From the old buildings acquired at prices of 500 euros per square meter in the centre of Athens in the previous decade, the Israelis are now entering a new era of investment.
Having completed a decade since their first property purchases in Greece, with prices then even at 500 euros per square meter in the heart of Athens, the foreign investors who bought in 2014 are now moving on to the next phase, that of maturation, while at the same time holding a dominant role in the real estate of the city center.
Conversions of old buildings that are being transformed into modern apartment buildings based on the new trend of serviced apartments, new accommodation with hotels or simply rooms to let, renting out independent properties to third party investors or even selling converted buildings to ensure returns are just some of the moves currently being made by foreign investors – mainly of Israeli origin, but not only – in the centre of the capital. There where now a … normal selling price around Omonia, on 3rd September Street, for a fully renovated and furnished apartment, which can also be used as a tourist apartment for short or medium-term rent, now exceeds 3,000 euros per square meter in the advertisements. The change that is gradually taking place in the centre of Athens is confirmed by the return of major players to prime properties around Panepistimiou and Stadiou streets, including banks that are now discussing the development of iconic buildings (in Edouard Lo, Korai etc.) or other large groups such as PPC (in Christou Ladas).
The Israeli players
The protagonists and the most active in the centre of Athens for a decade now are investors linked to Israeli funds. The latter started their real estate purchases during the period of the complete collapse of the domestic real estate market (in 2013-2014) and are now at the next stage of their investment strategy, liquidating or renovating old properties that were acquired for 500 euros per sqm or even lower.
In fact, investment companies that had started in the previous decade as purely Israeli interests with a more speculative character, buying very cheaply in order to exit by selling in a second year, have now evolved into key players.
These are investment companies that are attracting other, this time international, but also domestic, funds, gradually proceeding to redevelopments with a focus mainly on housing and tourism and secondarily on offices. One such typical example is the investment company Zoia, which has gradually ‘built’ since the previous, difficult decade of the financial crisis a portfolio worth EUR 200 million with over 40 buildings, mainly residential (close to 1. Thus, the 1977 building at 40 Amalias 40, opposite the Pillars of Olympian Zeus, which burnt down completely in 2010, has been completely transformed into an office building with bioclimatic features and now has a “green” Leed certification and has received relevant awards; the 101-year-old Isaiah Mansion at 65 Patission Street near the National Archaeological Museum is now operating as a business premises, the building over 2. 100 sq.m. in Kallithea next to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre is now being upgraded and transformed into 52 modern apartments, while the same is happening with the 1935 building in Gennadiou in Exarchia which will include 30 houses.
The next phase in terms of their presence in the Greek market seems to have passed and the investors who are behind many properties managed by the well-known hotel chain of Brown Hotels, inside and outside Athens, are moving on the one hand to liquidate their holdings and change the planning for their properties in Athens, but also to make new investments, constantly seeking opportunities throughout Greece. Indicative of this change of course is the development plan for the large building at 44 Pireos Street which was intended for a hotel, but the alternative of serviced apartments was eventually chosen, in a part of the market that now seems to show significant potential. The “Urban City” complex, where redevelopment work has already started, will include 206 houses, of which reportedly more than 2/3 have already been sold, to buyers from Greece and foreigners of various nationalities, including of course Israelis. The complex also includes a range of amenities for residents, with swimming pools, Jacuzzi, business lounge, meeting rooms, dining areas, etc. This is one of the largest – if not the largest – projects of its kind in the centre, near Omonia, run by investment firm Astrea International Properties, with investment funds linked to WH Europe and further plans for serviced apartment developments in the capital or nearby destinations such as Loutraki.
WH Europe, in turn, has in its portfolio some of the best-known properties where Brown-branded hotels operate (“Brown Acropol” in Omonia, “Isla Brown” etc.). Among the investors behind hotels managed by Brown Hotels are funds linked to Aroundtown, one of the major listed groups in European real estate with Israeli investors, based in Germany and active in income properties in central European markets (Germany, the Netherlands, London). Similarly, Aroundtown Greece, which has been staffed since last year and is gradually being strengthened with an analysis team, real estate transactions, etc., is also linked to the German listed company, having finally come to stay in domestic real estate.
Brown Hotels
In the same vein, Brown Hotels itself is following the same line, which as a hotel management company is entering a more mature phase in terms of its activities in the Greek market. The chain founded in 2010 in Tel Aviv by Leon Avigad and Nijan Perry, which gave a vote of confidence in Greece during the last difficult decade, is now moving on to new partnerships (such as the recent franchise agreement with the Hilton group for the two hotels in Agioi Theodoroi, Corinthia and Chania), is reshaping its strategy on a case-by-case basis, as is currently the case in Thessaloniki, while at the same time seeking new opportunities in new destinations, such as Halkidiki. In Thessaloniki, the investors behind Brown are freezing the project for the conversion into a 5-star building of the listed building “Vienna” in the city centre due to the time-consuming procedures and approvals involved in its conversion, with the possibility of using it in a different way (e.g. possibly leasing it out as an educational facility) now open. On the other hand, they will proceed with the other investment in the capital city for the development of the former tobacco warehouse “Sakka – Michaelides” intended for a 4-star boutique unit in about two years from now.
As far as Athens is concerned, the latest news for the well-known hotel brand that has been associating its name with the new hotels around Omonia for the last seven years, acting also as a tonic for the area, is the new deal with the newcomer to the Greek market Isrotel for three hotels around Omonia Square. Isrotel, with the alliance of Israel’s Dayan business family, is making its entry into the Greek market with an investment of €70 million and the creation of the new international brand Aluma Resorts & Hotels. The debut in Greece comes with three hotels in the centre of Athens that are changing, precisely due to the change of ownership, and are passing from the management of Brown Hotels under the management of Aluma Resorts & Hotels.
These are the 199-room “Lighthouse” hotel in Omonia, which will operate very soon as “Skylark”, as it is being renamed, in the 4-star category, and the other hotel “Brown Spices” between Omonia and Monastiraki, on Evripidou Street, which will operate a little later in the spring as “Anise”, 4-star, with 63 rooms initially and the potential for additional capacity reaching 105 rooms in total.
Later, by the end of 2024, Isrotel has planned to operate the 218-room, 5-star “ADIA” hotel in Omonia, in a former office building on Lycurgou Street, also in this case managed by Brown. In fact, Isrotel has immediate plans outside Athens for another hotel in Thessaloniki. Its future plans for new tourism investments include Crete and Cyprus – depending on the opportunities that arise – but also other European markets, in Portugal and Italy. It should be noted here that the name of Dayan had come to the fore and was widely heard in Greece in 2021, when it claimed in the tender of the Public Private Property Development Fund through Vivion Investments the much-discussed property of the former American Base of Gournes in Crete (ed. Investment funds linked to the family, with significant investments also in real estate through the Dayan Family Office, have quietly proceeded in recent years to acquire properties in Greece, including hotels operated by Brown Hotels.
Finders
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Finders in Greece, which was started in 2014 by Mr. Amir Mamou as a development company, whose main activity is the investment, purchase and sale of properties either after renovation or in their existing condition. Finders currently manages 5 private funds having gradually built a respectable portfolio in the centre of Athens – and beyond (residential, commercial, tourism). “In 2020 we decided to convert existing private properties into tourist accommodation,” sources from the company tell Business Stories. “After market research we decided that there was a gap between hotel services and short-term accommodation units, so we took the strategic decision to create a new brand to fill this gap, called Vision-Hosts of Superior Living.
This company offers its guests the comfort of an apartment with rooms from 23 to 57 sq.m. and the services of a hotel, e.g. cleaning, bathroom amenities, concierge services, online ordering, but also an innovative real estate service. The first hospitality project for the company is “Vision Omonia” at the junction of 36 Chalcocondyli and 3rd September, which will probably be open by Easter, in a building acquired by 17 different owners in the past decade and completely transformed. The hotel will have 42 rooms, studios and suites with views of the Acropolis, a rooftop swimming pool, a gym, dining areas, and a 24-hour visitor service via a Vision Application. The artistic direction of the hotel, which will feature a life-size statue of Aphrodite of Milos at the entrance, is being undertaken by Kirios Criton. This will be followed later by “Vision Gazi” with 20 apartments in Gazi and “Vision Metaxourgeio” with 11 apartments in Metaxourgeio”.
So, after a decade of presence in Greece, the next phase includes two companies under common management, Finders, which continues its activity in real estate and Vision-Hosts of Superior Living, which is now starting its steps in the tourism sector.
The activities of the two companies are converging through the Finders Real Estate Hub service, which will offer interested buyers the full range of real estate services (one stop shop), from property search – finding a property, technical and legal inspection, handling all purchase completion procedures, renovation and property management. “We estimate that in our first year of operation, offering around 85 accommodation units in the centre of Athens, we will accommodate around 42,000 visitors. For Finders this is an audience that it would not be able to reach in any other situation, however through Vision it will be able to showcase all properties for sale in the rooms, having a pool of potential interested buyers and leveraging its long-standing expertise in real estate and development,” say Finders. The future goal is for Vision-Hosts of Superior Living to expand in Crete, in Rethymno and Chania, with luxury villas.
The next step in Greece is also the Israeli group of Fattal, which already has its flagship in Athens, the 5-star “Nyx Esperia Palace” in Stadiou, and the “Leonardo Kolymbia” in Rhodes. From this season, the group’s new venture, which is also looking for new projects in the Greek market, is the “Seafos Luxury Resort & Spa” in Nafplio, while the first luxury hotel in Thessaloniki will follow.
As for “Seafos Luxury Resort & Spa”, it is the gradual conversion into a luxury resort of the former “Kandia’s Castle”, acquired through an auction in an area easily accessible from Athens, a strategy that the Israeli investors believe and trust.