Blue-chip listed property funds Hyprop Investments and Fountainhead Property Trust emerged winners for the third time in a row in the Financial Mail (FM) Listed Property Investment Awards held in Cape Town last week.

Specialist retail property fund Hyprop won in the retail property category and Fountainhead won in the office category.

This is the third consecutive year the two funds have won in their respective categories.

Emira Property Fund won in the industrial property category.

The awards recognise the top total return performance of listed property funds in the Investment Property Databank (IPD) over a three-year period. Total return includes capital return and income return.

In the retail category, Hyprop delivered a total return of 40,6%, compared with the three-year listed fund benchmark total return of 31,3%.

Fountainhead delivered a 42,3% total return in the office category compared with the three year listed fund benchmark total return of 27, 9%.

In the industrial category, Emira delivered a 43,2% return compared with the three-year benchmark of 33,6%.

Stan Garrun, MD of IPD SA, says the fact that Hyprop and Fountainhead have won for three years in a row illustrates the quality of their portfolios.

Garrun says while distribution growth is important in the listed property sector, the IPD data highlight the quality of management and the quality of underlying assets.

“It is not possible to outperform consistently on the IPD measurement without strong income earning growth and good-quality property fundamentals. Vacancies have to be low, costs have to be controlled, rental income needs to be strong, and lease covenance has to be well-managed,” he says.

Source: Business Day