Foreign Firms Lease Record 9.1 Million Square Feet of Office Space in India for Setting Up Global Capability Centres

Record Office Space Leasing in India's Top 9 Cities

Foreign firms have leased a record 9.1 million square feet of office space across India's top 9 cities in the January-March period to establish Global Capability Centres (GCCs). According to a recent report by real estate consultant CBRE, the total gross leasing of office spaces rose 5 per cent across top 9 cities to 20.7 million square feet in January-March from 19.7 million square feet in the year-ago period.

The nine cities that experienced this growth are Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Kochi. The leasing of space for GCCs stood at a record 9.1 million square feet in the January-March period, the highest in any quarter.

CBRE's data highlights the significant demand for office space in India, driven by the establishment of GCCs. This demand is not concentrated in a single sector but spans across sectors, including e-commerce, technology, and BFSI. American firms contributed 73 per cent of the total GCC leasing, indicating a strong preference for India as a global destination for high-complexity capability functions.

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The consultant noted that occupiers of workspaces are preferring green-certified, amenity-rich locations. As occupiers adopt AI-ready workspace strategies and GCCs evolve into multi-functional innovation hubs, CBRE expects leasing momentum to remain healthy through 2026.

A breakdown of the office leasing across the top 9 cities reveals that Bengaluru led the way with a 29 per cent share, followed by Delhi-NCR (22 per cent) and Mumbai (16 per cent). These three cities accounted for around 67 per cent of the total gross office leasing across nine cities during the January-March period of 2026.