Gindi Holdings has announced that it has sold Tel Aviv's Sarona Market to Big Shopping Centers (2004) Ltd. (TASE:BIG) and Mega Or Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MGOR) for NIS 160 million. Gindi said that the deal includes only the retail food hall and not the adjacent car park, which is worth an estimated NIS 240 million. In recent months many businesses have left Sarona Market after reporting weak sales.
Sarona Market was opened in July 2015 by Gindi Holdings with great fanfare and was compared to Chelsea Market in New York, Borough Market in London and La Boqueria in Barcelona. The retail food market has about 90 stores, stalls, cafes and restaurants and covers 8,700 square meters. The average retail space is 50 square meters.
For the first eight months of operations, Sarona Market seemed a success but them problems began. In March 2016, local residents who opposed the opening of the market filed a lawsuit against Gindi. In June 2016, there was a terrorist attack, which hit subsequent sales and the morale of businesses and employees. These problems also affected the restaurants in the surrounding Sarona Park.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 10, 2019
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2019