Property fund CIREF, which has a 60% South African shareholding and is listed on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM), is in acquisition mode with the announcement on Monday it had secured property investments of more than R500m.

These included a planned mixed-use development scheme which would ultimately have a value of about R3bn, said chairman Gavin Tipper.

Tipper said the fund had been working on a "lot of these developments and acquisitions" for some time.

Retail property makes up more than half of the property fund's portfolio.

It intended developing the mixed-use scheme in Wakefield town centre in south Yorkshire as a 50% joint venture partner with Modus Properties.

The development includes a 48,000m² multilevel shopping centre, more than 70 apartments and an indoor market hall with a car park for more than 1000 cars. Construction is expected to be completed by the middle of 2010.

The fund has also bought out its joint-venture partner, Sandcroft, in 29 Kwik-Fit tyre outlets for R32,2m.

The fund will also acquire a one-third interest in The Birchwood Shopping Centre in Warrington, northwest England, for R230m.

CIREF has acquired a 50% interest in offices at 26 The Esplanade, in Jersey, for R192m.

It has also invested R21,2m in the acquisition of the Four Health Care Group as part of a consortium.

The business has care homes located across the UK.

Tipper said the fund had made the investment with the objective of ?achieving some exposure to the large property portfolio underlying the business?.

Its property portfolio is worth more than R1bn and it has a market capitalisation of about R700m.

CIREF, which listed on AIM in May, said investors had received 20% capital appreciation since then.

Business Day
Publisher: I-Net Bridge
Source: I-Net Bridge