Technology companies and BFSI (Banking, Financial Services and Insurance) firms are driving office space demand with contribution of 51 per cent to the total leasing in the segment during January-March period of this calendar year across eight major cities, property consultant CBRE said in a report on Thursday.
In its latest report 'CBRE India Office Figures Q1 2022', CBRE South Asia Pvt Ltd said that the office sector in India continued to witness a robust recovery in Q1 2022 as leasing activity grew by 97 percent year-on-year to touch 11.4 million square feet.
''Technology corporates drove leasing with a share of about 34 percent, followed by BFSI firms (17 per cent), flexible space operators (13 percent), engineering & manufacturing (12 percent) and research, consulting & analytics firms (11 percent),'' CBRE said.
Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi-NCR dominated absorption during the quarter, accounting for almost two-thirds of the transaction activity.
''With the government's evolving COVID-19 protocols and the recovery in office leasing in 2021, we expect the positive momentum to further strengthen in 2022,'' said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO - India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa.
''We continue to witness a pick up in long-term decision-making by occupiers, aided by return-to-work strategies, thereby accelerating project completions,'' he added.
Ram Chandnani, Managing Director, Advisory & Transactions Services, CBRE India, expected that the increase in leasing activity would bring a new focus on large-sized and high-quality buildings by developers to differentiate their assets and attract occupiers.
On new trends, CBRE said that renewals, renegotiations and addition of flexibility options are likely to be the focus of occupiers in the short-term.
''We expect to see clearer evidence emerging in any corporates' intended shift towards hybrid working policies, with several occupiers planning to implement policies allowing office-based working with the option of working remotely,'' the report said.
With an increased focus on wellness, user experience and sustainability, occupiers are expected to demand more sophisticated and tech-enhanced real estate offerings.
Environmental and sustainability issues such as carbon emissions, use of sustainable materials, energy efficiency and wellness enhancements are likely to become ever more important to occupiers and owners of office buildings, the consultant said.
As per the data, the office leasing in Delhi-NCR grew by 87 percent to 1.9 million square feet during the January-March period of 2022.
Mumbai saw a leasing of 0.8 million square feet, up 70 percent from the year-ago period.
Office leasing in Bengaluru rose 43 percent to 3.5 million square feet, while Chennai saw a multi-fold rise in absorption to 2.3 million square feet.
Hyderabad witnessed 75 per per rise in leasing of office space to 1.4 million square feet. Pune saw a sharp rise in leasing to 1.1 million square feet.
Office leasing in Kolkata grew 84 per cent to 0.2 million square feet.
Ahmedabad saw 170 percent growth year-on-year in office leasing at 0.2 million square feet in the January-March quarter.
(With PTI inputs)
