Southern cities lead in GCC office leasing

Hyderabad: Global Capability Centres (GCCs) have been ramping up their presence on India’s commercial real estate landscape in the last few years, with government initiatives announced in the Union Budget further accelerating this trend. The top cities are witnessing escalating demand from both new GCC entrants and those expanding their existing operations.

Latest ANAROCK data shows the top southern cities – Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai - dominating GCC office space leasing in Q1 2025 with a 64% overall share. Approx. 8.35 Mn sq. ft. gross office space has been leased by GCCs in Q1 2025 across the top 7 cities.

According to Peush Jain, MD - Commercial Leasing & Advisory, ANAROCK Group, says, “Of the gross office space leasing of 19.47 Mn sq. ft. recorded in the top 7 cities in Q1, GCCs accounted for about 8.35 Mn sq. ft. - a 43% overall share. In Q1 2024, they had leased about 4.87 Mn sq. ft. In short, there has been a 72% annual jump in their office space absorption.” “In retrospect, ANAROCK data of Indian office markets indicates that the top 7 cities saw gross leasing of over 141.43 Mn sq. ft. of office space in the last two years – 2023 and 2024. Of this, GCCs alone leased about 52.88 Mn sq. ft., accounting for a share of over 37% share,” he adds.

“Driven by India’s rising economic influence over the last two to three years, GCCs are deploying not just in the top 7 cities but also in various Tier 2 & 3 cities, including Ahmedabad, Kochi, and Coimbatore,” says Peush Jain. Unlike in the pre-Covid period, when most of them were largely eyeing the IT/ITeS and BFSI sectors, GCCs’ focus is now spreading out into other sectors including manufacturing and industrial.