Jones Lang LaSalle recently reported flat net income of $40.5 million, or $1.31 per share, for 2001, matching its 2000 performance but in line with its revised earnings estimates. However, Ariel Capital Management portfolio managers John W. Rogers Jr.and Eric T. McKissack say the company is one of three "very solid franchise businesses" they are loading up on. Their other favorites: high-end retailer Neiman Marcus Group and Springfield, IL-based publisher Journal Register Co.

Ariel Capital investors were rewarded Friday, as the stock jumped 3.8% to $17.87 per share. That made Ariel Capital's stake in Jones Lang LaSalle worth $95.5 million.

Now Jones Lang LaSalle's largest institutional shareholder, Ariel Capital Management surpasses The Dai-ichi Life Property Holdings, Inc., whose 2.2 million shares represent a 7.3% stake in Jones Lang LaSalle. The company is a subsidiary of The Dai-ichi Mutual Life Insurance Co. of Tokyo.

Jones Lang LaSalle has shed 700 employees, paying $40 million in severance costs while reducing its payroll by $50 million a year, according to chief operating officer Peter C. Roberts. The reductions were among $77.2 million in charges taken by the company last year during its restructuring.

In addition, the company paid down $28 million in debt last year, says Jones Lang LaSalle president and chief executive officer Chris A. Peacock, and $100 million over the past two years. That puts Jones Lang LaSalle $40 million, or a year-and-a-half, ahead of its debt reduction schedule, Roberts adds.