THE fast-growing property loan stock sector of the JSE Securities Exchange SA is to record another listing when Acucap Properties debuts with property assets worth R865m next week.

Acucap will list 39,6million linked units at R10 a share, boosting the number of JSE's property loan stock companies to 19. The listing comes at a time when high vacancies and declining rentals have taken their toll on the property sector.

Last week's interest rate increase, the second this year, has not helped as it impedes those who have been looking to maximise earnings through high but positive gearing.

Acucap has nevertheless promised to deliver a quality and high-yielding listed property portfolio and said it still saw opportunity to enhance growth through appropriate levels of hedged gearing.

It said its strategy has been underpinned by two core values: quality and growth.

Acucap said its portfolio was built up property by property and not by injection of an existing portfolio into the fund. This has allowed the company ensure the quality of its portfolio.

The fund was expected to command market capitalisation of R400m at listing and the long-term objective was to build a portfolio with a market capitalisation of about R4bn. The group said it should achieve R2bn within the first five years of listing.

The group said its growth would not only come through acquisition but also through development of certain properties within the portfolio.

The fund will enter the JSE with a relatively high gearing of 54,4%. A substantial portion of this gearing had fixed interest rates.

Acucap's portfolio mixes offices, retail and other commercial properties. It is spread across the country with a particular bias in Gauteng and the Western Cape.

The list of 24 properties includes the Gold Fields headquarters in Parktown, Johannesburg.