Bluehouse sold the Korso Karviná shopping centre (in the Northern Moravian region of the Czech Republic) to Conseq Investment Management in this year’s first shopping centre transaction on the Czech market.
Bluehouse is a private equity real estate investment and asset management firm focused on Central and Southeastern Europe. It manages capital across multiple funds, investing on behalf of a diverse investor base. Since its founding in 2004, it has performed more than 50 property transactions, constantly expanding its portfolio by investing in opportunities with attractive risk-adjusted returns, while in parallel targeting exits for mature assets.
Iain Fanthorpe, Bluehouse, commented: “The sale of Korso Karvina was the result of accomplishing the objectives of our business plan which was to build upon the shopping centre’s strong fundamentals and reposition it as a modern retail destination suitable for longer-term investors seeking well-performing and stabilized assets. We are proud to hand over Korso Karvina to its new owners and on to its next chapter.”
Bluehouse bought Korso Karviná in 2017. During that acquisition as well as during the current disposal, Cushman & Wakefield was its advisor. Over the last three years, a successful improvement in the tenant mix and an increase in the centre’s performance took place. It was completely redeveloped and revitalised, including reconstruction of the Albert hypermarket and most tenants’ shops.
Michal Soták, Partner and Head of the Capital Markets team in the Czech Republic at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “Bluehouse bought Korso Karviná shopping centre with the intention to maximally utilize its potential and significantly increase its value. Thanks to quality revitalisation and a new letting strategy, it succeeded, the sale of the centre now being another natural step of the investor’s plan. The transaction proves the great interest in all types of commercial properties on the very stable Czech market, where investors would like to apply their accumulated capital. After a period of uncertainty caused by the covid-19 crisis, they now return to retail projects with optimism.”