Slovak developer appoints UK head to lead hunt for London property
JTRE, one of Central Europe’s leading property developers, is ramping up plans for investment in London with the appointment of Juraj Marko as UK Managing Director to lead the company’s search for property.
Marko will be responsible for establishing and running new JTRE office in London, with a mandate to look for further residential and office development opportunities. JTRE predicts that London will become a key market for the company within a decade.
Marko’s appointment follows JTRE’s acquisition in July 2018 of a prime South Bank development site with a GDV excess of £400m in conjunction with luxury London property developer Sons & Co. The residential-led mixed-use development, Triptych Bankside, is now under construction with a 2021 completion date.
Peter Korbačka, Founder of JTRE, said: “London is a strategic step for JTRE and appointing Juraj Marko as UK country lead will fast-track our London investment programme. London promises enormous potential for growth and the city is a global gateway from which to build our international business. We’re hugely excited about showing London what we can do and we’re very keen to acquire further sites where we can demonstrate our dynamic and innovative approach to urban development.”
Juraj Marko, UK Managing Director of JTRE, said: “London represents a hugely exciting personal and professional challenge and I’m looking forward to establishing JTRE in this historic and internationally significant real estate market, working alongside Sons & Co. JTRE has extensive know-how and practical skills in funding, developing and managing all types of commercial and residential property, but our strength lies in creating complex multi-use projects that shape the urban landscape for the better. Having been with JTRE since 2004, I’ve had considerable first-hand experience of this approach and I believe we have much to offer London”.
Founded in 1996, JTRE has 23 years’ experience developing and managing a wide range of real estate projects in Central and Eastern Europe, totalling over 8.8 million sq ft with a GDV of over €1.2bn. To date, JTRE’s focus has been on its home city of Bratislava (Slovak Republic), as well as the Czech Republic, Hungary and Russia. Following on from its initial UK acquisition last year of 185 Park Street on London’s South Bank, the company is actively seeking high-profile, high-value schemes all over London.