The Broadway Palace in Prague received no interest in the auction with a starting price of over one billion CZK

Prague - There was no interest in the Prague Broadway Palace even on the second attempt in the electronic auction by the Office for the Representation of the State in Property Matters (ÚZSVM). This follows from information on the portal ÚZVSM. The office offered the palace with a starting price of 1.05 billion crowns, which was the highest minimum price in the history of the office. The office will now offer the palace at the starting price to the current tenant, ÚZSVM stated on its website. Currently, the Broadway Theater is using the palace's premises.

The owner of the Broadway Theater, Oldřich Lichtenberg, told ČTK today that he does not wish to buy the palace due to a contract that burdens the palace and would not generate income for the owner for several more decades. According to him, this is also the reason why the palace has repeatedly failed to sell at auction. "If it weren't encumbered by this contract, it would be possible to raise money for it; it has that value," said Lichtenberg.

In the first round of the electronic auction last September, there was no interest in the palace, and the current tenant did not exercise its preemptive right and did not submit a purchase offer within the specified period. Therefore, the office announced another auction. The auction began on March 7 at 10:00 and lasted until today at 12:00. By midnight on March 4, interested parties had to deposit a fee of 20 million crowns. The minimum bid increase was 200,000 crowns.

Only one interested party submitted a deposit, but even they did not make any bids during the auction. "The Office for the Representation of the State in Property Matters will therefore, in accordance with the concluded contract that it inherited along with the building from the former Railway Transport Administration, again address the current tenant (of the Broadway Palace) to submit a bid at the announced minimum price," the office stated. The tenant may exercise its preemptive right according to ÚZSVM within three months from the delivery of the invitation. If they express no interest in the palace, the office will promptly announce another round of the electronic auction.

"The Broadway Palace area is not only a unique investment opportunity but also the sale with the highest announced minimum price in nearly twenty years of our office's history. I believe that we will be able to find a definitive owner for this exceptional property in the center of Prague in the electronic auction, who can restore this cultural monument to its former glory," stated ÚZSVM Director General Kateřina Arajmu during the announcement of the second attempt to sell the palace in January.

The functionalist building, located between Na Příkopě and Celetná streets, consists of three interconnected blocks and dates back to the 1930s. The building is one of the largest functionalist constructions in the historic core of Prague. Initially, the building served the needs of Italian insurance firms, and there were apartments in part of the complex. After 1980, the building was adapted for administrative purposes. A cinema with the then most modern projection and sound equipment opened in the building's basement in 1938.

ÚZSVM took over the complex in 2016 from the former Railway and Transport Administration. In accordance with the law, ÚZSVM first offered the property to other state institutions, none of which expressed interest. Therefore, the office is looking for a new owner through an electronic auction. The highest amount of 790 million crowns was previously obtained by the state from the sale of the complex at Republic Square in Prague, and from the sale of the Prague complex U Půjčovny, which was sold for 355.1 million crowns after 100 bids.