28. March 2019
Penta Real Estate has sold the 80,000 sqm office component of the Waltrovka complex in Jinonice, Prague 5 to Munich-based real estate fund manager GLL Real Estate Partners (GLL), a member of Macquarie Group, acting together with LB Asset Management on behalf of South Korean investor Hanwha Investment & Securities in a transaction worth over €250m.
The Waltrovka office complex, consisting of the Aviatica, Dynamica, Mechanica I and II and Walter buildings, was completed between 2015 and 2018. The buildings are leased to a broad range of sector diverse tenants including Johnson & Johnson, Oracle, Sberbank, Strabag, Amrest, and Astra Zeneca. The project has received several national and international real estate awards, including the CEE Quality Awards for the best development project in Central and Eastern Europe in 2016.
Penta acquired the 170,000 sqm Walter factory site in 2012 with the ambition to turn it into a vibrant new city district, and alongside the office buildings, the complex also includes 700 apartments and houses, a kindergarten, and a large 20,000 sqm central park with a 1-kilometre running track. It is a pioneering example of a successful brownfield development in Prague that will be completed by mid-2020.
“ High interest among international investors for the administrative complex at Waltrovka is a confirmation of our strategy of high-quality development with focus on architecture, sustainability and public areas,” says Pavel Streblov, director of commercial real estate, Penta Real Estate.
Philip Wood, Head of CEE Transactions at GLL commented “We are delighted to have acquired this prime business campus on behalf of our investor. The high quality of construction and blue-chip calibre of the anchor tenants, together with continued growth prospects for the Prague office market make us excited to have completed this transaction.”
Yong Seok Choi, Head of the Finance and Investment Division at Hanwha Investment & Securities commented “ We believe a quality asset such as Waltrovka will provide sufficient risk-adjusted returns together with great upside potential. The Czech Republic is expected to continue with solid economic growth, and we are very pleased to acquire Waltrovka from Penta together with our partners GLL and LB Asset Management.”
Penta was represented by Cushman & Wakefield and Dentons, and GLL by Wilsons and CBRE.
GLL has global assets under management totalling approximately €7bn, and have been active in Central & Eastern Europe since 2004 where they currently manage in excess of €1.5bn of commercial real estate, including two other buildings in Prague; Skoduv Palac in Prague 1, and Andel Park B in Smichov.
Penta is a Central European investment group established in 1994. It operates mainly in healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, retail, media and real estate development. Its portfolio companies provide jobs to more than 41,000 people and reported assets of EUR 9 billion in 2017. Penta operates in more than 10 European countries and has offices in Prague, Bratislava and Warsaw.