Foreign firms, led by those from US, rent 101 m sq ft space in last 5 years for GCCs in India: Colliers

Delhi, Feb 25 (PTI) Foreign companies, largely US-based, have rented 101 million sq ft of prime office spaces in the last five years to set up Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India's seven major cities, according to Colliers.

According to real estate consultant Colliers India data, the gross office leasing in the last five years (2020-25) stood at 280.2 million sq ft across seven major cities -- Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.

Out of this, the data showed that 101 million sq ft area was leased or absorbed by foreign firms to set up GCCs, contributing 36 per cent to the total workspace demand in these seven Indian cities.

US-based corporates took 71 million sq ft office space in the last five years to set up GCCs.

"India's office market has scaled up significantly in recent years, with consecutive demand peaks in the post-pandemic era. This scaling up has been powered by GCCs, which have moved beyond cost-arbitrage centres and transitioned into innovation-driven globally integrated knowledge & research hubs," Colliers said.

Arpit Mehrotra, Managing Director, Office Services, Colliers India, projected that 35-40 million sq ft of office space would be leased annually by foreign entities for the establishment of GCCs.

"While technology-based GCC demand from US firms can stabilise, we anticipate increasing traction from companies of EU and UK origin, especially within the engineering & manufacturing, BFSI and consulting domains," he added.

Commenting on the report, Madhusudhan G, CMD of Sumadhura Group, said the projection that GCCs could account for up to 50 per cent of India's office demand reflects a structural transformation rather than a cyclical upswing.

"For real estate developers, this shift calls for a clear recalibration of priorities -- Grade A+ assets, scalable and efficient floor plates, strong sustainability credentials, and ecosystems designed for hybrid, tech-enabled operations," he added.

Shesh Rao Paplikar, Founder & CEO, BHIVE Workspace, said this shows the trust global companies have in India's talent and business ecosystem.

To set up GCCs, he said, foreign firms are increasingly leasing managed flexible workspaces in co-working centres.

Sijo Jose, Co-Founder and Director - Property Acquisition at SpazeOne, said, "Global firms -- especially from the US and increasingly the UK and EU -- are expanding with a long-term view on India. For us, this clearly signals sustained demand for high-quality, scalable workspaces built around talent, compliance and future growth." Manas Mehrotra, Founder of Bengaluru-based 315Work Avenue, said the GCC landscape has evolved from being dominated by technology and BFSI firms to now becoming more diversified from sectors such as retail, aerospace and life sciences, expanding their footprint.

"These companies are expected to drive up the demand for co-working spaces with a flexible model that enables them to diversify risk and make capex more efficient. This trend is not limited to Tier-1 cities; GCCs are increasingly looking for workspace environments in Tier-2 cities as a result of lower operating costs, expanded labour pools, and improving digital infrastructure," Mehrotra said.

In the last calendar year, foreign firms leased or absorbed 29.2 million square feet of office space from builders, contributing 41 per cent to the total 71.5 million square feet of gross leasing across these seven cities.

The consultant projected the GCC's share in total demand at 40-50 per cent in the coming years. PTI MJH HVA