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Jones Lang LaSalle helped close the largest transaction of 2009 – the selection of new headquarters for Kooperativa pojištovna a.s., Vienna Insurance Group

The selection of new headquarters for Kooperativa pojištovna a.s., Vienna Insurance Group ranks among the 6 largest transactions closed during the modern history of the Prague office market.

Kooperativa pojištovna a.s., Vienna Insurance Group (further referred to as „Kooperativa pojištovna“) with the help of Jones Lang LaSalle completed the search for their new office headquarters. The size of the transaction ranks among the 6 largest deals closed on the office market that have exceeded 20,000 sq m.

“The closing of this transaction between Kooperativa pojištovna and PSJ Invest a.s, the owner of the 36,000 sq m office development Main Point Karlín is remarkable news for the Prague office market. We began the search for Kooperativa’s new headquarters in 2008. A two-year search period for this size of an occupier is not unusual, considering the fact, that around 30 projects were included into the selection process and each and every one of them had to undergo close scrutiny. During the selection process for Kooperativa’s new headquarters and the talks that accompanied it, we adapted to the culture of the future occupier and accepted even non-traditional means of comparing buildings, including the inspection of the views in all cardinal directions from all levels of the building. Today I can say that nothing was left to chance. Putting the finalists through a detailed comparative study helped Kooperativa decide on their new headquarters objectively and without any fears for the future,” Eduard Forejt, Head of Office Agency and Associate Director at Jones Lang LaSalle explains.

Tewfik Sabongui, Managing Director, Jones Lang LaSalle adds: “The closing of this transaction by Kooperativa is good news for the entire office market, as well as the Czech Republic. In these challenging and uncertain times, accompanied by negative sentiment, a transaction like this is proof that even under difficult market conditions, large transactions get closed and that the wheels of the market have not stopped turning, though they have slowed down. That is precisely what our Office Agency team, headed by Eduard Forejt, has managed to prove. This transaction is another example of how closely Jones Lang LaSalle works with its clients, offering them the best possible services and vast expertise. I am pleased that once again our company took part in one of the most important transactions in the history of the Prague market.”

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