Chennai, recognised for its robust IT, manufacturing, and services sectors, has embraced the growing trend of Global Capability Centres. Not just the city, but tier II and III towns across Tamil Nadu are also increasingly aware of this development. As a result, the demand for high-quality real estate is witnessing a significant uptick, presenting new opportunities for developers and investors across the region.
Compared to two years ago, when the demand was limited to just a few hundred seats, GCCs in the state and its capital are now seeking larger campuses to accommodate their expanding operations.
“Chennai has seen over 25% growth in GCC headcount in 2023-24, which is higher than other cities. This growth is expected to continue into 2025, positioning Chennai as one of the leading hubs for GCCs,” said Vikram Ahuja, Co-Founder of ANSR, CEO Talent500. According to data shared by Ahuja, around 1.5 lakh additions happened in 2023 and in 2024 it was 1.9 lakh.
Jerry Kingsley, Head, Strategic Consulting and Value & Risk Advisory, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), said, “GCCs are showing a preference for large campuses that facilitate easier scalability, as additional space is readily available for future growth. GCCs are also prioritising green buildings and sustainable campuses, aligning with their environmental commitments. As of the first nine months of 2024, absorption has reached approximately 2.5 million sq.ft. We expect a few more substantial Expressions of Interest (EOIs) to conclude before the year end.”
Those in the real estate sector said that GCC specific policies from the Tamil Nadu government are boosting this growth. Tamil Nadu is home to over 350 GCCs, with more than 300 located in Chennai and over 25 in Coimbatore. Additionally, cities such as Salem, Vellore, Madurai, Tiruchi, and Tirunelveli also host GCCs.
“Chennai is home to the largest of the large GCCs across industries such as financial services, healthcare and life sciences, retail, manufacturing, travel and transportation, and telecommunications. Examples include Citigroup, Barclays, Standard Chartered, Amazon, AstraZeneca, Roche, Ford, Caterpillar, DHL, UPS, Comcast and Verizon,” said Ramkumar Ramamoorthy, former CMD, Cognizant India, who oversaw the company’s operations across 24 million sq.ft. of office space in India. He further explained that multinationals such as these look for Grade A commercial real estate at hyperscale so that they can rapidly grow their operations. “To capitalise on this opportunity, the city needs more private players to jump in to not only attract newer GCCs coming into the country but also to fulfil the multi-city expansion needs of companies in other cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and NCR,” he added.
Published - December 20, 2024 05:16 pm IST
