Gross take-up on Prague’s office market in Q2 2019 amounted to 100,600 sqm, representing a 9% decrease on the previous quarter The Prague Research Forum announced the office market figures for the second quarter of 2019.

The information on investment transactions in the Czech real estate sector for H1 2019, collected by Cushman & Wakefield, indicates a significant increase in volume. The figure achieved – €1.743 billion – shows that the decrease in 2018 was just a sway and not a real trend. The real estate market is expected to thrive in the latter half as well and its total performance could exceed €3 billion.

Local investment fund Trigea has acquired the Louvre office building in Prague 5. The property has around 4,600 sqm of leasable space with tenants including Swiss rail carriage manufacturer Stadler, Lukoil Accounting and Finance Europe and health insurance company VZP.

Over the last years, the Czech capital on the Vltava river has strengthened its positioning as a city escape favourite among international leisure travellers. Specialist business property adviser Christie & Co’s analysis revealed that although competition on the hotel market is fierce, performance increased over the long run, despite last year’s mixed results.

Immofinanz is making a further strategic acquisition in the office sector with the purchase of the Palmovka Open Park in Prague through the takeover of the related real estate holding companies. This office location consists of three buildings with 25,800 sqm of rentable space. The agreed property value amounts to €76.4 million, and the expected rental income totals roughly €4.4 million per year. The seller is Metrostav Development, the project development company which completed the property in 2018. The seller was represented by Knight Frank.

Prague’s modern office stock located within a 10-minute walking distance from a metro station grew from 2.54 million sqm to 2.69 million sqm between Q4 2017 and Q1 2019, taking the amount of Prague offices located within this walking distance to 77% of the total stock, according to the third annual edition of the Prague Office Metro Map from Colliers International Czech Republic.

Following several successful transactions in Prague (Waltrovka, Rustonka, Main Point Pankrác), the sale of Bratislava’s Twin City Tower marks another major Central European deal involving a Korean investor. Cushman & Wakefield, which over the course of the past few months has helped bring a total of €600 million of Korean capital to the region, summarised the phenomenon.

Mint Investments Group has completed the acquisition of the Main Point Pankrác office building for South Korean investment company Hana Financial Investment. The value of the transaction exceeds €115 million. Mint provided the investment underwriting and advisory during the transaction and will be responsible for the property's asset management. Dentons, Cushman & Wakefield, Arcadis and TPA also advised on the transaction.

28 out of the total of 80 brands that tapped the market in the Central and Eastern European region in 2018 chose the Czech Republic as their destination. As a result, the number of new brands coming to the country remained the same as in the previous year. Poland is a close second with 26 new international brands having opened their first shops there last year. The figures come from the latest comparison prepared by Cushman & Wakefield, which monitors and compares data in the real estate sector across the region. This enables the company to provide a full picture of the developments on the Central European market.

Radisson Blu announced the opening of a new Radisson Blu Hotel in Prague. The reopening of this modern hotel follows the transformation of an existing property, with major capital investment going into the project to upgrade and rebrand the former hotel.