Leo Noe
Leopold Noé | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Need valid birth date: year, month, day United Kingdom |
| Occupation(s) | Property investor, philanthropist |
| Known for | Founder and executive chairman of the Noé Group; major philanthropist |
Leopold Noé (born August 1953) is a British property investor and multi-millionaire, with an estimated net worth exceeding £606 million as reported in the 2020 and 2021 editions of the Sunday Times Rich List. He is recognized as one of the top 30 philanthropists in the history of The Sunday Times Giving List (2002–2021), having donated in excess of £100 million.
Early life
Noé was born in August 1953, the son of Salomon Noé (born December 1930), a property developer. Both of his parents survived Auschwitz before relocating to London.
Career
As founder and executive chairman of the Noé Group, Noé has led numerous property ventures. He formerly held the position of non-executive chairman at BMO Real Estate Partners. The Noé Group's inaugural transaction occurred in December 2017 with the sale of Manchester’s Debenhams building for £87 million. That same month, Capreon, the group's real estate division, purchased the De Haagsche Zwaan office complex in The Hague.
Following the 2008 merger between F&C and REIT, Noé joined BMO REP’s board after founding and chairing REIT Asset Management, where he was responsible for strategic direction and client engagement. In March 2017, together with Ivor Smith, he divested their combined 30% shareholding in BMO REP to F&C Asset Management (now BMO Global Asset Management). By August 2017, UK Value Add assets—including management agreements related to Noé family trusts—were brought back under his control, while German family trust assets continued to be managed by BMO REP's Munich office.
Noé also established Lee Baron Commercial Limited, a property consultancy serving a broad client base, where he acts as a non-executive director. Between 1989 and 1997, he was CEO of Bourne End Properties PLC, a publicly listed property investment firm primarily owned by his family trusts.
His British-Israeli enterprise F&C REIT possesses Israel's largest shopping center portfolio, valued at €1.5 billion (£1.2 billion). The REIT Israel Group owns a $20 million retail center near Nahariya. Noé spearheaded an attempted acquisition of Shufersal by purchasing controlling shares from Nochi Dankner. The integration of Reit's £3.45 billion portfolio with F&C's £5.2 billion property division broadened Noé’s exposure to institutional equity markets. His businesses operate across India, South America, Africa, and Europe.
In February 2018, UK Israel Business honored Noé with a lifetime achievement award. He is also noted as a former proprietor of Jewish News.
Personal life
Living in London, Noé's sons Zvi and Raphael are employed by Capreon, part of the Noé Group’s property operations. His daughter Shevi is married to David Bloom, who heads Goldacre Ventures—a private equity firm now integrated into the Noé Group.
Philanthropic work
Through the Rachel Charitable Trust, Noé provides support to numerous charitable organizations across the UK and Israel and holds trustee and patron roles within various educational and welfare institutions. He has contributed to both the UK government’s Holocaust Commission and the Jewish Leadership Council’s Commission on Jewish Schools, chairing its Schools Strategy Implementation Group (SSIG). His philanthropic focus includes Special Needs Education (SEN) programs in both countries, advocating for SEN designation within school funding frameworks and supporting over 50 SEN schools beyond the Jewish community.
In 1998, Noé became a trustee at Kisharon, a London-based charity assisting children with complex learning disabilities; he resigned in June 2021 following the inauguration of the Wohl Campus at Kisharon Noé School in Hendon.
In 2007, he founded the Kemach Foundation to facilitate integration of the Haredi population into Israel’s labor market and economy. As of January 2018, Kemach supports approximately 29,000 Haredi men and women through higher education opportunities and employment assistance.
Noé’s philanthropic approach prioritizes education, vocational training, and partnerships aimed at promoting employment opportunities, social tolerance, and sustainable community development. He delivered a keynote address at the 2015 Accelerate Conference in New York. In January 2016, he was reappointed vice-president and Treasurer of the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC), during which time individual donations increased eightfold from 2015 to 2016. By April 2017, he was ranked 64th on The Sunday Times Giving List for donating around £7.8 million in the preceding year.
Notable contributions include:
- Serving as Treasurer of JLC while significantly boosting individual donor contributions
- Philanthropic support through Rachel Charitable Trust benefiting charities in both UK and Israel
- Championing SEN initiatives across UK and Israel with commitments including a £750,000 pledge made in 2005
- Establishing Kemach Foundation to promote Haredi workforce inclusion
Political involvement
Noé has financially supported the Conservative Party, providing £130,000 in early 2017. In the course of the 2019 general election, his contributions included £150,000 to the party and an additional £2,500 to Mike Freer, the MP for Finchley and Golders Green.