TheWrap: Decision time

Don’t forget! Tickets, Tables and Partnerships are on sale for ThePrime Gala, which takes place on January 28, 2026 at Obecni dum. Nearly 20 tables have now been sold, along with half a dozen partnerships. I really urge you to get in touch as soon as possible. Remember, prices will go up as of Dec. 1. (corporate tables are currently CZK 88,500 + VAT).

Crestyl has launched a fund for qualified investors targeting 7% annual preferred returns in order to finance its development of income-generating projects. The fund pools capital for projects in all stages of developments, assuming they are ready to begin construction, or at least are in harmony with the city’s master plan. The minimum outlay for investors in the open-ended vehicle is CZK 1 million, with the goal being to acquire CZK 2-3 billion in assets. “If the fund's annual performance falls below 7%, Crestyl Group is first to bear losses up to the full amount of its investment," says Andrej Zveržhanovski, CFO of Crestyl for the Czech Republic. The offering provides investors exposure to projects such as Savarin, Boka Pankrac and Hagibor.

Prague ranked 16th among European cities for prime retail rents at €220 per sqm per month in Q2 2025. That places it on a par with Budapest, Amsterdam and Copenhagen. The city’s attractiveness is being driven by the return of tourists (over 8 million visited the capital in 2024, according to Colliers). But Czechs themselves make up more than half of the customers for several luxury brands. Rents may be reasonable, the yield for prime locations (4.5%) puts it on a par with Rome, Milan, Frankfurt and Hamburg. Colliers claims this is a signal that Prague is now considered a mature, stable and low-risk market.

DRFG closed its first Hungarian commercial property acquisition, buying the Bartók Ház office building in central Budapest from Austria's CA Immo. The 17,600-sqm building houses DXC Technology, Lidl, Novartis, and Sandoz. It’s part of a broader push into Hungary and southeastern Europe following last year's acquisition of TriGranit. DRFG plans CZK 4.5 billion in real estate transactions this year, but most of that will come abroad. The group is in due diligence on another two Hungarian shopping centers.

Allegro has relocated from Holešovice to Danube House in Karlín's Riverside complex. The company worked with Colliers to choose and secure the location. Allgero’s taking 2,850 sqm in a space that offers Vltava views, floating meeting rooms, visitor zones and an event space. Fit-out works will begin early next year, with occupancy planned for summer 2026.

Many thanks for everyone who showed up for last night’s mixer, sponsored by REassurance, JŠK advokatni kancelář and TRANSACT. The W&I panel discussion was (genuinely!) lively and the mixer that followed was well-attended. Pictures and a round-up of the topics to come.

TV Nova is preparing to bonds to retail investors. The new issuance would carry a 5.4% coupon and will be sold exclusively through Air Bank. In case you missed the symmetry, both Air Bank and TV Nova are part of the PPF Group. Czech investors are gradually being offered new ways to invest their extra cash that doesn’t involve real estate. TV Nova could raise up to CZK 4 billion in new funds via bonds it will sell at CZK 10,000 each.

Czech universities enrolled 315,000 students in 2024, including 56,000 internationals. But the supply of available student beds tops out at just 67,863. across 165 facilities. That works out to 2.9 students for each bed in Prague (3.5 in Olomouc). Most of the beds (60,219) in dorm-type facilities are publicly operated. Charles University and ČVUT offer 10,829 and 7,567 respectively. Cushman & Wakefield writes that while student population has grown 1% annually over the past five years, Brno’s count has fallen from 75,000 back in 2010 just 63,000 last year.

Just 13.6% of the 14,013 single-family homes built in Czechia in 2024 were made from timber, far behind Germany, where wood has a 22% share. European cross-laminated timber (CLT) volumes reached 1.9 million cubic meters in 2024, a figure that’s projected to hit 4.2 million by 2033.

Squarebizz Business Center Wien-Nord's Halle E earned BREEAM "Excellent" certification from TÜV Süd. The 125,000 sqm campus near the A5’s intersection with Vienna’s ring road houses tenants like Amazon, NextPharma, Kühne & Nagel, and HAVI Logistics. Squarebizz operates sites in Bratislava and Nitra for its parent company Karimpol Group.

Blackstone's appetite for industrial property remains undiminished judging by its latest deal to acquire a €2 billion portfolio of French warehouses. The NYC asset manager is to acquire the 2.3 million sqm portfolio from Proudreed. Blackstone began betting big on Europe's industrial sector over a decade ago as the explosion of online retail sparked a rush into anything warehouse.