The majority of the acquired portfolio consists of office and industrial properties and this bodes well for Redefine because property pundits are expecting an increase in demand for space in these two sectors.

Redefine said the portfolio comprised one retail, four office and four industrial properties. Eight of the properties are in Gauteng and one in KwaZulu-Natal.

Colin Young, fund manager of Old Mutual's South African-listed property funds, said yesterday that if you wanted to "play the property cycle correctly" you should be busying yourself buying office properties at cheap levels. "If the economy grows we can expect the office sector to be back in demand in two years' time," Young said.