Supermarket chain Shufersal (TASE: SAE) and Big Shopping Centers (TASE: BIG) have signed an agreement whereby Shufersal will sell to Big half the land on which its head office stands, 110 dunams on Shmotkin Street in east Rishon LeZion, for NIS 200 million.
The companies will act together to promote an Urban Building Plan for the construction of a Big Fashion mall on the site that will contain 50,000 square meters of commercial and office space.
No timetable has been set for constructing the complex and approval of the Urban Building Plan could take years, but it is not unlikely that immediately following reports of the agreement Big CEO Hay Galis started to receive approaches from potential lessees.
At present, the site is occupied by Shufersal’s head office, a branch of Universe (Shufersal’s new discount chain), and a logistics center. It’s possible that the head office will remain there and will occupy the new office space to be built, along the lines of the Big Fashion complex in Petah Tikva, where fashion chain Fox-Wizel (TASE: FOX) bought half the office building to be constructed and will transfer the group’s head office to it when the complex opens in 2029.
At the same time, on the remainder of the site, Shufersal will construct residential towers containing an estimated 2,000 apartments, probably in collaboration with another developer.
Unlike its main competitors in shopping malls, Azrieli (TASE: AZRG) and Melisron (TASE: MLSR), which in recent years have entered the residential sector (Azrieli recently acquired residential real estate company ZMH Hammerman (TASE: ZMH) and Melisron completed the acquisition of Aviv Development), Big still declares that it intends to remain focused on the commercial and office sectors, alongside development of sheltered housing.
In any event, the deal between the two companies still awaits the fulfilment of preconditions, among them approval of the Urban Building Plan and consent by the Planning and Building Committee to the ambitious project.
Meanwhile, investors have shown that they like the two companies’ announcement. Shufersal’s share price rose 6% yesterday (it is up 13% for the year to date) and Big rose 2.3% (24% for the year to date).
Shufersal, Israel’s largest supermarket chain, controlled by brothers Yossi and Shlomi Amir, has 431 branches. Its latest financials showed a sharp decline in sales. Now, among other things because of the limited number of new branches it can still open, it appears that the brothers are putting an emphasis on enhancing the group’s real estate assets.
The value of these assets, 80 in number, is estimated at NIS 5.2 billion, and they carry extensive building rights. The agreement with Big is seen as a sign of things to come, and Shufersal is believed to be on the lookout for further opportunities.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on September 10, 2025.
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