From overdue rents to billions in debt: corporate distress puts pressure on the real estate market
- A tenant’s default at the Inter Logístico fund highlights difficulties also affecting major chains; report shows a 22% increase in the number of companies undergoing judicial reorganization
Two payment agreements breached and another rent payment overdue. Comercial RS, a tenant at an industrial property in Guarulhos, São Paulo, has defaulted on its obligations, according to a material disclosure released to Inter Logístico (INLG11) unitholders on September 22.
The outstanding balances under the agreements total R$213,800, excluding July’s rent, whose amount was not disclosed. The company filed for judicial reorganization in July, and the court authorized the proceedings.
The lease accounts for 5.8% of the fund’s monthly property income. Its manager says it does not currently expect a material impact on earnings or distributions. Although smaller in scale than the multibillion-real restructurings of major chains, the episode illustrates how companies’ payment difficulties reach property owners and investors. Rents, occupied space and real estate collateral feature at different points in this crisis.
Companies in judicial reorganization increase by 22%
Brazil ended June 2026 with 6,382 companies undergoing judicial reorganization, according to the RGF-BizDoc Monitor. The figure rose 6.5% in the first half of the year and 22% compared with the same period a year earlier.
This segment of the survey covers active companies’ head-office registrations and excludes microenterprises, branches, nongovernmental organizations and government bodies.
The causes vary across companies. Recent cases involve high financing costs, shifting consumer behavior and loss of access to credit. For the real estate market, the consequences also take different forms: overdue rents, reduced occupancy and difficulties sustaining operations backed by property collateral.
Retail in crisis
Casas Bahia filed for judicial reorganization on August 16, reporting R$17.3 billion in debt. The move followed an out-of-court restructuring initiated in 2024, which eased its obligations but did not resolve the company’s financial difficulties.
According to a REsource report, market sources pointed to a plan to close 298 stores, equivalent to 28.7% of the chain. In the first quarter of 2026, the company’s loss reached approximately R$1 billion.
Its shrinking real estate footprint was already evident in warehouses. Data from SiiLA’s Market Analytics show that the group vacated approximately 32,000 sq m in Itajaí and Fortaleza in 2025. Taking up another 17,900 sq m in Pernambuco only partly offset those departures, resulting in a net reduction of nearly 14,000 sq m.
In Marabraz’s case, the judicial reorganization filing involves five companies. According to the company, shareholder disputes within the Fares family resulted in the loss of access to real estate collateral supporting its borrowing.
The assets included Cajamar Centro Logístico, owned by the holding company LP Bens. The retailer reported that, following the split, banks reduced credit limits, raised borrowing costs and stopped renewing financing.
The property is also part of its distribution network: Marabraz occupies 65,300 sq m at industrial properties. In a statement to REsource, the company said its stores remain open and that it is seeking to restructure its obligations to preserve the business.
Difficulties also reach the restaurant sector
Grupo Gennius, which controls the Habib’s and Ragazzo chains, received court authorization to proceed with judicial reorganization on August 24, declaring R$265.2 million in debt. The businesses covered include 119 Habib’s restaurants and 26 Ragazzo locations, along with other companies.
The group attributed its difficulties to the effects of the pandemic, changes in consumer habits driven by the growth of delivery services, and high interest rates. In a statement, it said operations continue as normal. The case extends to the restaurant sector a pattern already affecting retailers and industrial properties tenants.
