The new dealmakers of Brazilian real estate are reshaping capital flows in 2026

The invisible layer that moves the real estate market

The Brazilian real estate market has historically operated under the logic of big names: listed developers, real estate fund managers, and investment banks with dedicated sector desks. These are the protagonists of headlines and market reports. However, there is an intermediate layer of professionals and firms that structures, connects, and enables a large share of the transactions defining capital flows in the sector. Advisory boutiques like Ilion Partners, operationally active family offices like LP Bens, and independent professionals with decades of relationship networks form an ecosystem of dealmakers whose influence on the market is disproportionate to their visibility.

In 2026, with the elevated Selic rate pressuring investor selectivity and new regulatory layers coming into effect, this sophisticated intermediation infrastructure becomes even more relevant. According to analysis by RE/MAX Brasil, 2026 will be more challenging for the real estate market than 2025, demanding greater internal efficiency from companies given the economic landscape and interest rates. The direct consequence: transactions will require more financial engineering, more tax intelligence, and greater qualified origination capabilities. The role of independent advisors, in this context, shifts from accessory to structural.

Who are the advisors and boutiques structuring real estate transactions in Brazil?

The independent dealmaker ecosystem in Brazilian real estate can be segmented into three distinct profiles, each with a specific function in the transaction value chain.

The first profile is the investment boutique with a proprietary thesis. Ilion Partners exemplifies this model. Since 2014, the firm has invested in 23 projects, totaling 130,000 sqm of built area and asset value exceeding R$700 million, according to data compiled by the GRI Institute. Ilion's focus is on urban retrofit and multifamily projects — segments that require proprietary origination capabilities and granular knowledge of local markets. Unlike a traditional real estate fund manager, the boutique operates at the structuring end, identifying assets, designing the value thesis, and attracting co-investors for each deal.

The second profile is the family office with an operational vocation. LP Bens clearly represents this category. Owner of Cajamar Logistics Center (CCL), Brazil's largest logistics asset with 500,900 sqm of Gross Leasable Area (GLA), according to SiiLA data from August 2025, LP Bens transcends the passive logic of wealth allocation. In an industrial property market comprising 28.6 million sqm in Brazil, of which 15.1 million sqm are concentrated in the state of São Paulo (SiiLA, August 2025), the ownership and active management of the country's largest logistics asset gives LP Bens a unique position of influence over pricing, construction standards, and leasing dynamics in the segment.

The third profile is the senior professional with individual intermediation capacity. Names like Sidney Angulo, Nader Fares, Alan Zelazo, Adriano Sartori, and Diogo Prosdocimi represent a generation of executives whose relationship networks and sector expertise position them as connectors between capital and assets. Adriano Sartori, for example, takes the helm of CBRE Brasil following a trajectory in which the Brazilian operation of the consultancy accumulated over R$30 billion in asset sales and generated more than R$47 billion in leasing revenues over 30 years, as reported by Bloomberg Línea in June 2024. These professionals carry with them the transactional track record and credibility that unlock complex deals.

The independent advisor in Brazilian real estate functions as critical market infrastructure: without them, available capital and existing assets frequently fail to meet.

Why does sophisticated intermediation become more relevant in 2026?

Three vectors converge to expand the demand for qualified intermediation in the current cycle.

The first is regulatory. Complementary Law 214/2025, which regulates the tax reform and implements the dual VAT (IBS/CBS), changes the taxation of real estate companies and lease contracts starting in 2026. Simultaneously, CVM Resolution 175, with updates under public consultation for 2026 (SDM 6/25), modernizes the regulatory framework for investment funds, including REITs (FIIs), with a focus on structural standardization and asset segregation by classes. These two regulatory fronts require that every significant real estate transaction be structured with greater legal and tax sophistication. Independent advisory, with the ability to customize solutions for each deal, gains an advantage over the standardized structures of large institutions.

The second vector is traceability. The implementation of the Brazilian Real Estate Registry (CIB) starting in 2026 will expand property traceability by cross-referencing data from the Federal Revenue Service, notary offices, and municipalities, with a direct impact on reducing informality in the sector (Portal Rosalvo Barreto). For dealmakers operating with more complex assets — such as urban retrofits, logistics warehouses with multiple tenants, or fragmented portfolios — the CIB represents both an operational challenge and an opportunity: those who master the new database will have a competitive edge in deal origination.

The third vector is sectoral convergence. Brazil's real estate ecosystem is undergoing strong convergence with infrastructure, encompassing energy, data centers, and sanitation. This expansion of the perimeter of what constitutes a "real estate asset" demands professionals with a cross-cutting vision, capable of evaluating both the financial engineering of a REIT and the technical specificities of a built-to-suit lease contract for a data center operator. Boutiques like Ilion Partners, focused on specific theses, and operators like LP Bens, with deep logistics expertise, are naturally positioned at this intersection.

In an environment of high interest rates and increasing regulation, the ability to structure transactions with tax and legal precision replaces access to cheap capital as the main competitive differentiator.

How is the real estate dealmaker profile changing in Brazil?

The migration of experienced professionals between institutional platforms and independent roles or boutiques signals a reconfiguration of the sector's talent market. The trajectory of Sidney Angulo, linked to E-Business Park and with a growing presence in the REIT universe, illustrates a broader trend: traditional "brick-and-mortar" investors are migrating to capital markets structures, bringing with them the operational knowledge that differentiates a strong investment thesis from a generic pitch.

This transit between the operational and financial worlds is precisely what defines the contemporary dealmaker in Brazilian real estate. Professionals like Nader Fares, Alan Zelazo, and Diogo Prosdocimi represent variations of this hybrid profile, each with sector specializations and relationship networks that make them central nodes in the market's transaction fabric.

The GRI Institute community, which brings together real estate and infrastructure leaders in high-level meetings and strategic discussions throughout the year, has clearly observed this phenomenon: the most sought-after panels at GRI Club events are precisely those that bring institutional investors face to face with the professionals who actually originate and structure transactions. The most productive conversation in the Brazilian real estate market of 2026 happens at this intersection.

The Brazilian real estate dealmaker in 2026 combines operational asset knowledge, financial sophistication, and mastery of the new regulatory environment — a profile that boutiques and independent professionals cultivate with more agility than large institutions.

The central thesis

Real estate capital flows in Brazil depend, to an increasing degree, on an intermediation layer that operates below the radar of conventional analyses. Boutiques like Ilion Partners, with over R$700 million in assets and a focus on high-value-added urban theses, and operators like LP Bens, managing the country's largest logistics asset, demonstrate that the sophistication of the Brazilian market has already surpassed the binary model of "institutional buyer" versus "asset seller."

Between these two poles, there is a vibrant ecosystem of advisors, structurers, and connectors that determine which transactions happen, on what terms, and at what speed. Understanding this ecosystem is a prerequisite for any serious allocation or divestment strategy in Brazilian real estate.

The GRI Institute's events and research will continue mapping this evolution, connecting the professionals who set the pace of real estate transactions in the country with the decision-makers seeking actionable market intelligence. In a cycle that rewards precision over volume, knowing the right dealmakers is as important as knowing the right assets.