Alex Sapir (Credit: Getty Images)
Developer Alex Sapir’s Israeli real estate company Sapir Corp. reported a loss of 26 million shekels in the first quarter, the equivalent of roughly $7.2 million.
The company’s revenue in the first quarter totaled 23 million shekels, or about $6.4 million, which grew from nearly zero the previous year, Globes, an Israeli financial newspaper, reported.
Revenue was up year-over-year because Sapir Corp. bought out partner Gerard Guez’s stake in the NoMo Soho hotel at 9 Crosby Street in New York, increasing its ownership of the property, said Baruch Itzhak, CEO of Sapir Corp.
Losses exceeded revenue due to higher operating expenses at the hotel, as Sapir took over full ownership, according to Globes.
In May, the company, which is publicly traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, closed on a $32 million refinancing from the estate of Tamir Sapir to pay back Israeli bonds tied to a Surfside development that were due next year.
The financing from Tamir Sapir’s estate will be due in April 2021. The loan has a fixed interest rate of 6.94 percent, according to Sapir Corp.
Sapir’s properties include NoMo Soho and Arte by Antonio Citterio, a 16-unit, 12-story condominium building at 8955 Collins Avenue in Surfside.
The firm plans to deliver Arte this summer. Sales launched with Corcoran Sunshine during Art Basel Miami Beach in December. Alex Sapir sold at least two units — to his mother, Bella, and to his sister, Ruth Sapir-Barinstein, for a combined $20 million for the entire eighth floor of the project.
Earlier this year, the company sought shareholder approval to use the deposits to help fund construction costs tied to completing the development.
Sapir Corp. also recently refinanced NoMo Soho with a $115 million loan from Goldman Sachs, which includes a $3 million gap mortgage from the bank and $73.3 million from a Sapir-related company.