CPI completes EUR 73m purchase in Slovakia

Czech Property Investments (CPI), a Prague-based company owned by financier Radovan Vitek, has completed the purchase of a logistics park in the Slovakian town of Lozorno, near Bratislava, from Aire GmbH & Co (formerly AIG International Real Estate). The transaction, totalling EUR 73 mln, is the largest investment deal in Slovakia since the start of the financial crisis.

The project is Central Europe's first and largest distribution centre for suppliers to Volkswagen. The zone was developed on a 25 hectare site between 2001 and 2005. It comprises five warehouses with a total lettable area of 118,000 m². Key tenants include Inteva Production (Arvin Meritor), Johnson Controls, Brose, IAC Group and Faurecia nebo Schnellecke.

'The logistics sector is the youngest segment of CPI's activities and one which we have been developing in the last few years. Logistics seems to be the fastest recovering [property] sector,' said CPI's director, Zdenìk Havelka.

'This acquisition is an example of the confidence returning to the country,' said James Chapman, partner of C&W's Capital Markets team, which advised CPI. 'We are seeing strong growth in the number of international investors looking to invest in quality assets in the retail, office and industrial sectors, and we expect to see other significant deals in Slovakia during 2011.'

The deal comes in tandem with CPI's purchase of a 50% stake in the Copa Centrum Narodni scheme in Prague. For more information on the transaction go to the link below