Brno-based investment group Portiva has acquired the SmíchOFF office building in Prague from Penta Real Estate for more than CZK 1 billion, the new owner announced on its website. The acquisition of the premium LEED Gold-certified commercial property represents another step for Portiva Group in fulfilling its vision of growth through a balanced mix of quality acquisitions.

In December 2021, the construction output increased by 8.1%, year-on-year (y-o-y), in real terms. In the month-on-month (m-o-m) comparison, it was 1.8% higher. December was, in terms of year-on-year indices, the most successful month of 2021 too. The planning and building control authorities granted 8.3% more building permits, y-o-y. The approximate value of permitted constructions increased by 52.8%, y-o-y. The number of started dwellings increased by 120.8%, y-o-y. The number of completed dwellings decreased by 18.7%, y-o-y, the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) announced in a report.

Clients interested in new industrial premises in the Czech Republic had very little to choose from last year. Thanks to record demand, which reached a record 2.39 million sqm in gross terms for the whole year, vacancy rates fell to 1.63%, a historic low. The result was also affected by a lower volume of completed industrial properties, mainly due to the impact of anti-pandemic measures. However, this changed at the end of the year when a record 800,000 sqm of industrial space was under construction. The urgent need to meet tenants' enormous demand is also evidenced by the fact that the share of speculative development has once again increased after a longer period of inactivity, 108 Agency reported today.

In 2021, PSN has grown not only in the number of collaborators but also in the number of projects and new acquisitions. It sold 294 units for CZK 1.5 billion and completed over 800 leases worth CZK 70 million. PSN's plans for the next five years include the construction of 3,000 new apartments worth CZK 11 billion and it plans to invest another CZK 10 billion in land acquisitions.

Last year, 9698 flats in Prague received final building permits, which is 5363 more than the year before and the most since 1997, the year from which data is available. This is according to data on the construction industry published by the Czech Statistical Office (CSO). In recent years, the Czech capital has been struggling with a rise in housing prices by tens of percents a year, which the city's authorities say is also due to insufficient construction. Deputy Mayor Petr Hlaváček said that with the recovery of construction, the prices of flats are expected to get cheaper in the medium term, Czech News Agency reports.

JRD Land, a division of JRD Group, has appointed a new CEO, Alexandra Tomášková, on 1 February 2022. The company has a market value of signed acquisition contracts of CZK 2.2 billion. It now wants to focus on the rapid development of a portfolio of building land and larger land units for future sustainable construction. The development company JRD Development, a member of the JRD Group, is expected to deliver building plots worth up to CZK 15 billion by 2025, the company announced in the press release.

Savills, together with Eastdil Secured, has advised Macquarie Capital Principal Finance and Elite Partners Capital on the sale of a pan-European logistics portfolio, Elite Logistics Fund I to Blackstone European Property Income Fund (BEPIF) for €520 million.

The Czech patent and pins factory owned by Koh-i-Noor Waldes is moving out of Prague after 120 years. Due to the merge with Massag factory the company is heading to Bílovec now. The current owner Pražská správa nemovitostí (PSN) plans to transform the historical factory buildings in the Prague Vršovice complex into a multifunctional project with 550 modern apartments and shops, e15.cz reports.

AFI Europe has taken stock of the results for 2021, a year in which it has been fully committed to implementing its new corporate strategy focused exclusively on rental housing. The company is currently constructing four buildings in three residential projects in Prague. It plans to complete the larger part of them this year.

U.S. logistics giant GXO lands at CTPark Bor. This large unit in the size of 60,000 sqm will lift the Czech/German border market hotspot hub to full capacity. It will boost the development demand at CTP satellite sites in Aš and Cheb too, the company reports.