Clifford Chance has advised CPI Property Group on its acquisition of the Futurum Hradec Kralove shopping center from Meyer Bergman, a privately held real estate investment management firm. Meyer Bergman was represented by Tomsa & Spol.
The transaction was approved by the Czech Competition Office on March 23, 2018.
CPI Property Group (CPI) is a Luxembourg-based real estate group concentrating on long-term investments, predominantly in Central Europe and Germany.
CPI is one of the largest owners of retail properties in the region, with more than twenty shopping centers located in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Romania. The group has an asset value of approximately EUR 7.5 billion. The majority shareholding in CPI is held by Radovan Vitek, a private individual residing in Switzerland.
Located in the central Czech town of Hradec Kralove, the Futurum shopping center opened in 2000 and offers visitors 110 stores anchored by a Tesco hypermarket over a total floor area of 35,000 square meters. Reconstructed and modernized in 2011-2012, the mall also houses a multiplex cinema.
According to Clifford Chance, “the acquisition highlights the continuing flow of Czech capital into commercial real estate, for since the beginning of this year, the ownership of at least eight office and business centers has changed hands, with the buyers, with only one exception, being from the Czech Republic.”
The Clifford Chance team advising on the transaction was led by Real Estate Partner Emil Holub with Senior Associate Aneta Sosnovcova. The team also included Junior Associates Klara Hrdlickova and Matej Kucera.
The Tomsa & Spol team included Partner Robert Zugar and Senior Associate Petr Fryc.
