Banco Mercantil Reduces Office Space in Belo Horizonte, Impacting Rio Bravo Real Estate Fund
- Bank will vacate 1,460 sqm at Bravo! BH to consolidate operations at another location; departure is scheduled for November and will reduce RBOP11’s earnings
Banco Mercantil do Brasil will vacate approximately 1,460 sqm at the Bravo! BH building in downtown Belo Horizonte, bringing its office vacancy rate to 79.65%, based on SiiLA’s Market Analytics data. The move is scheduled for November 28 and is part of a strategy to consolidate operations at another property already occupied by the bank, according to a material disclosure released on Wednesday (23) by Rio Bravo’s RBOP11 real estate investment fund.
The space being vacated represents approximately 68% of the bank’s roughly 2,150 sqm occupancy. The institution will retain 686.17 sqm in the building.
According to the disclosure, the departure will reduce monthly earnings by approximately R$0.88 per unit from the vacancy date onward. The early termination penalty is expected to generate a one-time positive impact of R$1.65 per unit.
The move adds to the property’s leasing challenges. According to SiiLA’s Market Analytics, the building already had a vacancy rate of 69%. Banco Mercantil’s partial departure will increase that figure to 79.65%.
Across RBOP11’s portfolio, projected physical vacancy will reach 79.05% following the bank’s partial departure.
Banco Mercantil and Bravo! BH
The reduction marks another chapter in Banco Mercantil’s relocation within Belo Horizonte. In 2023, the institution moved its headquarters to the Statement building, where it occupied five floors totaling more than 4,000 sqm.
According to REsource’s reporting, however, the new headquarters could not accommodate all teams, prompting part of the operation to return to the previous location. RBOP11’s disclosures show that, following the termination of the original lease in 2023, the bank signed new leases for four floors and the ground-floor branch. Another reduction followed in 2024, when the bank vacated the fifth floor while retaining the other three.
Mercantil is now preparing to vacate another portion of its space at Bravo! BH in November. According to Rio Bravo, the aim is to consolidate operations at another property already occupied by the bank.
