Office leasing in India by flexible workspace providers has gone up by 57.7 percent as gross leasing volume (GLV) of the sector hit record 12.4 million square feet (msf) in 2024, accounting for 14 percent of total office leasing (89 msf), according to a report by Cushman and Wakefield.
Among India’s top flexible workspace markets, Bengaluru led with 3.4 msf of leasing volume, nearly doubling its previous year’s tally. Mumbai, meanwhile, recorded a 3-times YoY growth in GLV, reaching 1.9 msf. Delhi NCR at 2.3 msf GLV, Hyderabad at 1.6 msf GLV, and Pune at 1.6 msf GLV, also emerged as strong flexible workspace hubs, the report, which was released on February 17, said.
As many as 224,000 flex seats were leased in 2024, up 44 percent from 2023, with Bengaluru leading at 29 percent of total seat share. IT-BPM sector (48 percent) led the flex seat leasing, followed by engineering & manufacturing (17 percent), reinforcing the shift towards managed office solutions.
Flex seat leasing is a measure of demand in the flexible workspaces sector. Office space leased by flexible workspace operators is subleased out to end occupiers in terms of seats; this is termed as flex seat leasing.
In terms of flex seat leasing, Bengaluru was followed by Pune (39,000 seats) Delhi NCR (38,000 seats) and Mumbai (28,000 seats) with shares of 18 percent, 17 percent and 12 percent respectively in total seats leased.
Experts said that evolving business priorities, the need for flexibility, the shift toward hybrid work models and strong enterprise demand for managed office solutions fuelled historic highs in flex seats leased.
Ramita Arora, Managing Director Bengaluru & Head – Flex, India, Cushman & Wakefield, said that with new companies such as GCCs entering the country and existing companies prioritizing operational flexibility, cost efficiency and end-to-end customization, demand for agile, dynamic, managed office solutions continues to surge.
“Flexible workspaces now account for 14 percent of India’s total office space demand, cementing their position as a mainstream real estate solution rather than just an alternative. This shift is fundamentally redefining the way India works,” she said.
She added that flexible workspace demand is expected to maintain its strong growth trajectory in 2025 and beyond. This will further drive uptake in Grade A/A+ assets across major cities by leading managed space operators.
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