The trade unions sold the House of Trade Unions in Prague's Žižkov

Siko's CEO Tomáš Vala did not want to comment on the information when asked by ČTK. However, according to a reliable source from ČTK, the tender was not directly participated by Siko but rather by a company partially connected to the Vala family.

The trade unions previously stated that the building has a capacity that significantly exceeds the current needs of the unions, which utilize about 20 percent of the office space in it. They claim that the costs associated with owning a monument-protected building are substantial.

The decision to sell the building on Winston Churchill Square was made in mid-last year. The trade unions, which currently lease the DOS, will have a two-year protective period after the sale to find a new headquarters.

According to the E15.cz website, the new owner overpaid M&M Reality, the real estate company, at the last minute. The property plans to be converted into rental apartments. "They already have experience with apartment projects. Near the Luka metro station, they built a large rental project called Luka Living," E15 reported. Apartments on the lower floors of the building existed in the 30s and 40s. They served employees of the General Pension Institute, which was located there.

Currently, the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (ČMKOS), which comprises 29 unions, is based in the building. Its leader Josef Středula previously stated that he believes the confederation will reach a serious rental agreement with the potential new owner as it has in the past.

MSDU OS was established in 1990 to manage property after the collapse of the socialist ROH trade unions (Revolutionary Trade Movement). It leases and operates office buildings in Prague and Ostrava, as well as hotels and guesthouses in many places across the country. It also manages land, retail spaces, and apartments. The union is an association of twenty unions. "The amount from the sale will be delimited to the unions according to the size of their shares in the Property, Administrative and Delimitation Union of Trade Unions, which were determined based on the number of members of individual trade unions at the establishment of MSDU OS in 1990," Sladkovský stated.

"By selling the DOS building, MSDU OS fulfills its mission, which it was established for in 1990 - to delimit the property of the former ROH to the newly established trade unions, successors of the ROH," said Jaroslav Souček, the chairman of the largest Czech trade union KOVO.

The announced public competition involved three connected buildings, including the built-up land and two adjacent plots forming a park in front of the FC Viktoria Žižkov stadium.

The monumental functionalist palace dominates the lower part of Žižkov. The House of Trade Unions was originally established as the General Pension Institute. The functionalist building was built between 1932 and 1934. Due to its height of 52 meters, it is often referred to as the first Czech skyscraper. In 1951, it began to be taken over by the Central Council of Trade Unions, and in 1990 it was transferred from ROH property to the newly established unions. Since 1968, the building, designed by architects Josef Havlíček and Karel Honzík, has been a protected monument. It currently consists of 31,000 m² of floor area, of which 12,000 m² are offices. There are several residential units in the lower buildings to the north and south from Seifertova and U Rajské zahrady streets.