Teddy Sagi is a Cypriot-Israeli billionaire businessman, partially based in London.Sagi is the founder of the gambling software companyPlaytech and owner of London's Camden Market. His personal wealth is estimated at US$3.6 billion, with interests in real estate, gambling software, payments processing, and digital advertising.
Early life
Sagi was born in 1971 in Tel Aviv, the only child of Ami Sagi, a businessman who owned a travel agency, and his wife Lizi, a cosmetician, who sold make-up. He grew up there in the Shikun Lamed neighborhood,
Career
Playtech
Sagi founded Playtech in 1999. It was floated in 2006 on the London Stock Exchange at a price that valued the business at approximately £550 million. He has since scaled down his holdings to 4.6%, as opposed to 81% at the time of its IPO. He has since invested in hi-tech companies and real estate.
Hi-Tech
SafeCharge
Sagi was majority shareholder of the company, which is a credit card clearing company for the online gambling industry. Primarily based in Bulgaria, SafeCharge was traded on London's AIM, with a market cap of £385 million. The company was listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange. In 2019, Nuvei Corporation announced its acquisition of SafeCharge, and agreed to pay US$889 million in cash for it. In August 2019, Nuvei completed the acquisition.
Kape Technologies plc
In late 2012 Sagi acquired the start-up company Crossrider for $US 37M. The company went public on AIM at a value of $US 250M. In June 2016 following the appointment of new management team, the company changed its strategy to focus to Cyber-security with a focus on Digital Privacy and Protection of digital data. In March 2018 the name of the company was changed to Kape Technologies plc
Stucco Media
In 2015 Sagi acquired the start-up company Stucco Media for $US 43M. The acquisition was made by Market Tech, and the company is now owned by him. Stucco Media develops eCommerce website technology.
Glispa
Also in 2015, Sagi acquired the German start-up for 32M EUR. Glispa is an advertising company, mainly via mobile phones.
Mobfox
In November 2018, Sagi acquired the mobile advertising company Mobfox from Matomy Media for $7.5M.
Real-Estate
Camden Market
Camden Market Holdings, the owner of Camden Market, Stables Market and Camden Lock Developments was bought by Sagi in March 2014 for £400 million from Bebo Kobo, and Richard Caring and Elliott Bernerd for 2.3-2.6Bn ILS, which later turned out to be the biggest LSE IPO of 2015. Sagi has continued to buy property in the Camden Market area and as of March 2015, owns the four most important of the six sections of the market, London's second most popular tourist attraction after Buckingham Palace. In July 2017 Sagi has completed delisting Market Tech from the LSE, at a value of 1.1Bn ILS. Sagi intends to invest £300 million in developing the market area by 2018.
Other Real Estate Ventures
In June 2017 Sagi acquired 44% of Brack Capital Properties N.V, which is a listed real estate company, owning and developing residential and commercial properties in Germany. Sagi is also reported to enter the co-working share workspace sector with an international brand LABS. The first location is slated to open in London. In August 2015, The GoodVision Trust sold a 24.79% stake of Austrian real-estate company conwert Immobilien Invest SE to the German real-estate company Adler Real Estate AG. The market value of these shares was 250 million euros. In March 2020, Labtech, the property investment firm owned by Teddy Sagi, completed the sale of Holborn Links Estate for 245 million euros to investors Tristan Capital Partners and Cording Real Estate Group.
Wealth
He is ranked 6th on Forbes' Richest Israeli People. On May 30, 2019 in the Forbes rankings - 546th. According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2020 his net worth was estimated at £3.672 billion.
Personal life
In 1996 Sagi received a nine-month prison sentence after being convicted in Israel of bribery and fraud. In 2009 Sagi obtained Cypriot citizenship as part of a 'golden visa' scheme by Cyprus government. As Cyprus is part of the European Union Sagi obtained a Passport of the European Union. In 2013, The Guardian reported that Sagi had "been based in Cyprus for some years". Since 2010, Sagi has been living with Yael Nizri, the 2006 Miss Israel, and they have two daughters together. Sagi owns the most expensive home in Israel, located in Herzliya. The home, which he bought in 2010, lies in the wealthy neighborhood of Herzliya Pituah on Galei Techelet Street, Israel's most expensive street. It is a 2,000 square meter house on a half-acre lot on the shore, and has a fitness room, wine cellar, sealed room, and an elevator to the beach. Sagi also owns two penthouses in Herzliya, and other homes in Tel Aviv, London's Knightsbridge, Cyprus, and Berlin.
