Spotlight on FKP after big jump in share price

However, sources close to Mulpha told the Herald on Friday, when FKP's securities rose 24.5c to 83c in the last hour of trade, that they were as surprised as other investors.

One person denied Mulpha was involved in the activity, while Stockland's corporate affairs managers declined to comment on the speculation.

It is expected FKP will be asked to explain the trading activity to the stock exchange today, which will be its second "speeding ticket" issued in a week. Last Tuesday the group said it was unable to offer any specific reason for its sudden share price movements.

Goodman Group was also issued with the same questions and was also unaware of why its share price had jumped.

Mulpha owns 22.8 per cent of FKP and has two of directors on the FKP board. Stockland bought a strategic 15 per cent stake in FKP last year, saying that it was interested in its retirement assets.

Property analysts have consistently said Mulpha would be keen to buy out FKP's land banks and developments, leaving its large retirement home assets to Stockland.

Other listed aged-care stocks also enjoyed solid price gains on Friday. Aevum, in which Stockland holds a 13 per cent stake, rose 10c to 69c and the Lend Lease-managed Prime Retirement Fund rose 9.5c to 19.5c.

However, another explanation for the sharp gains in FKP shares was the company's completing the sale late on Friday of its TAC House in Geelong. It was said that a private syndicate paid about $85 million for the highly sought site.

The site has a triple, 10-year lease to the Teacher's Association and has been keenly bid for in the past four months through the agents DTZ.

FKP also recently negotiated the Energex deal with Cromwell Corp for about $173 million.

Analysts said the cash from those two deals would go straight to FKP's bottom line, which would give it some breathing space over any banking covenants.

In the past two weeks there has also been a re-rating of the real estate investment trust sector as investors believed the trusts had been oversold and now represented good buying.

All the big players have seen their prices double, albeit from very low bases, in the past two weeks.

One reason is that British investors have stopped selling their Australian real estate investment trust holdings and now see them as good buys at these low prices.

The expectation of another cut in interest rates has also been a positive for the property groups as it has attracted buyers back to the physical market.