Garbe Institutional Capital has launched a pan-European residential real estate fund with a total target investment volume (GAV) of around €800 million. The Garbe European Residential Fund (Garbe EUResi) invests in real estate developments and selectively also in properties undergoing energy rehabilitation. The investment strategy follows a "boots on the ground" approach: the fund only invests in locations where Garbe can act as a local investor through a local presence. The fund’s launch is a milestone in Garbe Institutional Capital’s move to expand into a European residential real estate platform. Garbe EUResi has already received equity commitments of €82.5 million.

UBM Development Czechia has completed the reconstruction of the more than 100-year-old former Cukrovarnicky Palace on Senovážné Square in the centre of Prague. The 176-room five-star Andaz Prague hotel will open in the historic building, marking the Hyatt chain’s entry into the Czech Republic. The hotel will be put into trial operation in early 2022.

The office market is changing due to the coronavirus pandemic, albeit not as dramatically as initially expected. Offices as a concept are definitely not over and working from home is not becoming a lasting standard – it has been confirmed that it has its limitations and that personal contact is irreplaceable. A hybrid model, combining working in the office and at home, will likely be more common. Office space take-up is still below the pre-crisis figures, but the activity on the market has been growing recently. For the time being, the growth has not been enough to justify the growth in rental prices that would be necessary due to an increase in construction material prices, but both can be expected to grow in the future. The crisis has halted the progress of some schemes, so we will not see a major increase in new office stock before 2023. This could result in demand overhang, and thus in increased rents in the years to come, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Investment market experts in the Czech Republic are concerned about the potential effects of high inflation and rising interest rates on the market. At the same time, they remain highly optimistic about the future of logistics and keep ESG at the top of their agenda, according to a recent panel discussion at Prague Property Forum 2021, moderated by Jaroslav Kaizr MRICS, Expert Director of the MBARE programme at VŠE.

Passerinvest Group has begun the construction of the new Roztyly Plaza office building. The building, with a total area of 23,000 sqm from the workshop of the architect studio Aulík Fišer architekti, is going up right by the Roztyly metro station (C line) in Prague 11. Apart from the office function, the project also offers a public P+R parking lot and several retail units, which will significantly expand the local civic amenities.

Occupancy rates in Prague’s hotels were 50% higher during the summer holidays this year in comparison with last July and August, propelling Prague upwards in the European cities’ chart. Room rates exceeded €64 in the summer, also an improvement over last year. Many hotels worked with an operating profit and the growing number of reservations is also a positive sign. Autumn traditionally brings a drop in tourism and thus in performance – September occupancy rates are still comparable with summer rates and prices are even higher, but there are concerns about another wave of the pandemic and the potential operating restrictions. However, the improved performance in the summer has confirmed again that Prague’s hospitality market has been consistently sought after and popular, and its performance is hindered mostly by external and temporary factors.

Revetas announced the successful disposal of the remaining assets of its Revetas Capital Fund II’s Project Papa office portfolio in Prague, bringing the total transaction value to over €100 million. One of the four assets initially comprised in the portfolio, BBC Vila, has previously been sold to Passerinvest Group. The three remaining buildings with a total GLA of c. 33,000 sqm are located in close proximity of each other in the Karlin neighbourhood of Prague’s 8th district and were acquired by local real estate group Českomoravská Nemovitostní (ČMN). The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

A consortium of Penta Real Estate, Kaprain Group and Sekyra Group has acquired a land plot of 20,122 sqm from the University of Chemistry and Technology (VŠCHT) in the western part of Vítězné náměstí in Prague 6 for over €39 million (CZK 1 billion), Penta announced in a press release.

Masaryčka and Nová Waltrovka, two office buildings that are currently being developed in Prague by Penta Real Estate, will offer the technology solutions of local proptech Sharry.

Hines Global Income Trust has acquired Eastgate Park. This property is the 17th industrial asset in the Hines Global portfolio and is 99% leased.