Hyprop Investments has adjourned its general meetings called to vote on the group's takeover bid for rival SA Retail, saying it would be doing further canvassing of SA Retail unitholders about its takeover prospects

Business Day interview with Simon Pearse.

Property group Marriott, which manages listed property fund SA Retail Properties, said on Thursday that most of the 15% of SA Retail unitholders who have said that they will not accept Hyprop's takeover offer are Marriott unit trusts.

Property group Marriott, which manages SA Retail Properties, has launched a new defensive action in its battle to stop a takeover of SA Retail by rival Hyprop Investments.

Property group Marriott upped the ante yesterday in its bid to protect SA Retail, which it manages, from a hostile takeover by Hyprop Investments.

SA Retail Properties has been on a unitholder roadshow to promote a planned transaction with Martprop.

Listed loan stock company will appoint an independent financial adviser to consult on an offer made by Hyprop to buy all of its linked units.

Listed property had another good run in 2004 achieving average total returns of 41%, outperforming the JSE Securities Exchange’s all-share index, bonds and cash. Those who invested in listed property via specialist unit trust funds (offered by among others Coronation, Marriott, Old Mutual and Stanlib) would have achieved similar returns. Figures from Standard & Poor’s (see unit trust pages) confirm that flexible property unit trust funds achieved total returns over the past 12 months of between 30% and 38%. The top performer in this sector was Old Mutual’s SA Quoted Property fund.

Stanlib has closed its multi manager property fund to new investments, saying its assets have reached R1,2bn in just more than two years, which is close to the 'optimal size of a local portfolio'

Leading unit trust company Stanlib announces with effect 1 February 2005 its Multi-Manager Property Fund - run by Marriott Properties and Standard Bank Properties - is closed to new investment. Stanlib head of investments Malcolm Holmes