Shareholders in Congella Federation (Confed) approved plans to dispose of its property portfolio and distribute the cash in a move that sees the investment holding company join the growing ranks of small companies exiting the JSE Security Exchange SA .

Pangbourne Properties said yesterday improved vacancy figures and the reduction of the operating costs of certain acquired properties resulted in an increased distribution for the year ended June 30 this year.

Property loan stock (PLS) company Pangbourne will soon move some prime properties into iFour, the PLS of which it bought 33% earlier this month. This could push iFour's holdings above R1bn.

Pretoria - Pangbourne Properties, the listed property investment company, has acquired a 34 percent stake in listed property loan stock company iFour Properties, in deals valued at R111.4 million.

Pangbourne Properties' move to increase its holdings of iFour linked units to 34% has sparked speculation that the group is looking to take out iFour's assets.

Property company Pangbourne Properties (PAP) has announced that it has agreed to collectively acquire from Growthpoint Properties and the Mine Employees Pension Fund (MEPF) 17.854 million iFour (IFR) linked units at 572 cents per linked unit for an aggregate consideration of R102.125-million.

THE first-half financial period for property loan stock company Pangbourne Properties was dominated by the tidying up of the group's portfolio following a merger with two other listed funds, CBD Properties and Pioneers Funds.

Directors of property loan stock company ApexHi emerged from the first half of the financial year confident that the group would deliver its full-year forecast distribution of 102c per A unit and 103c per B unit.

Conventional wisdom suggests that with the rand improving strongly against the world’s major currencies, and with inflation and interest rates expected to head back down from their current highs, one of the best places to look for good investments would be on the listed property market. But the experts warn otherwise, saying that while property shares are expected to rerate next year, other equity investments will do better.

Property loan stock company Pangbourne Properties will face the medium term with about 15% exposure to ApexHi Properties, as part of its policy of disposing of noncore assets