Accolade Group has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in the Karlovarská Business Park complex near Prague Airport from Czech real estate fund Conseq realitní. Accolade is now 100% the owner of this complex. Both parties have decided not to disclose the amount of the transaction, which was brokered by CBRE.
Accolade Group has expanded its portfolio with the Karlovarská Business Park. The group became the sole owner of the property after buying a majority stake from the Czech real estate fund Conseq Realitní. The complex includes four buildings with a total area of 19,500 sqm used for e-commerce, logistics, offices and retail. The park is located at the intersection of the Prague ring road and the D6 motorway near Prague's Václav Havel Airport. The transaction, which was negotiated by CBRE, is confidential.
"Karlovarská Business Park ranks among the best parks in the region due to its prospective. The acquisition of the park fits perfectly into our investment strategy, in which diversification of the portfolio in terms of tenants and regions is key for us," said Lukáš Répal, Chief Operating Officer of Accolade. Current tenants of the site include bus and coach manufacturer EvoBus, healthcare company Fresenius Medical Care and European HVAC manufacturer Lindab. The Karlovarská Business Park was acquired in 2017 by Conseq Realitní together with Accolade Group, with Conseq Realitní holding a majority stake and contributing 90% to the transaction.
A shortage of land for new construction combined with high demand in recent years has reduced industrial property vacancy to an all-time low of around 1%. This has led to rents in some locations rising by a record 60 % since 2020, the fastest rate in Europe. This trend is encouraging investment in the industrial property sector even in a period of high-interest rates, which explains the continued interest from investors.
"The high demand for industrial and logistics space in Prague and the surrounding area has led to a rapid increase in premium rents, in some cases up to €7.90 per sqm per month for an average unit of 5,000 sqm. For smaller units or custom-built units, rents can be even higher. Although headline rents in the country are already reaching similar levels to those in Germany (Munich €8.5 per sqm/month), the benefit of cheap labour prevails at an average of around €1,800 per person per month, which is roughly two and a half times less than in Germany," said Vítězslav Doležal, a director in CBRE's investment team.
