The factors supporting Bengaluru’s top rank include the city’s high long-run economic growth, high availability of office space, and large talent pool. As per Colliers Research, Beijing and Hyderabad as attractive alternatives, and Hong Kong emerging as a potential new option.
Currently, there is 4.0 million sq ft of operational Grade A office stock and an additional 5.7 million sq ft of new supply scheduled through 2021. As per Colliers Research, occupiers are considering North Bengaluru for expansion and consolidation as infrastructure improves in the area and supply becomes available.
Construction consultancy firm, Linesight has opened offices in Mumbai. Linesight intends to focus on Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and the Hyderabad metro cities of India as part of its expansion plans in the region.
Gross leasing activity is recorded at 50 million square feet in 2018, highest in last eight years driven by buoyant leasing in Bengaluru and NCR. Compared to the previous year, gross leasing increased by 17% as occupiers continued to expand and consolidate. The top 3 sectors contributing to gross leasing were IT-ITeS with 43%, flexible workplaces with 14% and BFSI with 12% share.
The Government’s decision to allow 51% FDI in multi-brand retail and 100% FDI in single-brand retail under the automatic route was a definite crowd-pleaser that attracted giants like Walmart to make forays into the country.
With high expectations from 2018, it was anticipated that the teething problems around policy initiative introduced in 2017 (RERA and GST) would ease out by the end of the year, bringing a new order of transparency and efficiency.
India witnessed a robust demand for office spaces in Q3 2018, recording approximately 12.3 million sq ft of gross absorption, indicating a 23% growth over the corresponding period last year. As a result of rising demand coupled with lowering vacancies in premium Grade A buildings, the office rental values have recorded an increase in select micro markets across cities.
The gross leasing activity in India was recorded at 36.4 million sq ft for the first nine months of 2018, up 26% YoY. Pan-India demand for Grade A office space was driven by the technology sector (48%) in Q3 2018, followed by banking and insurance representing 19% of the total leasing volume.
The report also recommends the best urban locations for technology firms. Bengaluru, Singapore and Shenzhen stand out as top choices for starting or expanding technology operations in Asia. Modest long-run growth prospects hold down developed cities like Tokyo and Taipei for the sector. While emerging cities offer high growth potential and low operating costs, they tend to score lower on employment criteria and human aspirational metrics.
While Bengaluru tops the charts, Hyderabad has been ranked number 7 and makes a surprise entry, scoring highly on long-run growth potential, although it scores less on other socio-economic factors and does not yet match Bengaluru as a source of talent. As per Colliers Research, about 56 million square feet (5.2 million sq m) of office space, Hyderabad is only about 40% of Bengaluru’s size. However, development is proceeding apace, with total stock set to increase by 33 million sq ft or 60% by 2021.