Bonatla director Niki Vontas said yesterday that property funds were becoming larger because of consolidation in the property industry and there was no place on the JSE Securities Exchange SA for companies with small market capitalisations like Bonatla (R100m).

Vontas said there was space for property operations involving "new ideas". "There will be new portfolios which will not only include investment properties, but you'll have trading properties, foreign properties and leisure properties," he said.

Bonatla also announced this week in its interim financial results for the six months to March this year, that it's revenue had increased from R56,6m in the same period last year to R61,4m.

Although the company's operating profit had increased by 7,76% to R39,08m, during the same period the sharp rise in finance costs and operating expenses resulted in a loss after taxation of R3,3m.

After adjustments for fair value to property investments the headline earnings for the period, amounted to R2,2m or 1,21c for each share compared with 2,57c in the same period last year.