Mumbai, Jan 7 (NationPress) Global Capability Centres (GCCs) have solidified their position in the India office market in 2025, representing 38 percent of total annual transactions, amounting to 31.8 million square feet. This growth reinforces India's stature as a hub for excellence in research and development and associated industries, as revealed in a recent report on Wednesday.

Bengaluru alone accounted for 47 percent (or 15.2 million sq ft) of the GCC leasing activities. Overall, the annual gross leasing saw a remarkable surge to 86.4 million square feet, marking a 20 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase and exceeding the prior peak set in 2024.

This level of activity signifies a 43 percent rise compared to pre-pandemic highs noted in 2019, showcasing the ongoing growth in occupier demand over the past four years, according to the Knight Frank India report.

Bengaluru maintained its status as the leading office market, achieving a record 28 million square feet.

Hyderabad (with 11.4 million sq ft), the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) (with 11.3 million sq ft), Pune (with 10.8 million sq ft), and Chennai (with 10.1 million sq ft) all surpassed the 10 million sq ft mark, while Mumbai (at 9.8 million sq ft) narrowly missed this threshold, the findings indicated.

“India’s office market exhibited an outstanding performance in 2025, significantly exceeding its former peak and highlighting the depth of occupier confidence nationwide. With annual leasing volumes increasing by more than 20 percent YoY, this cycle marks not just a numerical record but a structural change in how both global and domestic firms perceive India as a long-term business hub,” explained Shishir Baijal, International Partner, Chairman and Managing Director.

The fact that five significant markets achieved their highest-ever transaction levels, each exceeding the 10 million sq ft threshold, emphasizes the geographically diverse nature of this growth, he mentioned.

Leasing activity in the second half of 2025 reached 37.5 million sq ft, second only to the exceptionally high absorption recorded in the first half of 2025 (January–June 2025), which was 48.9 million sq ft.

Flexible space accounted for 18.8 million sq ft, making up 22 percent of the total gross leasing in 2025. Third-party IT services occupied 15.3 million sq ft during the year, representing 20 percent of the transacted area, with volumes growing by 94 percent YoY, the report highlighted.

All office markets experienced rental growth in 2025, primarily due to the limited availability of quality spaces, with NCR and Hyderabad leading with 10 percent growth each, followed by Mumbai and Bengaluru, both showing 6 percent increases.