Petr Pujman built Komárek's real estate, now leads KKCG to London

Petr Pujman has spent 15 years running KKCG Real Estate, the development arm of Czech billionaire Karel Komárek's business empire. After a string of Prague projects, the company is now betting on expansion into London: it recently bought an office building on St James's Square for more than CZK 8 billion and plans a full redevelopment with the architecture firm Foster + Partners.

Before joining KKCG, Pujman spent 22 years at the construction company Metrostav, until Komárek asked him to build the group's development division from scratch. According to Pujman, the billionaire never pushed for sheer volume — the priority was always quality architecture and a carefully considered, long-term business, one in which Komárek is personally involved in every project.

Today KKCG Real Estate focuses mainly on Prague 5 and Prague 6, where it is developing its flagship premium residential brand, top'rezidence — small “micro-neighbourhoods” of villas and houses with shared spaces such as clubs and playgrounds that help local communities take shape. KKCG has since given up the industrial property it once owned in Poland in favour of residential projects.

Pujman puts the move into the London market down to inspiration from other companies in the KKCG group already operating in the UK — for instance, the lottery operator Allwyn bought The Burlyan building, at the corner of New Bond Street and Oxford Street, late last year. In London, the company first put together a local team and only then began looking for properties to buy. Unlike in Prague, KKCG intends to focus exclusively on office property in the British capital, since, in Pujman's view, the residential market there is weak and some flats are now virtually impossible to sell.

As for housing affordability in Czechia, Pujman rejects the idea that developers are to blame for the shortage: in his view, prices are being driven up by high construction costs, expensive land and rising taxes. He expects the new Metropolitan Plan and the updated building law to increase the number of sites available for development, boosting housing supply and stabilising the market. The company itself, meanwhile, is focused on cutting the cost of construction itself — through its own building firm, Novecon, and standardisation, including wider use of panel and prefabricated structures.