Zari David "Bebo" Kovo (a.k.a. Kobo; born February 1951) is an Israeli-Bulgarian property developer, the co-founder of property company Camden Market Holdings & Developments (including Stanley Sidings and the Stables Market Property Group), with nearly $880 million in assets as of 2014. Camden Market Holdings owns, operates, and manages real estate properties mainly in

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

, London, England. Properties include Camden Market, Stables Market, Camden Lock Market and Developments, recognized as the second largest tourist attraction in Europe with over 40 million annual visitors. In 2014, a majority portion of the company's assets were acquired for $680 million by Lab Tech Holdings.

Career

In the 1970s, Kobo was based in Hong Kong, as a clothing manufacturer, working closely with the Nakash Group, who owned the fashion brand

Jordache Jordache Enterprises, Inc. is an American clothing company that markets apparel, including shirts, jeans, and outerwear.

. In the 1990s, Kobo expanded into real estate development in Florida by acquiring several buildings on Miami's famed Ocean Drive and developing the Opa-Locka Flea Market prior to its sale of $80 million. In the 1990s, Kobo alongside

Richard Caring Richard Allan Caring (born 4 June 1948) is a British businessman. He initially built a business, International Clothing Designs, supplying Hong Kong-manufactured fashion to UK retailers. After surviving the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, he div ...

, and

Elliott Bernerd Elliott Bernerd (born 23 May 1945) is a British property developer, the co-founder of the property company Chelsfield with Sir Stuart Lipton. Early life He was born in Maida Vale, London on 23 May 1945, the only child of a film producer father. ...

, head of the British property company

Chelsfield Chelsfield is an area in south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley and the historic county of Kent. It lies south of Goddington, west of Well Hill, north of Pratt's Bottom and east of Green Street Green. The area is ...

, teamed up to acquire London's

Camden Market The Camden markets are a number of adjoining large retail markets, often collectively referred to as Camden Market or Camden Lock, located in the historic former Pickfords stables, in Camden Town, London. It is situated north of the Hampstead R ...

as well other properties in Camden Town. In 2014, they sold "a huge swathe" to fellow Israeli, the gambling billionaire

Teddy Sagi Teddy Sagi ( he, טדי שגיא; born 1971) is an Israeli billionaire businessman based in London and Cyprus. Sagi is the founder of the gambling software company Playtech and owner of London's Camden Market. His personal wealth is estimated at ...

, for £440 million. The transaction was handled by PIR Equities, which is the private equity arm of Kobo's eldest son

O.D. Kobo Oded David "O. D." Kobo (Hebrew: קובו עודד) is a Hong Kong-born Internet businessman. He is the co-founder of PIR Equities and Israel Investment Partners (IIP), both employee owned private equity firms, and a member of the partnership ne ...

. By 2008, Kobo along with his eldest son businessman

OD Kobo Oded David "O. D." Kobo (Hebrew: קובו עודד) is a Hong Kong-born Internet businessman. He is the co-founder of PIR Equities and Israel Investment Partners (IIP), both employee owned private equity firms, and a member of the partnership ne ...

were the largest single property holders in the Camden area, with 9 acres of freehold property.

Personal life

Kobo was convicted in 1979 of raping a woman who was a passenger in his car, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He is the father of businessman Oded David Kobo, and has five other children. He is married to Israeli model

Miri Bohadana Miri Bohadana ( he, מירי בוהדנה; born October 12, 1977) is an Israeli actress, model, tv host and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Israel 1995. Biography Miriam (Miri) Bohadana was born in Beersheba, Israel, to Morocca ...

. In 2015, he bought a 960 sq m house in Arsuf, an "exclusive cliff-top community", for NIS 106 million, as part of a creditors' arrangement for brothers Eliyahu and Moshe Shushan and brothers Gad and Dov Slook.Harriet Sherwood
Beny Steinmetz: Israeli diamond dealer who likes to keep a low profile
''The Guardian'', 30 July 2013.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovo, Zari Israeli businesspeople Living people 1951 births Israeli chief executives Israeli people convicted of rape