Richard Curran hails from a Dublin family that owned several pubs, equipping him with enough skill set to navigate through the hospitality industry globally. Following his studies at St Michael’s in Ballsbridge, he pursued further education in Maynooth. However, finding his course not up to his liking, he spent a year working at pubs in London.
Then, he returned to his homeland and enrolled in an accountancy course at the National College of Ireland (NCI) in 1992. He took a break between the second and final year of his course to complete a Tefl course, qualifying him to teach English.
Upon completion of the course Curtan faced the dilemma of where to utilise his new skills. He had heard that Prague and Milan were job hotspots. Considering the flight to Prague being slightly cheaper, he and a friend decided to venture there through the Usit office down in the quays.
Despite not knowing anything about Prague, he landed and instantly found work at an Irish pub through a mutual contact. Meanwhile, his friend went missing, supposedly to a music festival in France, and was never seen again.
Curtan fell in love with a Czech girl which warranted him to defer his college education. He was handling responsibilities at the popular James Joyce bar and also started teaching English. He then moved back to Ireland with his girlfriend to finish his accountancy degree at NCI before finally moving back to Prague in 1997.
Richard made the International Football Club his networking spot in the early years and managed to maintain connections even after 30 years. Irish bars also served as networking opportunities where he met an Irishman who eventually offered him an accounting role at Cushman & Wakefield.
The old British surveying firm that employed me didn’t require me to have accounting skills, it was a venture requiring solutions. This was true in studying the case of Prague in the 90s. As peculiar as it may sound, it was my duty to condense the lengthy process of a telephone line’s installation into coherent bits of explanations for Microsoft’s boss. Everything demanded immediate attention, and this was done amidst people management.
My inaugural mobile phone was only given to me in the late years of the 90s. It wasn’t long before the contact became generalised to 240 occupants as the go-to number during a crisis – ensuring it was always ringing. I spent a trio of years overseeing property before transitioning into the realm of office leasing. Office leasing brought forth the challenge of procuring tenants for offices. The infrastructure was notably sparse during the 90s, consequently driving businesses into residential properties, Deloitte being one of them.
Curran has witnessed the evolution of retail stocks and modern offices from a professional lens. Interestingly, the progression which spanned across three centuries in Britain occurred in just two decades in the Czech Republic. In 2004, Curran was approached by CBRE, which was then novel to offering commercial real estate services.
Upon starting with a team of 20, the company globally expanded to be the prime real estate firm, boasting 400 employees during my 15-year tenure as managing director. Opportunities are yet fertile in Prague. However, acclimatising to the local language is essential and patience is key.
In 2019, I opted for a year’s leave of absence. My travel plans were inevitably put on hold as the timing coincided with the worldwide lockdown. I got an offer from Knight Frank CZ in 2021, resulting in me taking up the position of managing director. Initially, it was a modest operation of 40 staff, yet the firm has grown to 70 employees. However, we’re not trying to be another CBRE but rather aiming to manage commercial property projects.
There has indeed been a significant shift in the marketplace. Transactions in commercial properties that were once 80% international, are now at 80% local level. Czech’s affinity for property ownership matches that of the Irish, with their investment outreach extending to Poland and Romania. Currently, they are the primary investors of Central Europe with a notable inclination towards IT.
Prague, although geographically smaller than Dublin is an ideal location for raising children. Marrying a Czech woman proved beneficial in understanding the merits of the city. Plus, the education system is excellent.
Curran shared his confidence in the safety of the city streets, having no qualms about his children exploring on their own. The public transport was rather stellar and convenient too, making Munich accessible in three hours, and Budapest in three and a half hours, all thanks to an impressive road network.
Having relocated to Prague during a time of immense potential, Curran maintains that opportunities do exist. However, his counsel to forthcoming settlers is to make an effort to master the local language and be persistent. He advocates saying yes to opportunities and exploring different avenues if one does not have a solid plan.