Overview
- Global Capability Centres, in-house hubs for R&D and digital work, led the surge as Knight Frank’s Tuesday report put Q1 leasing at 29.9 million sq ft across the top eight cities with GCCs taking 14.4 million sq ft, or 48 percent.
- CBRE’s separate audit of nine cities counted 20.7 million sq ft of gross deals and a record 9.1 million sq ft by GCCs, with U.S. companies responsible for 73 percent of that cohort.
- Bengaluru led activity with 9.2 million sq ft leased, followed by Hyderabad at 5.9 million and Mumbai at 5.6 million, while GCC take-up skewed to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Delhi-NCR.
- Occupiers preferred premium, future-ready assets, with CBRE noting 83 percent of GCC leasing in green-certified tech parks and 78 percent in buildings under 10 years old.
- Demand outpaced new supply, compressing vacancy to 13.9 percent and pushing rents up 2 to 15 percent year over year, a squeeze that could raise costs and intensify competition for top-grade space through 2026.