India’s top southern cities—Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai—led GCC office space leasing in Q1 2025, capturing 64% of total demand. Leasing surged 72% year-on-year, with IT/ITeS, BFSI, and manufacturing sectors driving growth. Tier 2 and 3 cities emerge as new hubs amid infrastructure growth and talent availability.
India’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are driving a significant upswing in office space leasing, with the southern cities of Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai accounting for a commanding 64% share of total GCC leasing in the first quarter of 2025, according to a report released by real estate consultancy Anarock.
The surge reflects the rapid expansion of GCCs across India’s commercial real estate sector, fueled by proactive government initiatives and a strong pipeline of new entrants and expansion projects. “GCCs in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad collectively leased approximately 5.34 million square feet of gross office space in Q1 2025,” said Peush Jain, Managing Director at Anarock Group. This regional dominance was followed by Delhi-NCR, where GCCs leased 1.95 million square feet during the same period.
Overall, GCCs leased around 8.35 million square feet across India’s top seven cities between January and March 2025, up 72% from 4.87 million square feet in Q1 2024. Their gross office space leasing share hit 43%, signalling a significant rebound in corporate real estate demand led by the IT, banking, and industrial sectors.
Bengaluru maintained its position as the epicentre of GCC activity, grabbing a 40% share—or approximately 3.3 million square feet—of the total gross leasing in Q1 2025. Delhi-NCR followed with a 23% share (1.91 million sq ft), and Chennai accounted for 15% (1.22 million sq ft).
Breaking down leasing activity by sector, IT and ITeS (Information Technology and Information Technology Enabled Services) led the charge with a 35% share. The BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance) segment followed with 22%, while manufacturing and industrial firms accounted for 13%. E-commerce (6%) and consultancy firms (5%) also contributed, with the remaining 19% spread across other sectors.
While IT/ITeS remains the most significant driver of GCC leasing, other verticals like BFSI and manufacturing are steadily gaining traction. This diversification signals evolving business strategies and a more balanced real estate footprint among global enterprises operating in India.
Interestingly, GCC expansion is no longer limited to metro cities. Jain noted that organisations are also increasingly establishing operations in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities like Ahmedabad, Kochi, and Coimbatore. “This is due to a combination of factors, including a growing skilled workforce beyond the metros, cost competitiveness, supportive government policies, and concerted infrastructure development,” he said.
As India strengthens its role as a global operations hub, the momentum in GCC-led office leasing shows no signs of slowing. The trend underscores a larger shift in how global firms leverage India’s talent pool and business ecosystem, not just in the big cities, but across the country.
