CBRE GI returns to Czech market after 7-year absence

A fund managed by CBRE Global Investors has acquired a 21,800 m2 retail centre in the southern Czech city of Brno from CEE developer AIG/Lincoln.

Financial details were not disclosed.

The Campus Square property is located in the Bohunice district of Brno near the Brno University Hospital and the newly completed buildings of the Masaryk University. The food-anchored property will serve 600,000 people within a 30-minute catchment area. The centre is anchored by supermarket chain Tesco and is occupied by 55 tenants including Marks and Spencer, DM and New Yorker.

Commenting on the acquisition, Martin Sabelko, managing director of CBRE Global Investors for CEE said it marked CBRE GI’s first deal in the Czech Republic since 2008 and ‘represents the growing market in the region’.

It follows the acquisition of the Ideal Idea logistics centre in Warsaw in December 2014, which marked CBRE GI’s fourth purchase in the CEE region.

Kinstellar, CBRE Capital Markets & Building Consultancy and EY advised CBRE Gl on the Campus Square purchase. JLL and Dentons acted for AIG/Lincoln.

Booming market
Real estate investment grew year-on-year by 77% to €1.97 bn in 2014, Collier International has said.

2014, according to the property adviser's Q4 report for the market, was statistically the second most successful year since the start of the global financial crisis. Almost 60% of the volume of investments were accounted for by Czech and US backed groups, with new groups from Russia and Slovakia making their first significant investments in the market.

The latter half of the year saw almost double the volume of transactions close as compared to the first half: €1.29 bn versus €680 mln. The industrial sector dominated 2014 with a 38% share of the total volume, or €744 mln in absolute terms. One of the largest transactions in the industrial sector was P3s purchase of VGP’s logistics portfolio from Tristan Capital for €523 mln.

Looking ahead, Colliers expects that the trend of strong activity will continue into 2015, and that the market has the potential to surpass the €2 bn again. 'The last two years have proven to be greatly successful, and we predict continued success for 2015,' said Chris Sheils, director of investment, Colliers International Czech Republic.

Top Investors
CBRE Global Investors features in 4h place in PropertyEU's Top Investors ranking of dealmakers by transaction volume in 2014. Check out the Top Investors App for the ranking and background information on the top European dealmakers of 2014.