ARTICLES LABELLED WITH TAG Prague

The Czech Republic has one of the longest and most complicated building procedures in the world and is ranked 156 out of 190 countries observed by The World Bank. Fortunately for real estate developers, the situation is slowly changing. Erwin Hanslik MRICS, Partner and CEE Head of Real Estate at Taylor Wessing talked to us about the legal and regulatory challenges investors and developers need to face in the Czech Republic.

Českomoravská Nemovitosti has acquired the BLOX office building in Prague's Dejvice district for more than €77 million (CZK 2 billion). The building's primary tenant is Amazon.  The acquisition was financed by ČSOB.

The number of office schemes built in Prague this year is the highest in the last five years: a total of 17 new buildings providing office space will have opened by the end of the year. The last time the market reached such a high figure was in 2014 – at the time, it was 18 schemes. In the meantime, the number was one-third lower, about 11 buildings on average.

The office space market in Prague is currently doing very well and has a great potential for further development. Its excellent condition is illustrated by several parameters that Cushman & Wakefield has been monitoring on a long-term basis and whose correct interpretation in relation to the current results is presented here. These indicators are primarily the highly positive trend in the office demand (the occupied office space increased by 47,000 sqm), vacancy rate remaining at its record-breaking low (with just 4.6% of stock being vacant) and the highest number of newly opened buildings in the last five years (17 buildings including 11 newly built ones).

KGAL has acquired the DRN office building in Prague for a pan-European special real estate Alternative Investment Fund (AIF). The purchase is in line with KGAL’s strategy of Europe-wide diversification across prime locations, and is its first investment in the Czech Republic. The fund now holds properties in Germany, Austria, Ireland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic.

The hotel investment market is reaching new heights in the Czech Republic with year to date volumes at €530 million and 10 hotel transactions. This is more than a 100% growth compared to the average yearly transaction volume of €250 million, recorded over the past five years.

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.

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.