Weinhold Legal has advised Ceska Posta on its CZK 353 million sale of the St. Gabriel Monastery to the Cimex Group.
Weinhold Legal describes the monastery, which located in Prague’s Smichov district, as “a large monument of high historical and cultural value.”
The Weinhold Legal team was led by Partner Martin Lukas in cooperation with Attorney-at-Law Vaclav Straser and Junior Associate Simon Zlotir.
Kinstellar has advised Raiffeisenbank on acquisition financing for KWR Czech’s acquisition of DCK Holoubkov, a company that produces all-plastic outdoor low-voltage distribution switchboards, from two unnamed individuals. KWR Czech, owned by BHS Fund II Private Equity, was advised by JSK both on the financing and on the underlying acquisition. The amount of the financing was not disclosed.
Kinstellar’s team was led by Counsel Martina Brezinova and included Junior Associates Jakub Stastny and Igor Sebo.
JSK’s team included Partners Tomas Dolezil and Roman St’astny, Managing Associate Michal Jendzelovsky, Senior Associate Daniel Pospisil, and Junior Lawyers Jana Sabova and Sebastian Speta.
BPV Braun Partners has advised Carrier Transicold on the sale of its Czech subsidiary.
According to BPV Braun Partners, “Carrier Transicold helps improve the transport of temperature-controlled goods with a complete line of equipment and services for refrigerated transport and cold chain visibility. For more than 45 years, Carrier Transicold has been an industry leader, providing customers around the world with advanced, energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable trailer refrigeration systems for light commercial vehicles, trucks and trailers.”
BPV Braun Partners’ team consisted of Partner Arthur Braun and Associate Pavel Brezina. The firm did not reply to our request for more information.
KSB’s has helped the Experientia Foundation “transform and professionalize.”
Accordng to KSB, “the Experientia Foundation, founded by spouses Hana and Dalimil Dvorak in 2013, supports young scientists from the field of organic, bio-organic, and medicinal chemistry on internships abroad and in the Czech Republic thanks to scientific start-up grants.”
KSB’s team was led by Partner Vlastimil Pihera.
The Czech Republic has – due to its strategic location in the heart of Europe – always been an important transportation and business hub. It has one of the highest densities of railway networks in Europe, with almost 1,200 km of track for every 10,000 square kilometers in the country, and it is also an important road transportation hub.
It is therefore no surprise that the Czech warehousing and logistics market is growing at a record pace, as it is across most of Europe. Partly this trend is influenced by issues such as Brexit, with British companies increasing their logistics and transportation capacities in anticipation of the changes Brexit will bring. Another important factor is the steady rise of e-commerce as a source of business for warehousing and logistics companies. The Czech Republic is an interesting market for traditional as well as new companies. In any case, and for whatever reasons, the total warehouse area in the Czech Republic has more than doubled in the last decade, to eight million square meters.
There is also a huge demand for office space, especially in Prague. The Czech Association for Real Estate Market Development puts the office vacancy rate in the Czech Republic at less than 5%. The total area of newly-constructed offices in Prague alone will reach 75,000 square meters in 2019, and we expect this rate of construction to accelerate in coming years. Demand for office space is created both by local companies as well as by international companies drawn to Prague because of its lower living costs, talented workforce, and strategic location in the center of Europe. This also increases the pressure on the residential real estate market, where we see a substantial increase in purchase prices and rents. Since 2010, the price of a newly-built flat has risen by an average of 35% — much quicker than household income.
The growth of co-working centers is a new phenomenon, not limited to the Czech Republic. We expect the total area occupied by co-working operators to increase from less than 5% to over 20% in coming years. We have seen almost a two-fold increase of co-working office space created in the last two years alone – from less than 50,000 to almost 90,000 square meters. The demand for co-working centers is created both by SMEs as well as corporations, which usually use co-working centres for smaller teams focused on innovation or new product development. Many international companies and start-ups have also started sending teams to the Czech Republic to scout for and make use of local talent (especially software developers) and finding homes for them in co-working space.
In logistics the factor that is the biggest obstacle to even more robust growth is the very slow rate of development of highways and roads in the country. This problem has plagued the Czech Republic for many years. In 2018 only four kilometers of new highways were opened. Only once in the last decade has the country created more than 20 kilometers of new highways in a year. Equally frustrating is the slow pace of renewal, reflected in the apparently interminable reconstruction of the main connection between the two biggest Czech cities – Prague and Brno.
Indeed, construction of many parts of the highway system has not even begun. Many Czech highways do not reach the border, making connections to some neighbouring countries inconvenient. This is most striking in the south, where there is no main connection to Austria – even though on the Austrian side the highway to the border was just recently finished.
Couple that with the fact that the process of acquiring a building permit is generally extremely time-consuming, and you end up with a very challenging business.
However, currently Czech construction laws are being changed to substantially streamline and simplify the permitting process. This is expected to allow for rapid growth of construction across all sectors and further stimulate the Czech economy so that we can make the most of of the current real estate boom.
By Miroslav Dubovsky, Country Managing Partner, DLA Piper Prague
This Article was originally published in Issue 6.11 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the magazine, you can subscribe here.
David Padysak has joined DLA Piper in Prague as Head of Real Estate.
According to DLA Piper, “David will focus on all aspects of the real estate industry, including acquisitions, development and finance. David joins the team with extensive experience from both Czech and international law firms.. He is a renowned expert in real estate and provides clients with legal advice not only during acquisitions and sales, development, financing and construction, but also on day-to-day matters, including addressing issues related to the end use of real estate. In addition, he is able to advise on building permitting processes and on litigation matters related to real estate. He has extensive experience in all types of real estate, whether office, residential, retail, industrial or energy construction or agricultural land. Besides his expertise in real estate, equally important is also his knowledge of corporate and commercial law.”
Prior to joining DLA Piper, Padysek spent 17 years at the Horak & Chvosta law firm, five and a half years with White & Case, and the last three and a half as a partner at Rovenska Partners. He graduated from Charles University in Prague in 1995.
“I am very pleased to welcome such an extraordinary lawyer into our ranks,” DLA Piper Prague Managing Partner Miroslav Dubovsky. “It is our ongoing effort to provide our clients with a first-class service in all areas of law, whatever on transactions or consultancy. He will enrich our office not only with his legal skill but also with his ability to lead the team and motivate its members to achieve excellent results. I have no doubt that after such a start to the year we can expect a very interesting and successful 2020.”
“It is a great honor and a challenge to become part of this experienced, talented, and friendly DLA Piper team, both in the Czech Republic and abroad,” said Padysak. “There are many opportunities in real estate and this sector is still growing rapidly. I believe that at DLA Piper we are ideally positioned to help clients achieve their goals.”
Clifford Chance has advised P & O Netherlands B.V. on the EUR 21.5 million sale of its 50% stake in the Technologicky Park Brno business center to the city of Brno. As a result of the deal, the city, which was advised by Hladky Legal and the Kroupahelan Law Firm, became the majority owner of the park.
Technologicky Park Brno leases 60,000 square meters of office space to innovative companies and research institutions in Brno. According to Clifford Chance, “Brno owns[ed] half of its shares from the beginning, the other half belonged to the Dubai-based P&O company, [and] one share is held by the University of Technology in Brno.”
Clifford Chance’s team was led by Partner Emil Holub and included Senior Associate Aneta Disman and Junior Lawyer Ondrej Dolensky.
Hladky Legal’s team included Partners Lucie Hladka and Jan Hladky, Senior Associate Nikola Chalupska, and Junior Associate Pavla Stojaspalova.
The Kroupahelan Law Firm’s team included Managing Partner Jiri Helan and Attorneys Matus Svanda and Maros Sovak.
Kinstellar has advised Youplus Insurance International AG and myLife Lebensversicherung AG, members of Switzerland’s Insurevolution Partners insurance group, on the acquisition of the Czech and Slovak life and non-life insurance contract portfolios from Basler Sachversicherungs-AG and Basler Lebensversicherungs-AG.
The transaction remains subject to approval by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority.
Kinstellar’s team included Prague Partner Lukas Sevcik, Of Counsel Karla Rundtova, and Associate Vaclav Kment, and, in Bratislava, Partner Roman Oleksik.
Kinstellar did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.
Weinhold Legal has advised Czech insurance broker Renomia on its acquisition of FINVOX Financni Sluzby, a Czech company focusing on insurance, credit, and investment mediation.
The Weinhold Legal team was led by Partner Martin Lukas and included Attorney Anna Bartunkova and Junior Associate Frantisek Schirl.
Kinstellar has advised Czech investment group Portiva on its acquisition of a 5000-square meter retail center in Ivancice, Czech Republic, from Austrian developer Aventin.
The transaction value is roughly CZK 250 million. According to Kinstellar, “the acquisition is part of a bundle of shopping parks that Portiva and its partners will acquire over the next few years. The total transaction will likely exceed CZK 2 billion.”
Kinstellar’s team was led by Partner Jan Juroska and included Associate Martina Mazurkova and Junior Associate Sabina Skoumalova.
Kinstellar did not reply to our inquiry on the matter.