Jewish-British billionaire Leo Noe, former owner of mall giant British Israel Investments Ltd. (TASE: BRTS) (currently controlled by Liora Ofer's Melisron Ltd. (TASE: MLSR)), is returning to the Israeli real estate market. One month ago, the Herzliya municipality announced that the Yad Hatisha neighborhood in northern Herzliya (formerly the Shahiv neighborhood) will undergo an overall vacate and build project. The neighborhood has 1,500 homes, most of them in old long apartment buildings with several entrances. For years, Yad Hatisha has been considered a troubled neighborhood in the relatively affluent Herzliya, and many of the city's residents eagerly wait for it to undergo renewal.
The number of new homes in the neighborhood is not final and will range between 6,000 and 8,000, half of which will be built by a group controlled by Noe. The main obstacle for urban renewal projects in the area is the operation of the nearby airport, which has led to severe restrictions on the height of buildings in the neighborhood. The decision to evacuate the airport in two years, made by the National Planning and Building Committee following a court decision, has paved the way for urban renewal projects in the neighborhood. As part of a call for proposals, Noe's NBS Urban Renewal was awarded a part of this project. Noe controls 40% of the company via his family fund, with a 40% stake controlled by Leo Schachter Diamonds, headed by Ra'anana-based billionaire Elliot Tannenbaum. The remaining 20% stake is controlled by Yael Berzon, whose husband, Yehuda Berzon, is the company's CEO.
The company is expected to cooperate with Elie Horn, a Jewish-Brazilian billionaire who controls Cyrela Brazil Realty, a company specializing in developing real estate mega projects. In a few weeks, Horn and Noe are expected to visit Israel, where the parties will sign a cooperation agreement.
About a month ago, Noe mulled the acquisition of Ortam Sahar Engineering Ltd. (TASE:ORTM), which is under a stay-of-proceedings. Noe approved the acquisition details but after a few days went back on his intentions after what a member of Noe's close circle described to "Globes" as "discrepancies between details presented and the accounting documents provided to Noe's advocates."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 5, 2016
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