Listed property loan stock company Calulo Property Fund has delivered below-par growth in distributions for the six months to December, attributing the decreased distributions to the realignment of its policies with Pangbourne Properties.

Pangbourne Properties, which has acquired more than 60% of Calulo Property, is in the process of restructuring Calulo Property into a specialist office property fund.

Calulo declared a distribution of 8c a linked unit for the six months to December, a significant reduction from the 11,80c a linked unit for the corresponding period in 2005.

Calulo, chaired by Mkhuseli Faku, said it was now a Pangbourne unit and its “future strategy” was to refocus the existing portfolio to create a specialist office fund as part of “Pangbourne’s multi-fund strategy”.

Apart from its interest in Calulo, Pangbourne owns significant stakes in listed property loan stock companies iFour Properties and Siyathenga Property Fund, as well as in property finance company Paforma.

IFour owns a mix of property types while Siyathenga is a retail property-focused fund.

Calulo said its integration into the Pangbourne property management system had now been completed. “Management will concentrate on extracting value by assessing the lease profiles, expenses, renewals and other property fundamentals,” Calulo said.

In May last year, Matemeku Property Acquisitions 104 sold its 40% interest in Calulo to Pangbourne. Following this, Pangbourne had to make a mandatory offer to minority unitholders. As a result Pangbourne now has a holding of 63,3% in Calulo.

In the medium term Pangbourne plans to establish Calulo as a high-quality fund with assets of more than R2bn and a market capitalisation of more than R1bn. “The specialist office fund strategy will be positioned to take advantage of the opportunities in the commercial property market, which has recovered from high vacancies, oversupply and a slump in rental growth,” said Calulo.

The company said positive economic growth with improved business confidence had brought growth in demand for space.