Rising Israeli interest in the capital’s realty market
The Israeli-owned Zoia fund is evolving into a strong player in the Greek property market, as it currently manages 19 buildings in various parts of Athens, targeting both the residential and office markets.
Sagi Rubin is the managing partner of the investment fund, which is one of the biggest to have been positioned in the local market in recent years. On an international level it manages some 20,000 properties with a total value in excess of 2.2 billion euros. Zoia is present in six countries: Israel, the US, Spain, Poland, Germany and Greece.
A number of properties it has recently acquired in Athens are being reconstructed so that they can be leased soon, while others are already leased out to both short- and long-term tenants.
This activity highlights the investment interest from Israel, as besides the Zoia fund, there have been moves by other Israeli groups and businessmen, such as Beny Steinmetz: The former investor in Invel, which controls NBG Pangaea, is said to have recently acquired two buildings of residential and commercial use in the center of Athens and has expressed an interest in buying hotel properties too.
