Leopold Noé
British property investor and philanthropist (born August 1953)
| Leopold Noé | |
|---|---|
| Image |  Rabbi Yehuda Marmostein, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks and Leopold Noé in Bnei Brak in 2019.
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| Born | August 1953 |
| Died | |
| Nationality | British |
| Residence | |
| Occupation | Property investor, philanthropist |
| Known for | Noé Group; REIT Israel / shopping centres in Israel; Rachel Charitable Trust; Kemach Foundation; former owner of Jewish News; patron of The British Friends of the Israeli War Disabled Trust |
| Parents | |
| Spouse(s) | Sue Noé |
| Children | 5 (including Zvi Noé, Raphael Noé, Shevi Noé) |
| Sibling(s) | |
| Education | |
| Predecessor | |
| Website | |
Leopold Noé (born August 1953; commonly styled Leo Noé) is a British property investor and philanthropist. He is executive chairman and founder of the Noé Group. Through family trusts and vehicles such as F&C REIT he has held substantial commercial property interests in the United Kingdom, Europe and Israel, including becoming the largest owner of shopping centres in Israel. He has given more than £100 million to charity (primarily via the Rachel Charitable Trust) and has held senior roles in communal bodies including the Jewish Leadership Council. He was a long-serving patron of The British Friends of the Israeli War Disabled Trust (charity 269269).[1][2]
Early life and family
Noé was born in August 1953. He is the son of property developer Salomon Noé (also Solomon Noé; born December 1930). Both parents were held in Auschwitz and liberated in 1944 before reaching London. His father worked in diamonds before moving into property. Noé has five children. Sons Zvi Noé and Raphael Noé work for Capreon (part of the Noé Group). Daughter Shevi Noé is married to David Bloom, who runs Goldacre Ventures within the group.[1][3]
Career
Noé established Lee Baron Commercial Limited (property consultants; he remains a non-executive director) and was chief executive of Bourne End Properties PLC (1989–1997), a listed property company in which family trusts were the main shareholders. He founded and chaired REIT Asset Management. On the September 2008 merger of F&C Commercial Property Holdings and REIT he joined the board of what became BMO Real Estate Partners, later serving as non-executive chairman. In March 2017 he and Ivor Smith sold their combined 30% interest in BMO REP; UK Value Add assets managed for family trusts returned to the family in August 2017. German family-trust assets remained under BMO management in Munich.[1][4]
The Noé Group (founded 2017) announced its first major deal in December 2017 with the sale of the Debenhams building in Manchester for £87 million. Its real-estate arm Capreon acquired the De Haagsche Zwaan office block in The Hague the same month. Through F&C REIT / REIT Israel Group (formerly Azorim Properties) the portfolio became the largest owner of shopping malls in Israel (reported €1.5 billion / £1.2 billion), including an 11,000 m² centre at the entrance to Nahariya. Noé was also the lead buyer in an attempted takeover of Shufersal from Nochi Dankner. Companies associated with him have operated in India, South America, Africa and Europe. Companies House records show dozens of appointments (officer ID Tc8uWP4ISzCgJGncA0FV9JaauqQ; date of birth August 1953), concentrated in property and investment vehicles.[1][5]
In February 2018 he received a lifetime achievement award from UK Israel Business for contribution to bilateral trade and relations.[1][6]
He was the long-time owner of Jewish News. In November 2020 he gifted the title to the Independent Jewish Community News Foundation (securing continued independent communal ownership under editor Richard Ferrer). He had funded the paper for more than a decade.[7]
Philanthropy and communal roles
Primarily through the Rachel Charitable Trust (established nearly 50 years ago; reported donations exceeding £100 million), Noé supports education, welfare, special educational needs and Jewish/Israeli causes. The trust has funded the Noé Sacks Scholarships at Bar-Ilan University’s Jonathan Sacks Institute and numerous other bodies.[1][8]
He became a trustee of Kisharon (now Kisharon Langdon) in 1998 and served until 2021; the charity named its Hendon campus and school after him (Kisharon Noé School). In 2025 he was appointed its first honorary president. He founded the Kemach Foundation in Israel in 2007 to support Haredi entry into higher education and the workforce; by 2018 it had assisted tens of thousands of individuals. He has been active in special-needs education policy in both the UK and Israel and served on the UK government’s Holocaust Commission and the Jewish Leadership Council’s Commission on Jewish Schools (chair of its Schools Strategy Implementation Group). He has held the roles of vice-president and treasurer of the Jewish Leadership Council. In 2022 he was appointed chair of the Centre for Social Justice Foundation. He is also a patron of The British Friends of the Israeli War Disabled Trust.[1][9][2]
The Sunday Times Giving List has ranked him among the top all-time donors (more than £100 million between 2002 and 2021). He has appeared on the Rich List with a fortune reported at £500–606 million in recent years.[1]
Political activity
Noé is a Conservative Party donor. Recorded gifts include £130,000 in the first quarter of 2017, further sums in 2019, and a donation to Finchley and Golders Green MP Mike Freer.[1]
Affiliations
- Hasmonean Multi-Academy Trust - Director 30 April 2019-17 September 2020
- The Trustees of the J.S.S.M. - Director 3 December 2018-11 May 2020
See also
- Noé Group
- Rachel Charitable Trust
- Jewish Leadership Council
- Kisharon Langdon
- The British Friends of the Israeli War Disabled Trust
- Jewish News
External links
Articles
- Jewish Chronicle list of those who wield the greatest influence on British Jewry Others on the list: Numbers 31-100
- In war and peace, they keep investing in Israel
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Leo Noe, Wikipedia, retrieved 9 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 BFIWD letterhead, 29 October 2018, listing Mr L Noé among patrons.
- ↑ Leo Noé: I don’t want to know how much I am worth, Estates Gazette, 20 November 2017.
- ↑ Leo Noé, official site, retrieved 9 October 2026.
- ↑ Leopold NOE personal appointments, Companies House, date of birth August 1953.
- ↑ Philanthropist Leo Noe dedicates lifetime achievement award to late parents, Jewish News, 28 February 2018.
- ↑ Jewish News owner gifts the title to charitable foundation, Jewish News, 12 November 2020.
- ↑ Responsibility, Noé Group.
- ↑ Leo Noé appointed first honorary president of Kisharon Langdon, Jewish News, 19 August 2025.