India has emerged as the largest flexible workspace market in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, with 79.7 million square feet (MSF) of stock spread across the top eight cities as of Q2 2025, according to a report released by Cushman & Wakefield on Friday.
The report projects that India’s flexible office stock will reach 85 MSF by the end of 2025 and surpass 100 MSF by 2026, driven by sustained demand from enterprises seeking agility and cost efficiency.
Flex demand has risen nearly sixfold since 2020, fuelled by occupiers prioritising shorter lease commitments, managed office solutions, and faster speed-to-market strategies. In 2024 alone, flexible space accounted for 15 per cent of total new office leasing, signaling its mainstream acceptance.
Operator expansion has kept pace with this demand. Over the past three years (2022–2024), flexible workspace providers leased 33.5 MSF, representing more than 500,000 seats. Annual operator take-up has nearly tripled in five years, rising from 4.3 MSF in 2020 to 15.4 MSF in 2024 – firmly positioning flexible workspace as a core workplace solution rather than a niche alternative.
The report highlights that international enterprises drove 72 per cent of flexible seat absorption in 2024, while start-ups accounted for the remaining 28 per cent. The rapid expansion of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and new entrants to India is further accelerating this shift, making flexible workspaces the preferred model for companies looking for scalability, resilience, and speed.
Managed office and enterprise solutions now dominate the market, accounting for 70–80 per cent of demand post-pandemic, well ahead of traditional coworking models.
Bengaluru remains the country’s undisputed flex capital, holding 30 per cent of the national flexible office stock and consistently accounting for one-third of annual enterprise transactions. Delhi-NCR, Pune, and Hyderabad follow as other key hubs.
The trend is also spreading beyond metros, with occupiers expanding into Tier-II cities such as Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kochi, Trivandrum, Coimbatore, Visakhapatnam, and Bhubaneswar to tap into emerging talent pools and lower operating costs.
India also leads globally in flexible workspace maturity. Scoring a perfect 100 on Cushman & Wakefield’s maturity index, India outperformed developed office markets such as the United Kingdom (98), France (97), the United States (81), and both Japan and Singapore (77 each).
(With inputs from IANS)
