Entrepreneur Roni Zabri, Founder of Zabri Company, Passes Away
Yehud, [Date] – Roni Zabri, a prominent entrepreneur and the owner of Zabri Company, has tragically passed away today. Zabri, 65 years old at the time of his death, was born in Yehud and had a successful career in various industries.
Zabri was married to Dr. Nava Michael-Zabry, who comes from a prestigious background as the granddaughter of the founders of the Strauss company and the daughter of Raya Strauss, a former owner of the company. Apart from his business ventures, Zabri also served in the military, where he held the rank of lieutenant colonel in the reserves after completing his service as an artillery battalion commander.
In 2008, Zabri established R. Zabari entrepreneurship and real estate development company, which led to the establishment of the Zabari company. The primary focus of the company was in the field of urban renewal, although Zabri was also involved in real estate entrepreneurship abroad, particularly in Turkish Cyprus. Additionally, he had interests in retail, trade, and finance.
However, in recent days, Zabri found himself embroiled in legal proceedings. These included asset confiscation against the Zabari company and a bankruptcy proceeding against Zabri personally, owing to debts amounting to millions of shekels.
Last August, the District Court in Tel Aviv approved the opening of receivership proceedings against Zabari’s company following the application by Yemots and Ayalon companies. The debt, totaling 144 million shekels, was associated with the company’s “Yafa” project, a TMA project for strengthening condensation comprising of 108 apartments. Despite being scheduled to be completed by August 2022, the project is still in the final stages of construction, resulting in significant debt, mainly in sales guarantee policies.
Interestingly, Zabri himself faced insolvency proceedings due to a debt of NIS 7.5 million related to the Bohod Hasharon project. Furthermore, apartment buyers in Zabri’s Yafa project filed a lawsuit seeking compensation of NIS 5.6 million for the delay in apartment deliveries.
In response to the asset collection proceedings against him, Zabri acknowledged that the sharp increase in interest rates last year had negatively impacted his real estate business. He emphasized his efforts to work with lending institutions to mitigate any harm caused to buyers and tenants involved in his projects. Zabri expressed remorse for the delays experienced by the project participants.
Despite these challenges, the Zabari company has multiple projects in planning and marketing stages. These include a project in the Kiryat Hiyoval neighborhood in Jerusalem and another on Hatzamtu Street in Bat Yam. According to the company’s website, they anticipate constructing over 1,960 units in the central region of the country in the coming years.
The loss of Roni Zabri is a significant blow to the business community. His contributions and entrepreneurial spirit will be remembered, and his legacy will live on through the ventures he established.