Mumbai, 20 May 2025: 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.
Peush Jain, MD – Commercial Leasing & Advisory, ANAROCK Group, says, “GCCs in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad collectively leased approximately 5.34 Mn sq. ft. of gross office space in Q1 2025, followed by Delhi-NCR which saw 1.95 Mn sq. ft. gross office space leased to GCCs. 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.”
City-wise data indicates that Bengaluru leads in gross leasing by GCCs in Q1 2025 with a 40% share, or approx. 3.3 Mn sq. ft., followed by Delhi-NCR with a 23% share – or approx. 1.91 Mn sq. ft. and Chennai with 1.22 Mn sq. ft., or a 15% share.
“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.
| Gross Office Leasing by GCCs in Top 7 Cities (in Mn Sft.) | ||
| Cities | Q1 2024 | Q1 2025 |
| Bangalore | 2.82 | 3.3 |
| Hyderabad | 1.22 | 0.82 |
| Delhi-NCR | 0.49 | 1.91 |
| Mumbai | 0.24 | 0.6 |
| Pune | 0.10 | 0.45 |
| Chennai | 0 | 1.22 |
| Kolkata | 0 | 0.05 |
| Total | 4.87 | 8.35 |
Sector-wise Analysis
Of the overall GCC leasing of 8.35 Mn sq. ft. office space in top 7 cities in Q1 2025, IT/ITeS held the lion’s share with 35%. BFSI came next with a 22% share, followed by manufacturing & industrial with 13%. E-commerce held a 6% share, and consultancy businesses had a share of 5%. The remaining 19% were leased by miscellaneous sectors. Notably, though IT/ITeS continues to dominate overall GCC leasing, other sectors like BFSI and manufacturing & industrial are also gaining ground.
“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. “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 in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.”
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. A significant share of Indian GCCs is headquartered in the US, followed by Europe and the Middle East.
“ANAROCK data shows that out of 28.23 Mn sq. ft. office space leased by GCCs in 2024 in the top 7 cities, 65% were headquartered in the US, followed by 28% in Europe and the Middle East, and just 7% in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region,” says Jain.
- There were over 1,700 GCCs operating in across the top 7 cities India by 2024-end. Their cumulative market value is estimated at approx. USD 52 Bn
- These GCCs host anywhere between 1.70-1.80 Mn professionals
- Given current momentum, the end of 2025 may see over 1,900 GCCs operating across the country, with a market value of approx. USD 60-70 Bn, hosting approx. 1.9 Mn professionals
- By 2030, the estimated number of GCCs operating in Indian cities is pegged at between 2,200-2,300, accounting for a market size of USD 100-110 Bn and hosting 2.4-2.8 Mn working professionals.