The largest transaction on the Czech office market this year took place in Prague. A listed building in one of Prague's most expensive streets, Na Příkopě, was bought from Commerzbank Group by Trinity Bank. The price of the transaction has not been officially disclosed, but it is likely to exceed CZK 2 billion (€82 million), making it this year's largest transaction on the office building market, writes online daily newstream.cz.
The former headquarters of Komerční banka, a listed building in Prague's Příkopy district near the Czech National Bank, is about to change hands. Trinity Bank, founded by financier Radomír Lapčík, has bought the building from a fund from the Commerzbank group. The new owner plans to open the building to clients and the public. The transaction was confirmed by Trinity Bank to the online daily newstream.cz.
Trinity Bank bought the building from HausInvest by Commerz Real. The price has not been disclosed, but according to an informed source from the real estate market, it exceeded CZK 2 billion (€82 million), making the deal one of this year's largest transactions in the commercial real estate sector and the largest transaction on the office building market. The Commerz Real Investmentgesellschaft fund acquired the building with the address Na Příkopě 33 from Société Générale Group, owner of Komerční banka, in 2017. It paid around CZK 1.5 billion (€61.6 million) at the time.
The 16,000 sqm building was built in 1930-37 following the plans of architects Karel Jaray and Josef Sakař as the Escompte Bank. The corner building is six storeys high and the facade is clad with travertine. It has been listed since 1958. The Eskomptní banka was founded in the 19th century and was nationalized together with the building during the Protectorate (WWII). After the Prague Uprising, the bank's headquarters became the headquarters of the Czech Social Democratic Party, and then in the 1990s it became the headquarters of Komerční banka. "We want to respect the history of this place, where the most famous Prague café "Cafe francais" was visited by the Czech historian František Palacký and the Hungarian composer Ferenc Liszt. We want to revive the building and bring it closer to the people of Prague, so we are planning various cultural events, social gatherings and pop-up activities," said Radomír Lapčík, co-owner of Trinity Bank. Primarily, however, the building will be opened to Trinity Bank clients.
Trinity Bank grew by 74 percent in 2022 and made a profit of one billion crowns before tax (€41 million). Trinity Bank's balance sheet total is now CZK 76 billion (€3.120 billion) and the number of clients is close to 150,000.
