More and more companies are considering expanding into Czech regions, but a lack of suitable office space is preventing them from doing so. In regions outside of Prague or Brno, there is not only a shortage of modern space for rent, but also a lack of flex operators. Those types of businesses could benefit from the growing interest of international companies in the Hub & Spoke or Flex & Core model, reports Colliers. 

The construction of the Pod Hády quarter in the Maloměřice and Obřany districts of Brno has officially started. Real estate group Trikaya began preparing the large-scale project on the brownfield site of the dilapidated Ergon factory. According to the development company, the total investment in the project will exceed CZK 4 billion (€163 million). The first residents will be able to move in in 2025.

In the first half of 2023, a total of 24,600 sqm of new office space was delivered to the Brno office market. Ostrava saw the delivery of no new office space, but the one that is under construction should be completed by the end of the year. The vacancy rate in the Brno office market in H1 2023 increased to 14.6% and in the Ostrava office market up to 7.8%, reports the Regional Research Forum (RRF).

Prague is the second most attractive market in CEE for hotel operators with a presence or interest in the region. Its popularity is backed up by H1 2023 being a period of healthy recovery for Prague hotels which achieved the second highest (after Budapest) RevPAR (revenue per available room) among the region’s capitals. In this year’s first six months, it reached €69, which is an increase of 57 percent versus H1 2022, and already a 5 percent increase versus the pre-Covid H1 2019. This was primarily driven by the strong ADR (average daily rate) growth, which surpassed 2019 levels by over 20 percent. Hotel operators are optimistic about the industry’s outlook and keen to expand across the CEE region. However, 28 percent of planned hotel projects in the region are facing delays or put on hold, mainly due to the increased development costs, reports Cushman & Wakefield in the Hotel Operator Beat survey.

PSN is opening up the brownfield site in Plynárenská Street in Brno to the public, which is being transformed into the "Brno Jedna" project. The company plans to organise small cultural and social events in the area, as well as the possibility of private renting of space. The developer is also leasing the existing office space, which is currently 60% occupied. Construction, which will include both apartments and new commercial units, will begin after all necessary permits have been processed. The approval process is expected to start this year. The company's goal is to revitalize the site overall so that it can offer a pleasant place to work, live and gather not only for local residents but also for the general public.

Stannah Stairlifts Limited, which has been helping disabled people to remain independent for more than 150 years and is a world market leader in the supply of stair lifts, moved in March to larger production premises in CTPark Brno Líšeň, where it leases more than 6,000 sqm. This is not the end of the expansion, however, as the company plans to move all their European rail production to Brno in the coming year, in order to provide faster and more flexible deliveries to European customers.

Investment group DRFG has announced the acquisition of the new multifunctional development project Tři Dvory, with a market value of CZK 1 billion (€42.3 million). The project will be located on the site of a former royal mill on the outskirts of Újezd u Brna, in close proximity to the Stara Hora vineyards. Construction is due to start in spring 2024 and final completion is planned for spring 2026. 

The average price of older flats in the Czech Republic fell by nine percent year-on-year to CZK 82,351 per sqm (€3,510 per sqm), which brought an overall increase in sales by two-thirds compared to the previous year. However, Prague has seen the fewest sales of older apartments in four years. According to ČTK and HN.cz, this is the result of a study by the real estate group European Housing Services (EHS), which uses data from its founding members, Bezrealitky and Maxima Reality.

At the beginning of the pandemic, it seemed that many coworking centres or serviced offices could not survive the measures implemented under the Covid-19 pandemic. Shared workspaces, whose philosophy is based on meeting, personal communication, and collaboration, were hit hard by governmental restrictions. But a December analysis by JLL shows promising results; with the retreat of anti-pandemic measures, most coworking and serviced office operators have already felt a new wave of interest, and 2022 has confirmed this trend.

Despite significantly lower prices than in the capital, markets for offices in Brno and Ostrava are struggling with rising vacancies. Other regional markets, however, now offer opportunities for developers, investors or serviced office providers, thanks to the potential of the Hub & Spoke concept. The latter centres around a strategy where companies reduce the size of the main office and then supplement it with smaller spaces in different locations. Alongside that, there is the Flex & Core office space usage concept, which combines a smaller main office with a membership of one or more co-working centres. These options to curb office vacancies are mentioned in a recent survey by Colliers.