Co-working operators' office leases up 48% in top 7 cities: Colliers

Business Standard

2 days ago

Co-working centre operators have rented 65 lakh square feet of office space during the January-June period this year across seven major cities, up 48 per cent on an annual basis, on rising demand for managed and flexible workspaces from corporates, according to Colliers India.
Co-working operators leased 44 lakh square feet in the corresponding period of 2024 calendar year across seven cities -- Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Bengaluru.
The co-working operators take office spaces on rent from real estate developers and property owners and then sub-lease it to corporates of all sizes.
Although many corporates have started opting managed office space provided by co-working operators to save cost and hassles, a large number of companies still take conventional workspaces directly from builders and property owners.
Colliers India data showed that the total gross leasing or absorption of office space rose 13 per cent to 337 lakh (33.7 million) square feet during January-June 2025 across these seven cities, from 299 lakh (29.9 million) in the year-ago period.
"Flexible spaces are increasingly establishing themselves as a key demand driver in India's office market. Given the current momentum, flex spaces are likely to define contours of commercial real estate in India throughout 2025 and beyond," said Vimal Nadar, National Director and Head of Research, Colliers India.
Commenting on the data, Darshan Govindaraju, Executive Director at Bengaluru-based Vaishnavi Group, said the surge in office space leasing can be attributed to the robust addition of Grade A office spaces across micro markets in the top seven cities which are attracting occupiers from across the globe.
"This, coupled with the sustained confidence of technology enterprises in the India growth story and the robust addition of their GCCs (Global Capability Centers), is helping shore up leasing in these markets," he added.
Manas Mehrotra, Founder of 315Work Avenue, said co-working spaces have emerged as the defining feature of India's rapidly evolving commercial real estate.
"There continues to be huge traction for flex space from corporates of all sizes as flexible workspace has become a key component in the overall real estate portfolio of corporates to enhance employee productivity, foster collaboration, and optimise operational costs by scaling up or down as per business requirements," he added.
Shesh Rao Paplikar, Founder & CEO, BHIVE Workspaces, said the India growth story continues to capture the mindspace of global organisations with their continued investment in the country's technology, GCC, BFSI, insurance and other sectors.
Flexible managed workspace is acting as a catalyst in driving consistent growth in office space leasing, he added.
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