Dutch developer CTP sees upturn in Czech market

The financial crisis has accelerated the movement of companies to locations in the Czech Republic due to the combination of lower costs and a highly skilled labour force, according to Remon Vos, CEO of Dutch commercial developer CTP Invest. On 19 October CTP will hand over a new 10,000 m² office building in the Czech city of Brno to aerospace giant Honeywell International. CTP is also buying new land in the Czech town of Pohorelice just north of the Austrian border to expand its existing park there.

CTP Invest was one of the exhibitors at this year’s EXPO REAL together with the Czech cities of Brno and Ostrava to help promote areas in which it is particularly active. The company’s rental income in 2009 so far is EUR 80 mln compared to EUR 67 mln in 2008. While property prices have dropped over the last 12-18 months, Vos sees the beginnings of growth on the market. ‘Last week we received the latest valuation reports showing that prices have risen slightly in our portfolio. I don’t want to be too optimistic, but I think the market situation has improved compared to two months ago,’ Vos said.

CTP has also invested EUR 25 mln in a project to place solar panels on the company’s buildings to generate electricity. Besides the role the added solar power provides in helping the Czech Republic come closer to EU renewable energy targets it is also, according to Vos, ‘another way to create more money for our property portfolio.’ A significant feature of the programme is the 20-year guarantee for electricity prices provided by the Czech government.