the underlying physical property market insofar as higher market rentals and lower vacancies were concerned.

Redefine, which has managed to lease 94,7% of its property portfolio, is positive about the company's prospects moving forward, saying it was also expecting growth in its distributions for next year.

The company has also purchased a 50% undivide share in a property at Shelly Beach in KwaZuluNatal for R155,5m in a post-balance sheet transaction. A shopping centre worth about R200m will be developed on the site.