Czech investor Arete Group’s third fund, focused on quality industrial and logistics assets in the CEE region, completed the acquisition of a production and storage facility near Beroun, 20 km from Prague. This is the acquisition of a complex used for the production and storage of the Czech company Hronovský s.r.o., which was founded in 1990 and is one of the leaders in the field of cable assembly production, machining on CNC machines, pressing of plastic components and assembly of mechatronic components. The financial volume of the transaction exceeded almost €10 million.

According to Savills, the Czech nationwide industrial vacancy rate declined again and reached a new historic low of 2.4%, after dropping by 89 basis points (bps) since the end of 2020. The volume of new industrial space delivered to the market during H1 2021 was 43% down year-on-year (y-o-y). The total stock of modern industrial premises in the country grew by 192,300 sqm, of which 110,800 sqm were completed in Q2 2021. At the end of June, the total stock stood at 9.3 million sqm.

Following their reopening in May, shopping centres have seen both their revenue and footfall increase to a rate exceeding the performance during the same period last year. The footfall was lower than in the pre-crisis year 2019, but the revenue was comparable; in fact, it was slightly higher. Supermarkets and hypermarkets fare the best in terms of revenue; electronics and health and beauty products are also doing well. The current performance of shopping centres can therefore be described as very strong, with figures exceeding initial expectations, and investors show renewed interest in properties again, with several major retail transactions being planned for this year and the next. To date, office and logistics properties have been selling the best this year.

A lack of materials and an increase in the price of construction work is troubling the industrial real estate market in the Czech Republic. Industrial space in desirable locations is in short supply. Occupancy rates in Prague and the close surroundings are rising and vacancy rates have almost reached zero. Tenants are well aware of the situation and it has become more common for them to extend their lease contracts for longer periods, according to 108 Agency’s market summary.

Ecologistics, a 3PL company operating in the Czech Republic since 2017, has been expanding recently on the Czech property market, leasing in total 63,300 sqm of Class A commercial space in 4 industrial parks in Prague-West and in Pilsen-Stenovice from Prologis, GLP and Logicor. Ecologistics serves global e-commerce companies whose goods have been delivering to customers in the Czech and Slovak Republics as well as in Germany. The distribution centre in the Czech Republic was the second logistic hub Ecologistics opened in Europe after having entered the UK market. The firm has so far built a robust logistic framework across Western Europe, currently leasing premium logistics space also in Germany, France, Spain and Italy.  

Prime headline rents have increased slightly to a new level of €5 sqm/month in the Czech Republic and €5.20 sqm/month in the Greater Prague region during the second quarter of 2021. The Industrial Research Forum announced the latest industrial market figures.

Total commercial property investment volumes climbed to €426 million in the Czech Republic during the second quarter of 2021, according to Savills latest research. This represents a 42% increase compared to the same period last year and a 47% increase in investment activity compared to the previous quarter.

Gross take-up on the Prague office market in Q2 2021 amounted to 89,300 sqm, representing a 5% decrease on the previous quarter but a 10% increase in a year-on-year comparison. The Prague Research Forum has published the office market figures for the past quarter.

CBRE acted as an advisor to Patria Investiční společnost in the acquisition of a portfolio of two retail parks for the newly established Patria Logistics and Retail Fund from the Czech development group KPD. The two assets are the Ovčáry Retail Park in Kolín with a retail area of ​​8,950 square meters and tenants such as Lidl, Sinsay, Teta, Pepco, Tedi and Deichmann, and the Mohelnice Retail Park with an area of ​​approximately 2,750 square meters and long-term tenants, which are Mountfield and Jysk.

The PRS market in the CEE region gathers pace and interest from investors but the majority of activity is currently centred around the Czech Republic and Poland. However, there is a larger number of PRS/BTR projects being announced in the pipeline for delivery over the next few years across the entire region. Colliers, in cooperation with Kinstellar and Greenberg Traurig, publishes a report entitled 'The Private Rental Sector: Has it found a home in CEE?'