Australian property services giant UGL said on Monday that it has received unsolicited offers of third-party interest for DTZ which it is now evaluating to see whether they are 'in the best interests of shareholders'.

Australian property services giant UGL said on Monday that it has received unsolicited offers of third-party interest for DTZ which it is now evaluating to see whether they are 'in the best interests of shareholders'.

In a statement to announce its half-year results, UGL said it is continuing with demerger preparations for DTZ which remains the group's preferred option.

A separation of DTZ from the UGL business is being sought before the end of 2014.

'The board, in recognition of its obligation to act in the best interests of shareholders, will evaluate unsolicited third-party interest received in DTZ to determine whether these indicative proposals are in the best interests of shareholders,' said UGL.

It added: 'While we continue to proceed as quickly as we can to prepare the business to operate on a standalone basis it is business as usual for both DTZ and Engineering and we are working to ensure no disruption to clients, employees, partners or other stakeholders.'

UGL confirmed in August last year that it planned to demerge DTZ into a stand-alone company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

UGL, a Sydney-listed global diversified services company, acquired London-based DTZ in December 2011 for €90 mln. DTZ is now headquartered in Los Angeles in the US.

DTZ has performed well since the merger, growing to account for about 50% of the group's earnings. Meanwhile UGL's core businesses - engineering, construction and maintenance services - have plunged.

'We believe a demerger will enhance shareholder value over the short and long term and prove beneficial to our clients and our people,' said UGL Chairman Trevor Rowe, commenting on the results.

In the half year to 31 December, DTZ reported an 18% increase in revenue to A$1.08 bn (€711 mln), while EBIT grew 27% to A$58.3 mln. UGL said the business continues to benefit from increased activity in the corporate real estate and facilities management markets in the US, while the European market is also showing signs of increased activity.

'DTZ continues to provide solid growth prospects to offset the softer Australian market with its favourable exposure to the growth potential in Asia, and the recovering UK and North American markets,' commented Richard Leupen, UGL's managing director & CEO.