Generali Completed the Acquisition of Kotva

Generali has officially acquired Kotva for almost than CZK 4 bn according to CTK.

According to the paper, it is the largest transaction on the Czech real estate market this year.

The current owner, PSN, bought the store in 2016 for something over CZK 2.5bn. PSN managed to stabilize the asset’s income but the outdated department store has suffered in the new retail environment.

The overall reconstruction of the building will be taken over by Sekyra Group. “The aim of the cooperation with Sekyra Group is to carry out extensive reconstruction of Kotva in order to restore the prestige and status of a top shopping destination in Prague,” said Generali.

PSN had ambitious plans for Kotva, which was built 45 years ago in the Brutalist architectural style of the time and the idea was to find an international, luxury department store operator to commit to the building and to then undertake a complete, bespoke reconstruction.

History

Located in the Old Town district of Prague and situated on Republic Square, Kotva was built between 1970 and 1975 designed by Czech architects, and a married couple, Věra Machoninová and Vladimír Machonin. It was constructed by a Swedish company which was very unusual at that time. Its ground plan consists of many interconnected hexagons.

Kotva Department Store is famous for its strange Communist-era architecture and for its separate kiosk stores located inside.

Kotva was finished in 1975 and consists of an iron and concrete skeleton that is divided into six units giving the building a unique design. Each of these six units features different shops and different spaces but put together form a rather dynamic space.

In 1975, Kotva was the fifth-largest department store in Europe with a sales area of 22,160 square meters