Domus, a Dutch-based owner of residential properties in the Czech Republic, has announced plans to list on Euronext Amsterdam.
Domus, a Dutch-based owner of residential properties in the Czech Republic, has announced plans to list on Euronext Amsterdam.
The IPO is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2014, and will consist of both newly issued and existing ordinary shares.
Domus is one of the largest, privately owned rental residential real estate companies in Central Europe, measured by the number of apartments owned and managed in Ostrava, the third-largest city and second-largest urban conglomeration in the Czech Republic. At end-2013, its property portfolio consisted of residential units with a total floor area of more than 2.6 million m2, with a gross asset value of €894 mln.
Previously named RPG, the company has invested €280 mln in the refurbishment and optimisation of its assets in recent years, and feels its portfolio is in good shape for a listing. Average leases run to 15 years with contractual increases built in. The tenant base is a diversified mix of private and public-sector employees. Domus posted rental income of €78 mln, EBITDA of €57 mln and funds from operations of €37 mln for 2013.
Located near the Polish border, Ostrava has traditionally been a centre of mining and steel production. In recent times, it was lumbered with the tag as the most polluted city in the European Union. But the city is transforming itself. A continuous wave of foreign direct investment has stimulated employment in the services sector and the provision of back-office support, which in turn has led to increasing demand for quality in the region.
As part of the city's revival, European shopping centre specialist Multi Development and real estate fund manager Meyer Bergman opened Forum Nova Karolina, the first part of a major urban development and regeneration project in March 2012.
Forum Nova Karolina comprises 240 shops over an area of 58,000 m2. The shopping centre is the first completed element of phase 1 of the regeneration project in Ostrava. Multi is developing four planned phases to extend the inner city within a 32-hectare brownfield site in the former coalmining region. Phase 1 consists of the shopping centre, as well as a 23,000 office building and 220 apartments which are being developed by joint venture partners. The entire 4-phase project is expected to complete by 2018.