Looking at your LinkedIn page, you seem to have had a series of asset transactions. How much of that is Wilsons and how much is it a sign of a busy market?
It’s a combination of both. We’ve been trying our best to be active in the market and have been quite successful over the last couple of years.
You do a lot of leasing work as well, but the big transactions are important for the bottom line, and for visibility.
Our advantage compared to some of the bigger competitors is that we also have strong day-to-day business, including the leasing services. We’ve been working for major players in the leasing market for years now. This helps you survive when there’s less investment activity. Even in COVID times, there was a lot of leasing work with all the COVID amendments and leasing work in general since tenants started reducing the size of their offices. The work is always there.
But yes, big transactions are of course important. I usually call them the cherry on top – the kind of thing you put on LinkedIn. They have real added value, though. Everyone knew the Palladium transaction was happening last year, not just people in real estate. Those deals bring you credibility and reputation, which is a good reference for the future. And yes, the big transactions are also commercially rewarding, because they involve an enormous amount of work, including all the due diligence and financing.
The majority of your work is still real estate, then?
We’re seen as a real estate boutique firm, and we don’t fight that perception. I’d say 70 to 80% of our work is real estate related. But real estate transactions are essentially M&A deals — the process, the contracts, the due diligence are the same whether you’re buying an office building or a factory. So, we naturally do M&A work as well. Then there’s a lot that comes from cross-selling, because when a client already trusts you, they come to you with other issues too. So, we’ve done regulatory work, ESG, GDPR, litigation, employment law, etc.
How tough is the competition between legal companies for larger transactions?
It’s been quite intense for many years. We compete against big Magic Circle law firms. It means we can be more competitive on pricing and offer comparable expertise, local knowledge, language skills, and understanding of the environment. And what we can also offer – I’d even say it’s in our DNA – is a commercial attitude.
What do you mean by that?
It means you’re not only sitting in a meeting waiting for the client to ask if something is compliant with this or that provision of law. They expect you to guide them through the whole process from the LOI stage, give them insights about what market practice is, or share your experience with such types of transactions.
You’re basically a partner with them, rather than just a counselor waiting for legal questions and then saying, “it’s not possible because the law says otherwise.” That’s not what the clients want. They want to be protected, in time and without needless hassle. They want you to tell them how to make things possible, not just that they aren’t possible. That’s our approach: to be there as a partner who can share experiences from what we’ve done.
What was significant about the Wood/Satpo deal?
It was the biggest residential transaction of the year, and one of the biggest and most interesting deals of my career. It’s not a standard built-to-rent transaction, which you see every now and then these days. This was different in terms of scale, thanks to a portfolio that consisted of about 760 flats in old panelák buildings.
But beyond that, it has huge development potential. It could bring up to 90,000 sqm of new residential area situated directly on the new Metro D line, which will have a station in the middle of it. It’s unique in Prague in terms of volume, connectivity, and the potential of the whole area.
The deal took over 12 months from the first investment memorandum to closing. There were many players involved, bank financing, and – remarkably – Wood opened a new fund and collected a huge amount of money in a very short time.
What has changed to make BTR deals work now? Developers used to just sell units individually for a higher price.
The key factor is pricing. People simply cannot afford to buy flats anymore. Even the middle class is struggling. If you want a two-bedroom apartment in Prague, you need 10 million Czech crowns. You need about two million in equity and then there’s a 5% interest rate on the mortgage – for a young family, that’s simply becoming unaffordable. So, developers realized it’s better to do BTR and sell to big investment funds that have the money and need to buy. The funds can then offer an excellent product with stability and guaranteed indexation that tenants can afford.
What is the impact of AI on your business and clients?
Even from the first meeting or the first email, you can tell that a client has been consulting with an AI agent. It’s like when you go to a doctor after asking ChatGPT about your symptoms – you think you know what’s going on. But then the doctor says, “Yes, in general you’re correct, but in your particular case, you also need to consider this and that.” And I think it’s the same with any profession, including ours.
On the other hand, it does give them some background, so they’re actually more prepared for meetings. Your role is still to advise on what works and what doesn’t because of, for example, specific local regulation.
But the concern I had already two years ago is that AI still can’t just say “I don’t know.” There are already cases in Czech courts where a lawyer relied on an AI-generated summary or even case law, which turned out to be completely fabricated.
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