On the back of Global Capability Centres (GCCs), leasing of commercial real estate in India is likely to touch an all-time high of 65-70 million square feet. GCCs, previously known as global in-house centers or captives (GICs), are offshore centers established by companies to provide various services to their parent organizations. These GCCs/GICs originated in the early 1990s as offshore divisions of major multinational corporations like General Electric, Texas Instruments, Citigroup, and American Express.

In 2023, the gross leasing of commercial real estate stood at 63 million square feet and 49.8 million square feet in 2022. Gross leasing refers to all lease transactions recorded during the period, including confirmed pre-commitments, but does not include term renewals. It does not include deals in the discussion stage.

India’s leadership position in the GCC ecosystem continues to remain intact, driven by high-end research and development work that supports headcount expansion opportunities for these firms, resulting in strong space demand. While global occupiers remain bullish on expanding and growing their operations in India, a strong domestic economy is creating resilience in the office market.