Bluehouse sold the Korso Karviná shopping centre (in the Northern Moravian region of the Czech Republic, east of Ostrava) to local investor Conseq Investment Management in this year’s first shopping centre transaction on the Czech market.
Bluehouse is a private equity real estate investment and asset management firm focused on Central and Southeastern Europe. It manages capital across multiple funds, investing on behalf of a diverse investor base. Since its founding in 2004, it has performed more than 50 property transactions, constantly expanding its portfolio by investing in opportunities with attractive risk-adjusted returns, while in parallel targeting exits for mature assets.
Iain Fanthorpe, Bluehouse said: “The sale of Korso Karvina was the result of accomplishing the objectives of our business plan which was to build upon the shopping centre’s strong fundamentals and reposition it as a modern retail destination suitable for longer-term investors seeking well-performing and stabilized assets. We are proud to hand over Korso Karvina to its new owners and on to its next chapter.”
Bluehouse bought Korso Karviná in 2017. During that acquisition as well as during the current disposal, Cushman & Wakefield was its advisor. Over the last three years, a successful improvement in the tenant mix and an increase in the centre’s performance took place. It was completely redeveloped and revitalised, including reconstruction of the Albert hypermarket and most tenants’ shops.
Michal Soták, Partner and Head of the Capital Markets team in the Czech Republic at Cushman & Wakefield commented: “Bluehouse bought Korso Karviná shopping centre with the intention to maximally utilize its potential and significantly increase its value. Thanks to quality revitalisation and a new letting strategy, it succeeded, the sale of the centre now being another natural step of the investor’s plan. The transaction proves the great interest in all types of commercial properties on the very stable Czech market, where investors would like to apply their accumulated capital. After a period of uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 crisis, they now return to retail projects with optimism.”
Together with Cushman & Wakefield who acted as commercial advisor, the CMS legal firm and financial advisor ASB participated in the transaction.
The buyer is the Conseq Realitní open-end fund. Conseq is an investment manager with more than 27 years of history in the Czech capital market. In addition to managing institutional portfolios, it has been managing and administering investment funds for 21 years and providing other services to retail and institutional investors. In these areas, Conseq has a significant market share and has already gained the trust of more than 500,000 clients. With a volume of managed assets of over CZK 80 billion (according to AKAT CR data), the Conseq Group is the largest independent investment manager in the Czech Republic.
Vladan Kubovec, Portfolio Manager, Conseq Realitní added: “Conseq considers investing in retail assets from a long term perspective and the acquired shopping centre Korso Karviná represents an excellent addition to the Conseq Realitní fund. Korso Karviná is the first shopping centre in our portfolio. Together with our advisors, we have carefully analysed many investment opportunities, where the centre refurbished by Bluehouse was selected as the best choice because of location and tenant mix. This relatively quick transaction improves the asset quality of Conseq Realitní.”
CBRE advised the buyer during the acquisition, Eversheds Sutherland provided legal services and E&Y financial and tax services.
Vítězslav Doležal, Director, Investment Properties, CBRE added: „We are pleased to be able to introduce the reputable Czech investor to Bluehouse in this off-market transaction. Conseq correctly predicts that the retail market will recover again after the economy opens up. Korso Karviná is a good example of resistant retail asset, as it is easily accessible to its customers and offers a wide range of goods and services that are constantly in demand..“
