Office developers sniff a service opportunity in India's GCC boom

GCCs constitute a significant portion of the tenant base for most commercial office developers. So far, mainstream office developers and flexible office space operators have leased space to such offshore R&D and backend centres for global companies. Now, developers are looking to leverage the opportunity to provide real estate, operational support, talent acquisition, technology, and regulatory compliance support to them as services.

On Tuesday, Bengaluru-based real estate firm Sattva Group, along with Chennai-based consulting and operations partner Innovalus Group, launched GCCBase. It will offer end-to-end ecosystem solutions to help multinational companies set up and scale GCCs across India.

“If a company from the US plans to set up a GCC base here, even if at a small scale, we can help with a location of their choice, provide tech support, and offer the flexibility to scale. There is a lot of interest from companies that want to set up new GCCs, and we are currently in talks with five interested parties," Vishal Vijay, chief executive of GCCBase, told Mint.

In the next two years, the company aims to service around 20 new GCCs, Vijay added.

Such developer-led GCC servicing platforms will offer real estate solutions even beyond their own commercial office properties.

India’s GCC ecosystem has evolved into one of the most dynamic in the world, with over 1,800 centres employing 2.16 million professionals, said a July report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Deloitte India. Analysts project the number of GCCs to more than double to 5,000 by 2030.

Earlier this year, property developer Embassy Group set up Embark, an integrated platform to support global firms building and scaling their GCCs in India–it covers strategy, operations, infrastructure and governance. Embark has a strategic alliance with Deloitte India, under which organizations receive end-to-end support across the GCC lifecycle, for a seamless setup and execution.

“The fundamental reason behind this is the growth of GCCs and new GCCs coming into India. Today, there are even nano or micro GCCs being set up, with just 40-50 people. Companies are coming in to set up capabilities, and not just scale. Platforms such as Embark are looking at easing the process of setting up operations, and how quickly it can be done," said Keerthi Kumar, partner, Deloitte India, which has been advising GCCs for several years now.

Even mid-scale developers have launched GCC servicing units. In July, Bengaluru-based Bhartiya Urban launched a platform named Bhartiya Converge offering tailored micro-services across real estate, talent, operations, and infrastructure, eliminating vendor markups and ensuring faster turnaround and cost-efficiency.

GCCs in real estate

Every one in three Fortune 500 companies has a GCC in India, representing the country’s dominant market share in the larger GCC segment. Not just multi-national companies, mid-market firms, regional powerhouses and single-country enterprises now represent the next growth wave of the GCC movement.

Not surprisingly, GCCs have become one of the main occupiers of office space in the country. Of the 60 million sq ft of gross leasing between January and September in 2025, nearly 35-40% was by GCCs, as per property advisory CBRE India. This momentum is expected to continue.

Developers want to provide value-added services to GCCs, which have become crucial to office leasing, according to Ram Chandnani, managing director, leasing, CBRE India. Going forward, more developers are expected to set up similar servicing units focused on GCCs.

“The India talent story is not going anywhere and developers want to offer services beyond just real estate space," Chandnani added. “However, most developers would need suitable partners to create these platforms that are outside their core expertise."