Global Capability Centres in India to exceed 2,500 over next 3-4 yrs: JLL

New Delhi [India], January 29 (ANI): The number of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) units in India will exceed 2,500 over the next 3-4 years, as against over 1,950 units now, JLL, a global commercial real estate and investment management company anticipated in a report.

According to the report as of December 2024, there are over 1,950 GCC units in the country, accounting for more than one-third of the occupied office stock in the top seven markets of India.

Yet, the runway of growth is still longer, 70 per cent of the Global 500 companies (excluding India-headquartered firms), have yet to establish a presence in India, the report added.

"The coming years promise an exciting journey as more companies actively look to harness India's growth-favoring ecosystem, while existing players execute their expansion plans across the country," the report added.

Meanwhile, the office leasing activity in the top seven cities skyrocketed to unprecedented levels of 77.2 million sq. ft in 2024 - a remarkable 22.6 per cent Year-on-Year (Y-O-Y) increase from 2023's already historic high of 63 million sq. ft.

As per the report, from 2016 to 2024, these global R&D and business transformation hubs have accounted for an impressive 40 per cent of overall office leasing activity. In 2024 GCCs leasing was 28 million sq. ft, recording an all-time high which represents a significant 15.2 per cent Y-o-Y increase and further solidifies their dominance in India's office markets.

Bengaluru remains India's premier GCC hub, leveraging its established ecosystem to attract further investment and headcount growth.
In 2024, the city captured 47 per cent of the total GCC leasing demand nationwide, showcasing its continued leadership with consistently high space take-up by GCCs.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad has emerged as a formidable contender in the GCC landscape, positioning itself as an attractive complementary location for companies seeking expansion.

Interestingly, GCCs, chasing talent and innovation clusters have shown significant interest in Chennai, which exhibits the strongest growth in the last three years, as per the report.

The report highlights that momentum remained strong in Delhi NCR and Pune as well.

As per the report, while tech occupiers have historically dominated GCC leasing activity, ER&D (industrial and manufacturing) and BFSI are segments that have shown a rapid pace of growth.

The share of ER&D (manufacturing/industrial) has more than doubled in the last three years, indicating a rapidly evolving segment, building on India's manufacturing push.

BFSI has seen its share and quantum of leasing activity jump 1.5X compared to the pre-COVID three-year period. Healthcare & biotech has been another growing sub-segment in the past few years, again indicative of India's strong push in this sector. (ANI)