Dan Mikulenka

Our fund together with another investor bought an industrial park in Liberec. The acquisition came at a time when the owner of the site was looking for a strategic partner to help him finance and complete the park. We will use part of the financing to pay off our liabilities and plan to complete the site so that all tenants can move into their new spaces by the third quarter of 2023.

Michal brings with him experience across the real estate industry. At Knight Frank he was responsible for property management of commercial buildings, at P3 he managed a European industrial portfolio of over 5 million sqm and at Fidurock he worked on residential properties from the acquisition phase through redevelopment to marketing and commissioning. Michal’s approach and know-how are complementary to CB Property Investors’ portfolio.

Michal Navrátil started his career at ORCO Prague and Knight Frank. He also worked for more than a year in the NATO-led ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) mission as a member of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan.

In 2012 he joined the developer P3, where he gradually worked his way up to the position of Group Head of Property Management. He was there as the company acquired new portfolios in the Czech Republic and Europe and grew by leaps and bounds, setting up processes for successful property management and leading a team of internal property managers and external contractors. In total, he was responsible for managing 5.7 million sqm in 12 countries.

His last position before CB Property Investors was at Fidurock, where he was responsible for the development of the residential portfolio as Head of Asset Management.

With his experience in real estate portfolio management and technical expertise in various types of real estate, Michal Navrátil will be a great asset to support the further growth of the fund’s activities.

“My role will not only be about project management and property management, but also about setting up processes. I want to proactively focus on finding gaps in processes and controlling them to minimise risk and maximise returns for investors. Better processes speed up the acquisition process and enable us to manage the rapid growth of the managed portfolio,” explains Michal his motivation.

Commenting on Michal’s arrival, Peter Bečár, Partner at Crowdberry, said: “I know Michal from P3 and I am very happy to be working with him again at CB Property Investors. His contribution is not only in his technical and operational knowledge of the different segments of construction, but also in his insight into creating and increasing the value of real estate. Michal never ended where another department started, but always looked at the portfolio and its management as a whole. This gives a much needed holistic view of real estate. His proactive approach and attention to detail will be an asset when working with our partners and investors.”

Dobré Časy in Ivančice project, which the Fund acquired into its portfolio in April this year, has reached its first major milestone. As of 16 December, it received its first client.

Another important step is that the operator of the home has signed a contract with the Health Insurance Fund of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic and will conclude cooperation with VZP on 1 January 2023. Thanks to this, the home for the elderly will soon be able to welcome more clients.

“In order for a facility to apply for a contract with a Czech insurance company, it must meet a number of requirements. Material, technical or even personnel requirements. For example, when we received the decision to approve the contract, the Dobré časy home for the elderly already had over 60 employees.,” explains Jan Kvarda, investment manager of the project.

All new clients of Dobré časy can expect above-standard services such as massages, oxygen therapy, music therapy, canister therapy and others. In addition, care includes a healthy and balanced diet and a nutritionist who will focus on the individual needs of each client.

“In the first half of the year, only one fund managed to beat inflation: the CB Property Investors – a relatively new fund of qualified investors, which only this year made its first acquisition (a senior house in Ivančice),” says Jan Traxler, a private investment advisor and expert guarantor of the nemovitostni-fondy.cz portal, which monitors the development of thirty real estate funds focusing on the management and rental of real estate operating in the Czech Republic.

The return of our fund for the first half of this year was 14.27% and for the last twelve months 13.9%. The average annual return of real estate funds in the Czech Republic in the period 2017-2021 was 6.75%. It reached its highest value in 2021 (10.64%).

After two years of work, our strategy of investing in value-added real estate is proving to be appropriate for the current uncertain period. Thanks to this strategy, we are targeting returns above 10% p.a. from the start, a rate that has a chance of beating inflation. We are pleased that after the first acquisition of CB Property Investors – a retirement home in Ivančice – our returns are already above average even compared to other funds and that we can back up the fund’s direction with an above-average return of 13.9%.

We are currently planning further transactions that will most likely increase CB Property Investors’ yield. As a result, we expect our share price to continue to rise and therefore believe that now is an ideal time to invest in CB Property Investors.

Full article here

The Dobré časy Senior Home is a new place for a dignified life for seniors with the highest degree of dependence, i.e. those who are fully dependent on the help of another person. “In addition to the usual care, the clients will have access to extra services in the form of hydro-massages, light therapy, workshops or hairdressing services,” says Petr Váka, director of Dobré časy. Of course, there is also a medical clinic right in the building. A café will also be open for the public and clients on the ground floor of the building.

The Ivančická senior citizens’ home would not have been built without private investment. The fund of qualified investors CB Property Investors and Slovak entrepreneur Jozef Gima took part in the creation of Dobré časy, which will offer 167 beds. Peter Bečár, the chairman of the fund’s supervisory board, describes why we decided to invest in the construction of the seniors’ home. We are aware that the senior housing segment is growing and we see that the importance of private investors is increasing, as they help to cover at least part of the shortage of these services. Thanks to the project of Dobré časy, we are part of the solution and we would certainly like to implement more facilities like this. .“

The new home for the elderly is unique for its above-standard services for its clients and the construction itself. In addition to air conditioning and cooling in the rooms, it also allows for recuperation and the use of so-called grey water. It thus shows that its inclusion in the CBPI portfolio makes sense for several reasons:

• the creation of new places to spend a dignified old age, which are in short supply,
• the ecological aspect of the construction and use of the building,
• return of investment

The modern facility for the elderly near Brno will welcome its first clients in September this year and the investors of the CB Property Investors fund will be there.

The newest face of our team is Jan Kvarda, who previously worked in transaction advisory at EY and also has experience in auditing financial institutions at KPMG, where he participated in projects for the largest Czech banks and insurance companies such as EPH and PPF Financial Group, including PPF Real Estate. He has also been involved in the acquisitions of AXA Group, METRO AG, Equa bank and the merger of Air Bank and MONETA Money Bank.

“When I was deciding where to take my career next, my choice fell on Crowdberry mainly because it is a young company with a lot of growth potential that I would like to be a part of. What I particularly appreciate about the real estate team is the ability to adapt to the market. With property prices rising across segments over the past few years, we are looking for opportunities in property development. Conversely, when property prices are more favourable, we will move into acquisitions. We want to bring our investors the best opportunities in every situation ,” says Jan Kvarda, co-author of the Crowdberry Real Estate Report Q4 2021, a brief overview of the latest residential real estate market trends.

Together with Jan Kvarda, our ranks were strengthened by Jan Rovný, whom we have already written about, and marketing manager Libor Pokorný. In the past, he worked for the RS Group and SeneCura.

We hope that thanks to our new colleagues and their experience we will be able to meet not only the team’s goals but also the expectations of our investors.

On his arrival, Honza told us: “I see Crowdberry as a unique project that connects investors with interesting investment opportunities and talented people. I look forward to using my experience in transaction advisory and development here. There is a great team of people here and I am happy to help Crowdberry further develop the real estate segment .“

Jan Rovný joins us from Urban Developers and Investors, where he was responsible for new investments and financing of development projects in Central Europe. Prior to that, he worked at Patria, where he was involved in several large sales and acquisitions of companies in the CEE region and was also responsible for the development of the Profireal group in Southeast Asia. Among other things, he acted as an advisor on two successful IPOs on the Prague Stock Exchange.

Peter Bečár, Partner at Crowdberry, commented on the expansion of the team:”I am glad that Honza decided to strengthen our team. CB Property Investors Qualified Investor Fund is preparing several new investments in residential and industrial development and I have no doubt that Honza’s experience will help us significantly with their implementation. .“

Investor interest in the fund’s strategy has exceeded our expectations. The speed with which the first subscription round of investments filled up shows not only the available capital, but also the gap in the real estate market that CB Property Investors is filling. At the same time, it opens up space for further development in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The aim of the Czech-Slovak real estate fund CB Property Investors is to provide investment support not only to Czech and Slovak development projects with added value, but also to existing buildings with untapped potential. By carefully selecting projects, it aims to improve the ecological footprint of Czech and Slovak properties and reduce their adverse effects on the surrounding environment (e.g. by reducing greenhouse gas emissions), thus creating room for the introduction of sustainable technologies. In some cases, this could also include intervention in the physical character of real estate – modernisation of buildings and their interior systems. Optimising the use and improving the economic performance of selected development projects should bring investors an appreciation of 10+% p.a. The fund focuses primarily on logistics properties, retail parks and residential projects. It aims to make investments of EUR 30 million over three years and manage a portfolio with a total value of over EUR 75 million.

The underwriting of investments was preceded by an in-depth analysis of up to a hundred projects, which yielded those that met our strategic criteria and the requirement for superior returns.

“These are real estate projects with potential for value growth. For example, the conversion of an older office building into residential units or the construction of smaller commercial industrial projects. CB Property Investors is a fund that addresses both Czech and Slovak investors. It focuses on investment opportunities in the domestic environment, responding to the growing interest of Czechs in real estate as a safe investment destination, ” says Omar Sattar, managing director of Crowdberry’s real estate division, who heads CB Property Investors.

The fund’s strategy has not only attracted investors, but has also attracted the attention of developers, banks and other partners. All of this shows the appetite of potential investors and that they trust the Crowdberry team and our experience. We very much appreciate the trust of all the fund’s investors.

You broker investments directly into companies. Where are you on the spectrum between passive investing and entrepreneurship?

I would create a whole new category for us. We focus on the Czech and Slovak market, on growth capital. Our investors become co-owners of projects and participate in the growth of companies. They don’t buy shares from other holders, they put in capital directly.

Who are your clients?

We try to reach those who are eager to start investing, as well as those who have already done something in this field and are looking for new opportunities. The third group consists of more passive investors looking for specific opportunities that fit into their portfolios. We like to work with investors who are not only looking for capital appreciation, but also want to participate in the growth of the company, be its ambassadors, and support its image. This is extremely important for the development of local businesses.
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Do you also deal with the issue of exits from investments?

Yes. We ourselves try to provide know-how to companies to make them marketable or ready for further investment capital – both local and foreign.

So you also work for clients on a consultancy level?

We represent investors and offer them the expert knowledge and extensive experience of our team in various segments. By the way, in the Czech Republic and Slovakia there are very few experts focused on the growth of local or global companies.

Investments always go into primary underwriting?

The principle is roughly as follows: Investors acquire a stake in a company or real estate project and make growth capital available through their investment, which can be directed into new technology, building improvements, hiring people, or other forms of expansion. Often investments are structured to include various investor protection mechanisms, such as liquidity preference on sale and other specifics.

Standard investments are hugely overregulated. How is it for you?

The situation is different for alternative investments, with a major change to the regulatory framework due to take effect this November in the form of a new European directive governing the conditions for collective investment platforms in the EU, which should unify and improve conditions for both firms raising capital through crowdinvesting and investors. We are in favour of the regulation and consulted the National Bank of Slovakia ourselves when setting up the platform. Rather than legislation, what limits us in local markets is the continuing distrust of investment, probably stemming from the experience of the 1990s. In the USA, young people have been taught how to invest in high schools for decades. If Czech real estate is invested in by South African or other foreign funds motivated by the prospect of higher returns, why can’t Czechs and Slovaks?

How did Crowdberry come to be?

We founded the platform in 2015 in Slovakia as a professional digital marketplace for entrepreneurs and private investors to provide attractive opportunities and support the growth of innovative Czech and Slovak companies. Today we have more than 3,500 users and over 500 investors who have invested more than 30 million euros in 19 companies.

Has covid affected your business?

I see Covid as a reboot. A large part of our daily activities have moved online and we have all received “training” not only in the use of new technologies, but also an impulse to take a different view of capital management. The change is wide-ranging, global and really significant. Many investors have been cautious, but others have been preparing investments that are becoming relevant now. I think the situation could help shift some capital from current accounts to investment, especially in the context of potentially rising inflation.

You have opened two funds, one for startup companies and one for real estate. For the convenience of investors or for diversification?

For both. Specifically in the case of the real estate fund of qualified investors CB Property Investors, the reason was also that some potential investors do not want to study project prospectuses for a long time. They trust us and want us to choose the best option for them.