Czech Post headquarters on the corner of Jindřišská and Politických vězňů streets (pictured on April 15, 2014).
Prague – Prague will continue negotiations with Czech Post about the purchase of the central post office in Jindřišská Street and other buildings, but in the event of a sale, other interested parties will probably be able to submit offers. The city would then be given the opportunity to match the highest offer. At today's meeting of representatives, Prague councilor for property Adam Zábranský (Pirates) said this, referring to the results of this week's meeting with representatives of the post office. Post recently stated that it plans to sell the building in Jindřišská in an electronic auction, which Prague rejects.
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Post spokesman Matyáš Vitík confirmed last week that an electronic auction is planned for the sale of the building in Jindřišská. “Czech Post is currently under no pressure to carry out this sale as soon as possible. We will make decisions based on our economic situation. If the sale were to take place, it would be in the form of an e-auction in order to obtain the maximum possible price for the property,” he said.
This information surprised the representatives of the management of the metropolis, who want to buy the central branch and other buildings, for example in Moravská and Na Strži streets, outright at an estimated price. This week, two meetings of representatives of the city management and the post office took place. According to Zábranský, the post office is striving for the greatest possible revenue from the sale of buildings in view of the economic situation. “Czech Post's lawyers very strongly recommend selling the properties for the highest possible price,” he said.
He added that with this in mind, a preliminary agreement was reached, on the basis of which negotiations on a direct purchase will continue, but at the same time, other interested parties will also be able to submit offers. Before the actual sale, the city could match the highest offer. “It's not quite the ideal option, but it's definitely a better option than a possible auction,” the councilor said. He added that in a possible open auction of the building in Jindřišská, Prague's chances of success are very low. Nevertheless, the representatives will still approve today that the city will be involved in it if it is announced.
The point regarding the status of negotiations on the buyout of the program was pushed forward by the chairman of the opposition ANO, Patrik Nacher, who proposed a two-part resolution. The first, which councilors approved, authorized the council to proceed with buyout negotiations. Based on the second part, the management should have appealed to the post office to reassess the number of disrupted branches in the metropolis. The representatives did not approve this task.
Czech Post reported a loss of 1.73 billion crowns last year, this year it should have been up to four billion crowns, so it had to resort to cost-saving measures. The Post Office employs almost 23,000 people, at the end of May it canceled 924 jobs in connection with the closure of branches, of which about 600 employees were dismissed.
