EXCLUSIVE: JGP is buying Rio Design Leblon and wants to convert part of the mall into offices

JGP is buying Rio Design Leblon with the idea of ​​converting part of the mall into triplex offices – a thesis increasingly lurking in the neighborhood and recently adopted by HSI when purchasing the Oi headquarters.

The transaction depends on the normal previous conditions for this type of operation.

Director Andrzej Jagorski will pay R$160 million for 100% of the shopping centre, which was owned by Cervenko and was managed by Ankar Ivanhoe, sources familiar with the matter said. Brazil Magazine.

The manager must also invest about R$40 million to carry out the mission retrofit And adapt to the property.

According to sources, JGP's ambition is to achieve a rent equal to or greater than that exercised at the Leblon Commercial Shopping Tower, which has become a hub for managers such as Squadra, Atmos, ARX and 3G Radar.

The rent for Leblon shopping offices, located across the street from Rio Design, is about R$300 per square metre.

Rio Design Leblon has a total leasable area of ​​5,300 square meters and includes 46 stores and 11 restaurants.

The shopping center has been purchased by JGP Real Estate Fund which is in the final stage of raising money from institutional investors and clients Wealth.

Initially, FII will not be listed in the B3 category, but one possibility in the future is to raise new funds in the retail sector to list and turn it into an income fund. Another possibility is to sell the asset at a profit.

The deal marks JGP's debut in the brick-and-mortar sector, two years after it was set up by the manager Real estate, Led by Thiago Lima, former CEO of Saphyr Shopping Center Manager. Since then, the manager has only launched a small CRI fund, with a capital of about R$30 million owned by the partners.

A source close to JGP said the deal was opportunistic and that the manager understood that he would be able to surf two trends with the investment: lower interest rates, which tend to benefit the sector as a whole; And the options available for the asset, which can generate significant gains for investors.

JGP's idea is to keep the basement and ground floor as a shopping center, where stores are doing well, and convert the first and second floors of the property into corporate buildings, betting on the growing demand from companies for first-class offices. Leblon.

“Leblon has cosmopolitan urban characteristics that only a few areas in Brazil have: a metro in its heart, facilitating mobility for those who work there, and a very large offer of commerce, schools and housing,” the source said. “The vision in Rio is for Leblon to increasingly become the province of Rio. An island in the middle of the city.”

According to this source, Rio Design should also benefit from the revitalization of Jardim do Alah Park, the park located on the border of Leblon and Ipanema and a few meters away from Rio Design. (The park has just been awarded to a consortium led by businessman Alexander Akioli, which is organizing a large-scale revitalization project.)

Pedro Arbex and Geraldo Samor