Office Market: Investment Banks Make Their Mark in Corporate Centers

While the financial sector continues to dominate the commercial office space market in Brazil, currently leading among FIRE (Finance, Insurance, Legal, and Real Estate) occupants with over 2 million square meters of office space across the country, the SiiLA platform has observed that some companies in this industry are downsizing their office footprints. This trend includes well-established institutions like Itaú, Santander, and other traditional banks.

Traditional financial institutions still hold the top position, but as they reduce their presence, investment banks are charting a different course. Data from Market Analytics, SiiLA's market analysis platform, reveals that companies like BTG Pactual, for instance, have expanded their office space in recent periods.

In an examination of BTG Pactual's growth, the institution now occupies 36,636 square meters of office space , compared to 24,260 square meters two years ago.

One of the properties in BTG Pactual's portfolio is the Pátio Victor Malzoni, boasting 18,094 square meters in the South Tower and 3,692 square meters in the North Tower. This office tower is classified as A+ and is situated in São Paulo's Faria Lima region, considered one of the primary hubs for corporate office spaces.

Another company making strides in office space expansion is XP Investimentos, a brokerage firm established in 2012. The company gained recognition when it relinquished its leased space in one of São Paulo's prominent corporate developments, São Paulo Corporate Towers, in 2021. However, just a year later, the company returned to lease space within the same development.

Furthermore, two other institutions within the same sector also occupy substantial office spaces. For example, the Brazilian branch of Goldman Sachs occupies 5,060 square meters in the Infinity Tower. Credit Suisse Hedging Griffo (CSHG) also holds a significant footprint in the same tower, encompassing 7,394 square meters, and when including other office spaces, its total occupancy reaches 9,568 square meters.

Sector Growth

B3 data shows that in 2022, the number of individual investors reached 17.2 million, an increase of 31.3% compared to the previous year. When considering only those who invested in equities, the number grew by 37.1%. It's no wonder that investment banks have been growing in the country. By nature, these institutions focus on assisting both individuals and businesses in investments, especially in the stock market.

The 6th edition of the Investor's X-Ray survey conducted by Anbima (Brazilian Association of Financial and Capital Markets Entities) and Datafolha, a Brazilian resource institute, shows that the number of investors using apps to manage their investments increased by 10 percentage points. It shows that 43% use apps as their primary way of managing their assets.