by THO
Office leasing across the top eight cities in India has touched 41.9 mn sq ft in H1 2024 and is expected to almost double in the ongoing calendar year, according to a report released by property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield on August 28.
Overall, Bengaluru led the charge in H1 2024 with 12.2 million square feet of leasing recorded across its office market during the period, followed by Mumbai at 9.5 mn sq ft, Delhi-NCR at 6 mn sq ft and Hyderabad at 5 mn sq ft, according to data shared by the consultancy.
According to Cushman & Wakefield’s office report, the first half of 2024 recorded 41.9 msf of leasing, marking the highest leasing volume ever for the first half of any year. This represents 56% of the total gross leasing volume (GLV) for 2023.
This growth is driven primarily by fresh demand from multinational corporations, the optimisation of pre-leased buildings in key cities, and a higher return-to-office. The market is anticipated to maintain its strong momentum throughout the year with over 40 mn sq ft expected to be leased in the second half, the report said.
According to Cushman & Wakefield, global capability centres accounted for 26% of the gross leasing volume recorded in the first half of the calendar 2024. In this, Bengaluru led the way with a 47% share. Around 120 global capability centres were established in India during the six-month period, per the report.
GCCs are also known as global in-house centres or captives and are offshore units of large multinationals performing technology operations.
“India’s unique combination of a skilled talent pool, a tech-friendly environment, and ongoing infrastructure development, has firmly established it as a premier destination for GCCs,” said Anshul Jain, Chief Executive, India, Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific Tenant Representation.
“We are also witnessing companies prioritizing high-quality spaces with strong ESG credentials and modern amenities, leading to a consolidation in the market and a resurgence of large deals (>100,000 sq ft),” said Veera Babu, Managing Director, Tenant Representation, Cushman & Wakefield.
Fresh commercial real estate supply
New supply in 2024 is expected to rise by 19% vis-a-vis 2023 levels, the report said. Hyderabad and Bengaluru are likely to lead the show with a combined 48% share, it added. Meanwhile, Mumbai is expected to experience a three-fold increase in new supply during the period.
Also Read: Bengaluru tops industrial and logistics leasing at 3.4 mn sq ft in H1 2024, up 70% YoY
The report underscored that large deal inquiries are anticipated to accelerate project completions in the second half of the year. In H1, new supply was recorded at 20.8 million square feet with Hyderabad and Bengaluru together accounting for approximately 51% share.
Sectoral break up
According to the report, the IT-BPM sector continued to dominate leasing activity, contributing 26% of the gross leasing volume in H1 2024. The BFSI sector followed as the second-largest contributor, recording a 60% growth compared to H1 2023.
Meanwhile the engineering and manufacturing sector captured 17% of the leasing volume, reflecting a 31% year-on-year growth, Lastly, flexible workspace operators saw a 44% year-on-year growth, while professional services maintained a stable share of 10-12%, per the report.
