Together with the financial group RSJ, Upvest has established the CCM SICAV II fund to increase its stake in Centrum Černý Most, recently rebranded as Westfield Černý Most, using a structure not often seen here on such a scale.
The consortium of Upvest and RSJ already holds a 25% stake in the shopping center through the CCM SICAV fund, acquired in Q4 2024. The majority owner and manager remains Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, which handles management, operations, and development of the property, including the delivery of the 9 100 sqm extension of the center.
CCM SICAV II targets a combination of institutional capital and qualified investors with a minimum ticket of CZK 1 million, distributed through Komerční banka. The fund sits in an equal position with the earlier CCM SICAV, while Upvest and RSJ plan to launch two additional vehicles—CCM SICAV III and IV—during 2026 to exercise the remaining purchase options and reach their 40-49% target.
The shopping center has been undergoing a substantial modernization and expansion pushing its leasable area toward 94,100 sqm. Investors will buy in at current value and are expected to receive annual distributions from cash flow before a planned exit around 2030-2031.
For Upvest, the deal represents a quantum leap in scale and credibility—made possible by Komerční banka’s outright acquisition of the platform. Direct access to KB’s private wealth division definitely increases our fundraising capacity, says CEO David Mazáček. Additionally, the brand association opens doors that simply weren’t available before.
The firm’s approach inverts the traditional fund game plan. Rather than raising a blind pool and then hunting for deals—what some dismiss as “black box aggregation”—Upvest identifies opportunities first, structures them, and only then sources capital for each specific transaction.
“We always structure a situation, be it senior financing, mezzanine financing, sometimes equity,” he explains. “We go to the market, we structure it, we find a deal, and then we source the capital for it.” That transparency means investors should know precisely what they’re backing.
Entry points vary dramatically: around CZK 150,000 for typical deals, though standard debt transactions can start as low as CZK 5,000. Upvest enters projects at strategically de-risked stages—residential developments after planning permits are secured but sometimes before bank financing conditions are met. It can also help developers release equity once sufficient pre-sales are locked in.
“We’re not trying to replace banks,” Mazáček emphasizes, four months into his tenure. “Banks will always be cheaper than private capital.” Despite KB ownership, Upvest maintains relationships across Czech banks and structures deals to fit any reasonable capital stack. Since 2017, Upvest has deployed more than CZK 6.7 billion into projects valued at CZK 50 billion.
With KB’s wealth management clients now in play alongside thousands of existing platform investors, Mazáček is hunting for more deals at the Černý Most scale.
Also in ThePrime
Marketa Vrbasová (Knight Frank): Auto Suppliers Face Indirect Hit from Trade Wars
