New Delhi, April 27 (IANS) India’s office market posted a quarterly record of 21.5 million square feet of gross leasing in Q1 2026, driven by demand from Global Capability Centres and flexible workspace operators, a report said on Monday.

The report from commercial real estate services firm JLL said gross leasing rose 10.2 per cent year‑on‑year, with GCCs accounting for 45.5 per cent of demand and flex operators accounting for 25.9 per cent in Q1 2026.

This growth is being driven by a fundamental transformation in how global enterprises leverage India, with GCCs expanding their footprint by 43 per cent year-on-year to 10 million sq. ft. and now commanding 45.5 per cent of total leasing activity, the report said.

“These are not traditional back-office operations, they are strategic innovation hubs focussed on AI development, digital engineering, and core product development,” said Rahul Arora, Head, Office Leasing & Retail Services, Senior Managing Director (Karnataka, Kerala), India, JLL.

Market fundamentals continue to strengthen, with pan-India vacancy dropping to a five-year low of 14.7 per cent and net absorption reaching a record 13.7 million sq. ft. for the quarter.

Regionally, Bengaluru led with 24.8 per cent share of the Q1 leasing volumes, followed by Mumbai with 19.5 per cent and Hyderabad with 16.8 per cent. Pune had a healthy 14.5 per cent share with Delhi-NCR following at a 14.2 per cent share.

Bengaluru saw GCCs account for a 70 per cent share of the quarterly gross leasing activity in the city, marking the strongest share in two years.

Within GCCs, tech and BFSI dominated the leasing activity, followed by the manufacturing segment. Global-headquartered firms continued to account for a majority share of the India office leasing landscape with a 57 per cent share in Q1 2026, mostly in line with their previous year average.

Domestic occupier activity was driven by indigenous flex operators who held a dominant 57.8 per cent share of the total space leased by them during the quarter.

—IANS

aar/rad