BRATISLAVA, 28 November 2018

The best investment transaction in the commercial real estate market in Slovakia in 2018 was the purchase of the Aupark Tower office building by WOOD & Company. The Czecho-Slovak Investment Bank received the award at the prestigious14th annual CIJ Awards Slovakia in the “Real Estate Funds, Fund Management and Transactions” category.

At the ceremony in Bratislava, the award was presented to Martin Šmigura, Director of WOOD & Company’s Slovak Investment Banking, who commented on the transaction: “Aupark Tower is an exclusive office building, with wide panoramic views of Bratislava. Its strategic location near the city centre, the Janko Kráľ park and one of the most popular shopping centres in Slovakia, along with an excellent traffic connection to the highway, creates a special environment for both the professional and leisure activities of our tenants. For our real estate fund, Aupark Tower is a strategic asset”.

Aupark Tower has a BREEAM Excellent green certificate, confirming that the building reflects the sustainability of resources and ensures a healthy working environment for tenants. Management continuously monitors and applies modern trends. For example, the new owner has already changed the concept and completely refurbished the gastro zone. Mr. Šmigura added: "the advantage of a well-established building like Aupark Tower is both its management and operations. Companies will always prefer buildings with good transport availability and diverse options for spending their out-of-office time”.

WOOD & Company bought Aupark Tower in June this year from US real estate fund Heitman, which had set up a tender for the sale. At the same time, WOOD & Company has also closed the purchase of another administrative office – Lakeside Park, which comes with the option for a potential second phase expansion. In Bratislava, together with last year's Westend Tower at Patronka, WOOD & Company owns three office complexes.

WOOD & Company plans to continue strengthening its position in the Bratislava real estate market, and to continue with its evolution into a strong local player. The ambition of the real estate fund is to reach EUR 500m in investments in the Czech Republic and Slovakia over the next few years. It is also beginning to look for opportunities in Hungary and Poland.

CIJ Awards Slovakia is the most prestigious award in the field of commercial real estate, awarded in Slovakia by European real estate magazine CIJ Europe for the past 14 years. The ceremony, with 30 awards in six categories, took place on 26 November 2018 at the Grand Hotel River Park Bratislava. The winners of all individual categories were also promoted to the Best of the Best CIJ Awards Europe 2018, where the elite from 10 other countries in Central and Southeastern Europe will compete.