Eddie and Sol Zakay

Metropole Hotel, Brighton

Eddie and Sol Zakay (born July 1950 and June 1952 respectively) are Israeli-born British billionaire brothers, who made their fortune in real estate through their company, Topland Group.

Early life

Eddie Zakay was born in July 1950 and Sol Zakay was born in June 1952.[1] They were both born in Israel.[2]

Career

Eddie and Sol Zakay started their property business in Britain during the 1980s property boom. They later expanded into the U.S. and Middle Eastern markets.[2] The Times described the brothers as having made their money principally through sale and leaseback deals with supermarkets, particularly an important deal with Marks & Spencer in 2001.[3]

After the introduction of a 50p rate of tax in the U.K., Sol Zakay left Britain to live in Israel. In 2013, he returned to the U.K. and took over as chairman and CEO of Topland from his brother Eddie, who became deputy chairman.[4]

Topland Group is one of the world's largest privately owned property and investment groups. The company owns property in the UK and India and in 2013 bought 12 out of the 15 hotels (all in the UK) owned by the bankrupt Menzies Hotels for about $135 million.[5] They own a number of other UK hotels, including Bath’s Royal Crescent Hotel, the Hilton Brighton Metropole, the Glasgow Hilton and several Thistle Hotels, six in central London and one in Edinburgh.[5]

The brothers are thought to be majority owners of Topland which, according to This is Money in 2003, is "ultimately controlled from the British Virgin Islands".[2] According to Forbes, they are worth $3.2 billion as of October 2015.[6]

The company has since diversified into natural resources and renewable energy.[7]

Legal dispute

In 2012, The Guardian reported that Topland and Eddie Zakay were being sued by the U.K.'s Ministry of Justice for allegedly having "conspired with a property agent in 2002 to extract inflated rents from the government on one of its central London buildings which houses the main London divorce courts" and having engaged in "deceit, fraud by bribery, dishonest assistance and breach of confidence" and "unlawful conspiracy". The case was first lodged by Labour party minister Jack Straw in May 2010. In 2011, the brothers, via Topland, made a £25,000 donation to the British Conservative Party, who by then were in government with the Liberal Democrats.[8] The case was subsequently "settled out of court on confidential terms".[9]

Philanthropy

In 2010, Topland held a business lunch at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London in conjunction with Jewish Care, at which £241,000 was raised for the charity's causes.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Topland Group plc". Companies House. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Bridge, Sarah (16 February 2003). "£35m payday for property brothers". thisismoney. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Sol Zakay Property entrepreneur", Catherine Boyle, The Times, 21 July 2008, p. 39.
  4. ↑ Hanscomb, Harry (2 Jul 2013). "Topland - General - UK, Sol Zakay set to return to UK to lead Topland investment drive". propertymall. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Zakay Brothers's Topland Group Buys Menzies UK Hotel Chain for $135 Million". Jewishbusinessnews. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "Eddie & Sol Zakay". Forbes. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "Forbes". Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  8. ↑ Ramesh, Randeep (6 April 2012). "Firm sued by ministry is Tory donor". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Bar-Hillel, Mira (26 September 2012). "The Brothers". thelondonmagazine. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  10. ↑ Lord Mandelson helps to raise £241K for Jewish Care. Jewish Chronicle, 15 November 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
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