Created in 2007 as a spin-off from Cyrela, Syn Prop Tech is a clear example of the meaning of the expression "the owner's eye fattens the cattle." The company, which operates in the management of shopping malls, warehouses, and corporate buildings, plans to grow only within a radius of operation where its owner can closely monitor its operations.
Its owner: Elie Horn, the founder of Cyrela.
The company owns the Cidade São Paulo shopping mall on Avenida Paulista; the Tietê Plaza Shopping mall in the northern part of São Paulo; the Grand Plaza shopping mall in Santo André; and the Metropolitano Barra shopping mall in Rio de Janeiro. In total, the company manages 168,000 square meters (m²) of gross leasable area (GLA).
The reasoning is similar to that implemented by Horn at Cyrela, when he came to acknowledge that the strategy of expanding the company nationally had been a mistake.
In an interview given to NeoFeed in 2024, on the occasion of the launch of his biography , Horn offered a mea culpa regarding the expansion plan implemented in his construction company.
"Out of ambition, because I thought I could sell everything I did, I believed I could open businesses in 60 cities across Brazil. When we realized we were wrong, we withdrew," the businessman said at the time.
Today, the established thinking is precisely the same: to strengthen the company in the regions where it already operates, especially São Paulo, within a radius of about 20 kilometers, or the Elie Horn radius. And this is the policy that has also been implemented at Syn.
“It’s basically the region where Elie can go. He wants to be very close to the assets. And that’s a bit of our DNA. We manage to always be present in our shopping malls. And that’s a differentiator,” says Ricardo Loducca, CCO of Syn, to NeoFeed .
In the company's share capital, Horn, the chairman of the board, holds a 38.61% stake in Syn, combining his shares as an individual and those held by his investment vehicles. Leo Krakowiak owns 22.49%. The remaining 38.90% is in the market.
In this sense, precisely because of this more restricted radius established by Horn, which basically includes the perimeter of the city of São Paulo, at most the Metropolitan Region, the current plan is to revitalize assets to generate more revenue and only consider acquisitions if a great opportunity arises.
The company has allocated R$ 61.6 million for investments in shopping mall improvements, including renovations to common areas, retrofitting of food courts, and structural improvements. The ultimate goal is to ensure increased foot traffic in the shopping centers.
In practice, it's a "makeover" for their shopping malls, aimed at improving service and building customer loyalty. "I want people to know they're in a Syn mall, given our structure and service style, and to encourage them to spend more," says Loducca.
In the CCO's view, this means expanding shopping opportunities for the approximately 3.3 million customers who visit Syn's shopping malls monthly: 1 million at Grand Plaza and Cidade São Paulo each; and about 650,000 at the other two, also each.
"By improving assets and improving customer service, we tend to achieve an increase in the average ticket price," says Loducca.
The strategy also involves mirroring the scenario outlined by Syn's main competitors, such as Allos and Multiplan, of "looking inward" at shopping centers, given the challenging macroeconomic environment, with the Selic rate at 14.25% per year.
“It’s very similar to what they [competitors] have been saying, which is to look inside the mall and figure out how to get more out of what already exists. With the current interest rate environment, it’s complicated to develop something from scratch or buy a stake right now,” says Loducca.
Of the total resources, half has already been allocated to the shopping malls. A large part of the renovations at Cidade São Paulo has already been completed. The largest share, R$ 23 million, was allocated to Grand Plaza, the group's largest unit, with 70,000 m² and 300 stores. Cidade São Paulo received R$ 22.5 million, while Tietê Plaza and Metropolitano each received R$ 8 million.
The most distant shopping mall, Metropolitano, in Rio de Janeiro, located near the Olympic Park and inaugurated in 2013, was a case of development opportunity—a project in an expanding area. Even though it's a bit beyond Elie Horn's "field of vision."
Today, approximately 70% of Syn's revenue comes from shopping malls. The remainder comes from buildings and warehouses. This explains, according to Loducca, the company's focus, in terms of resources, on these assets.
In the warehouse segment, Syn recently completed the final phase of the logistics center currently occupied by Mercado Livre, at the intersection of the Presidente Dutra and Fernão Dias highways, on the outskirts of São Paulo. However, for now, there are no plans to build new warehouses, precisely because of a lack of opportunities within the "Elie Horn radius."
Last year, total sales across the shopping mall portfolio reached R$ 3.1 billion, a 5.7% increase year-on-year and 1.2% higher than the market average. Part of the revenue also comes from media, events, and kiosks, which registered a 19% growth in 2025.
In the first quarter of this year, the company recorded net revenue of R$ 60.1 million, a 9.2% increase over the same period of the previous year. Net profit, at R$ 8.4 million, grew by 24.4%. The physical occupancy rate of Syn's portfolio reached 97%.
Between January and March, sales volume in shopping malls reached R$ 711.5 million, a 6.9% increase. The standout during this period was Tietê Plaza, which accounted for 23% of total sales in shopping centers.
In the accumulated total for 2026, Syn's shares have registered a depreciation of 12.4%. The company's market value is R$ 645 million.
