Šimáně buys Prague’s Pařížská Street building at record auction

Czech billionaire and Unimex Group owner Šimáně has bought the “U svatého Jiří” building on Prague’s Pařížská Street at auction. According to the portal, no building in Czechia has ever sold for more at a public auction. Until recently, Šimáně also owned the airline Smartwings.

The auction took place on Nov. 4 on an online auction portal. Five bidders placed 45 bids in under an hour and a half. The starting price was about 700 million Kč and the appraised value was one billion. Šimáně outbid the runner-up by 100,000 Kč.

The building went to auction over an unpaid loan to a foreign bank, as reported back in September. In the 1990s it was bought by the company Arabella, backed by an investor from Saudi Arabia, who had tried to sell it before without success. For the first time in 30 years, the historic building now has a Czech owner.

The building was built in 1905–1906 to a design by architect Jiří Justich. It takes its name from the sculpture of St. George slaying the dragon that decorates the corner of the building. Most of the building is made up of apartments, while some units are used as offices or storage. According to the consultancy Colliers, the market rental income is 38 million Kč a year.

Šimáně is the founder and co-owner of the financial group Unimex Group. A few weeks ago he sold Smartwings to Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines. According to the Office for the Protection of Competition, he is also selling the Uni Hobby DIY chain, which is reportedly being bought by Karel Pražák and his Kaprain group.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz