Olomouc - In the tender for the sale of the Hanácké barracks in Olomouc, which the Palacký University wants to buy, there has been a turnaround. The development company Redstone raised the purchase price after the end of the electronic auction at which it acquired the property in September. The university thus has to match the new price again if it intends to acquire the barracks from the state. The entire process may repeat. The university considers the organization of the barracks sale to be non-standard and non-transparent, and is considering legal action. UP spokesperson Egon Havrlant informed ČTK today. Michaela Tesařová, spokesperson for the Office for State Representation in Property Affairs (ÚZSVM), told ČTK that the currently ongoing tender is transparent and in accordance with the rules.
The Hanácké barracks were auctioned off in September for 89.1 million crowns by the company Redstone, in which entrepreneur Richard Morávek has a stake. According to the conditions, the university could express interest in matching this price within a set deadline and thus acquire the extensive property from the state as a priority. The purchase of the Hanácké barracks was approved by both the academic senate and the university's board of directors at the beginning of October. The UP management then requested the ÚZSVM to match the winning price of 89.1 million crowns. The office informed Redstone about this, which then increased its offer to 90 million crowns. UP can now match the increased price within 30 days. Redstone did not comment on the tender's development today.
According to UP rector Martin Procházka, it has become clear that the ÚZSVM distinguishes between a closed electronic auction and a tender. "They informed us that although the auction has ended, the tender is still ongoing, and the original interested party has the option to raise the price. According to the office, this has also happened. We were asked whether we accept the new price of 90 million crowns and intend to match it, but with the warning that this process may repeat. We are absolutely shocked by the office's approach; according to available information, neither we nor the representatives of the region and city were informed in advance," he stated.
Tesařová confirmed that the tender has not been concluded. "The tender ends either with the signing of a contract or its cancellation. Even after the end of the electronic auction, it is possible to raise the offered purchase price," Tesařová said, according to which this procedure is allowed by a regulation of the Ministry of Finance. "This is a completely standard procedure that can occur in a tender with the option to match. The last time this happened was in the media-known case of the sale of the castle in Prague's Kunratice. This situation would not have arisen if Palacký University had entered the tender," she added.
UP intended to build student dormitories, dining facilities, offices, and conference rooms in the barracks. Part of the space was to serve as storage. The university will consider further steps. The repurchase under the new conditions would again have to be discussed by the academic senate and the board of directors. "It seems to us that we were only seemingly a partner in the tender. In reality, we were supposed to play the role of useful naïfs and be a means of forcing the private interested party to get the highest amount for the state on the object," the rector added.
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