KAPRAIN purchases former Howden ČKD manufacturing facility in Prague

Czech Investment group KAPRAIN acquired a 53,000 sqm brownfield site from Howden ČKD Compressors, part of Howden, a leading global engineering company, which was recently acquired by Chart Industries. Howden ČKD Compressors exclusively appointed Colliers to market the facility for sale.

KAPRAIN was founded in 2013 by Karel Pražák and is one of the leading Czech investment companies with over CZK33 billion AUM.

Howden was founded in Scotland as a marine engineering company in 1854 and evolved into a global leader in manufacturing air and gas handling solutions. Howden purchased the ČKD Kompresory business along with its manufacturing facility in Prague 9 in 2013 and continued the production of its tailor-made compressors until 2019 when they relocated to their current facility in Nehvizdy.

The property is uniquely located in close proximity to various modes of public transportation. It lies approximately 300m from Českomoravská metro station and is adjacent to the Harfa Business Center office complex, developed by KAPRAIN. The future use of the site will be decided through cooperation with the Prague 9 municipality and is expected to include a combination of civic and public amenities, as well as commercial and residential development.

The transaction was supported by experienced teams of advisors, namely – PRK Partners and Colliers International on the Vendor’s side and BBH on the Purchaser’s side.

Tomáš Szilágyi, Associate Director at Colliers commented: “We are delighted to have advised Howden ČKD Compressors in identifying a buyer and successfully completing the sale of their Prague 9 site.  Despite a challenging business environment, the Colliers sales process generated substantial buyer interest for this strategically located brownfield site and, in the end, delivered an excellent result.  Given that KAPRAIN has an established presence in the local area they are an ideal purchaser.  We look forward to learning about their plans for the site and how it changes the urban environment in this part of the city.”