Nick Wilson

Property Correspondent

ANALYSTS expect UK-based property group Liberty International to deliver solid results for the half-year to June tomorrow, and will be homing in on its income from property trading.

Liberty International — which has a significant South African shareholding — has been a consistently good performer over the past few years.

Andisa Securities property analyst Len van Niekerk said yesterday one item he would be "looking out for" was Liberty International’s income line from property trading.

"It’s not part of their core business of renting out space, and it’s mainly in their Capital & Counties’ division that they buy and sell properties," he said.

Van Niekerk said although it was difficult to forecast income from trading activities as trading was done on a "piecemeal basis", the commercial property environment in the UK was "buoyant".

"It gives them an opportunity to generate capital profits from their trading portfolio. The income from trading activities is always a wild card, and there could be some positives coming out."

He said the core letting business was "predictable" and the market should see growth in that area.

Old Mutual Asset Management property head Colin Young said he was "expecting very good" results, as there was some "upside" in leases coming up for renewal at its Braehead shopping centre in Scotland.