Large office deals account for 59% of India’s leasing in H1 2026: Knight Frank India

Bulk deals of 100,000 sq ft and above dominated the office space leasing market across the top eight cities of India during the first half of 2026, totalling up to 28.2 mn sq ft of leasing activity. This trend comes as large office deals contributed to a 59% share of the total office leasing volume of 48.0 mn sq ft, revealing large occupiers’ continued preference towards Grade A office stock in India, said Knight Frank India.

Bengaluru continued to emerge as India’s office leasing favourite by logging 10.1 mn sq ft leasing activity in larger formats of above 100,000 sq ft in H1 2026. With large deals making up 72 per cent share of total leasing activity in the city, Bengaluru once again led the large format office space leasing rankings. Hyderabad and NCR too saw a significant uptake in large format leasing activity by logging 4.9 mn sq ft each. Large office spaces contributed towards 65 per cent and 68 per cent share in the city’s total office absorption respectively. Mumbai continued to show healthy traction by signing off on 3.1 mn sq ft worth of large office leasing transactions. Large deals contributed towards 42 per cent share of total office absorption in Mumbai city.

Among the major office markets, Hyderabad emerged as the fastest-growing destination for large office occupiers. Leasing of spaces above 100,000 sq ft increased by 63% YoY, rising from 3.0 mn sq ft in H1 2025 to 4.9 mn sq ft in H1 2026. As a result, the share of large office transactions in the city’s overall leasing activity expanded from 51% to 65%, reflecting strengthening demand from GCCs and other large enterprises seeking high-quality office campuses.

Viral Desai, International Partner, Senior Executive Director – Occupier Strategy & Solutions, Industrial & Logistics, Capital Markets & Retail Agency, Knight Frank India, said, “India’s office market continues to witness strong demand from large occupiers, particularly Global Capability Centres, technology companies and multinational corporations expanding their operations. While overall office leasing has remained resilient, markets such as Hyderabad, NCR, Mumbai and Pune have increased the share of large office transactions, reflecting occupiers’ growing preference for high-quality, future-ready office assets. The sustained dominance of large office leasing reinforces India’s position as a leading global business destination.”

Office leasing in the largest mid-sized bucket (office spaces between 50,000 sq ft & 100,000 sq ft) was at 9.0 mn sq ft in H1 20-26, which constituted 19% of office leasing during the period. Bengaluru witnessed maximum office leasing of 2.3 mn sq ft, followed by Mumbai (1.7 mn sq ft) and Hyderabad (1.4 mn sq ft).

Office leasing in smaller office spaces (office spaces under 50,000 sq ft) was at 10.8 mn sq ft, which contributed to 22% of the leasing activity in H1 20-26. Mumbai was on top with office leasing of 2.5 mn sq ft, followed by Bengaluru (1.7 mn sq ft), Pune (1.6 mn sq ft) and NCR (1.5 mn sq ft).