Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advised Union Investment Real Estate on the largest real estate acquisition ever in the Czech Republic

Lawyers of Clifford Chance's Prague and Frankfurt offices joined forces to advise Union Investment Real Estate GmbH on the acquisition of a majority stake in the Palladium shopping and office centre in Prague's main business district for its real estate fund UniImmo: Deutschland, from a company managed by Hannover Leasing, which remains as a minority shareholder and asset manager of the centre. The transaction represents the most significant real estate acquisition ever in the Czech Republic and the largest single-asset deal recorded in Central Europe.

The Palladium is centrally located on Republic Square (in Czech 'Náměstí republiky') with direct links to the main shopping area, and offers underground parking for up to 860 cars. It represents a unique retail and service offering in Prague's historic centre which sensitively integrates protected historic buildings (former army barracks) from the Habsburg era. Opened in October 2007, the centre offers a GFA of 115,000 sq m, with 41,000 sq m of prime retail over 5 floors (180 shops, 20 food & beverage outlets) and 18,000 sq m of office space. The shopping centre is visited on average by 45,000 people a day and over the course of 2014 was frequented by 15.8 million shoppers.

Clifford Chance has been advising Union Investment on real estate transactions in the Czech Republic and Germany on an ongoing basis over the last few years, including most recently on the sale of its residential and office building "ABC-Forum" in Hamburg, the sale of their stake in the "Technopark" office building in Prague in 2014, the sale of the "Trianon" office centre in Prague and the acquisition of the "Meliá" hotel in Düsseldorf in 2013, and the acquisition of a retail property in Ulm and the "Sophienhof" shopping centre in Kiel in 2012.