Accolade Group has expanded its portfolio with the Karlovarská Business Park. The group has become the sole owner after buying a majority stake from Czech real estate fund Conseq Realitní. The complex includes four buildings with a total area of 19,500 sqm used for e-commerce, logistics, offices and retail. The undisputed advantage of the park is its attractive location at the crossroads of the Prague ring road and the D6 motorway near Prague Airport, thanks to which it has maintained a high occupancy rate for a long time. Both parties decided not to disclose the amount of the transaction, which was brokered by CBRE.
“Karlovarská Business Park ranks among the best parks in the region thanks to its promising location with excellent transport accessibility. We are delighted that our asset management team is doing a quality job, which has contributed to the long-term low vacancy rate. The acquisition of the park fits perfectly into our investment strategy, in which diversification of the portfolio in terms of tenants and regions is key for us,” said Lukáš Répal, Chief Operating Officer at Accolade. Current tenants include bus and coach manufacturer EvoBus, healthcare company Fresenius Medical Care and European HVAC manufacturer Lindab.
The Karlovarská Business Park was acquired in 2017 by Conseq Realitní together with Accolade Group, with Conseq Realitní holding a majority stake and contributing ninety percent of the transaction.
A shortage of land for new construction, combined with high demand in recent years, has reduced industrial vacancy rates to an all-time low of around 1%. This has led to rents in some locations rising by a record 60% since 2020, the fastest rate in Europe. This trend is encouraging investment in industrial property even in a period of high interest rates, which explains the continued investor interest.
“The high demand for industrial and logistics space in Prague and the surrounding area has led to a rapid increase in premium rents, in some cases up to EUR 7.90 per sqm per month for an average unit of 5,000 sqm. For smaller units or custom-built units, rents can be even higher. Although headline rents in the country are already reaching similar levels to those in Germany (Munich 8.5 euros per sqm/month), the benefit of cheap labour prevails at an average of around 1,800 euros per person per month, which is roughly two and a half times less than in Germany,” said Vítězslav Doležal, a director in CBRE’s investment team.
“The purchase of the park at an advantageous time and its subsequent sale only confirms the quality and liquidity of the properties in the fund’s portfolio. Despite the fact that not many deals are currently being closed in the real estate field, we managed to sell the complex with an attractive valuation illustrating our conservative approach to real estate valuation,” concluded Vladan Kubovec, Portfolio Manager at Conseq Funds investment company.
