CMN expands its portfolio by three office buildings
Českomoravská Nemovitostní (ČMN) is expanding its portfolio with three properties in Karlín, Prague. It is purchasing the Zirkon, Apeiron (Rubín) and Corso Karlín office buildings, which are right next to Křižíkova metro station with a total area of more than 30 000 sqm. The transaction was financed by Raiffeisenbank.
This means that ČMN real estate group's interests remain exclusively in the office real estate segment. “Last year confirmed to us that office buildings are among the most stable segments of commercial real estate. We continue to believe in the sector. The favourable trend is also evidenced by the current return of employees to offices, which we are seeing in our own buildings,” says Radek Stacha, Chairman of the Board of ČMN.
“This transaction illustrates the trend of growing investment power of Czech capital, which this year has the ambition to achieve a share of over 70% of the volume of office investments in the Czech Republic, which would be the historically highest share. Congratulations on the successful deal three office buildings. Despite the fact that these are not newly built buildings, the location ensures long-term high occupancy of buildings, as the address Křižíkova is one of the most popular in Prague due to its availability and facilities,” commented Vítězslav Doležal, Director in the Investment Properties at CBRE, which advised ČMN on the transaction.
ČMN aims to diversify its portfolio
Following the recent purchase of buildings, ČMN now manages a portfolio of nearly 150,000 sqm. in area. Next to the likes of CPI and Passerinvest, the company ranks among the largest local holders of office space in Prague. The range of individual buildings is quite diverse – in addition to significant projects such as Churchill Square above the main train station or BLOX building in Prague 6 in Dejvická CMN has now acquired historical buildings in Karlín.
“By diversifying the range of buildings in our portfolio, we want to offer potential tenants more types of offices, all with a convenient location and direct access to the metro. In the case of this latest acquisition, Karlín also caught our attention with its dynamic development in recent years and its overall potential,” added Stacha.
Designed by giants of architecture
The Corso Karlín office building was built in 1890 and is part of the ambitious Nový Karlín plan for the renovation of the former ČKD industrial complex in Karlín. Corso Karlín is a former industrial hall, known as the “tin factory”, which has been transformed into an efficient, modern office building by world-famous architects Ricardo Bofill Levi and Jean Pierre Carniaux.
The other two Karlín office buildings, Zirkon and Apeiron, were designed by Czech architect Václav Aulický, who became more widely known through his design for the controversial Žižkov Television Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Prague. All buildings fit into the company's strategy, which also takes into account the original and unique architecture and character of the buildings.
