India GCC leasing now focusing on larger spaces as demand surges: Vestian report

With India fast becoming a hotspot for global capability centres (GCC), lease deals are now focusing more on larger spaces, according to a recent report by commercial real estate planner Vestian. Even as the leased space increased, the number of GCC lease transactions fell by 4% to 305, suggesting a shift toward larger office spaces, the report noted. This was also seen in an increase in large transactions—which refers to spaces spanning 1 lakh square feet or more—which rose 44% from 15.8 million square feet in FY24 to 22.8 million square feet in FY25.

Leasing office spaces for global capability centres (GCCs) rose by 24% in the fiscal ending March 2025, reaching 31.8 million square feet across seven major Indian cities, according to the Vestian report.

GCC units handling IT, finance, engineering and other services have led to an increase in office demand accounting for 42% of total office space absorption in India, compared to 41% last year.

Additionally, Fortune 500 GCCs leased 13.5 million square feet of office space, accounting for 43% of the total leased area by such multinational offices in FY25. This space increased by 25% over the previous year, reinforcing India’s position as the preferred destination for global enterprises setting up GCCs.

ET reported on Tuesday that the government is working on a framework to expand the presence of global capability centres (GCC) beyond the top cities and is focusing on industry-academia tie-ups to create industry-ready talent.

The ministry has set up an industry-led panel to help boost the growth of GCCs in India. The panel has representatives from Nasscom, Zinnov, ANSR, KPMG and Invest India among others.

This came after the budget announcement for a framework to promote GCCs in emerging cities, to outline measures for enhancing availability of talent and infrastructure, building bylaw reforms and mechanisms for collaboration with industry.