GCC leases are surging and evolving in India, keeping top law firms busy
As foreign companies commit to 15-30 year tenures and build million square feet facilities in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, National Capital Region (NCR) and Chennai, leading law firms such as Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Khaitan & Co, JSA Advocates & Solicitors and Nishith Desai Associates are increasingly being drawn into these transactions.
Once routine commercial leases are now evolving into M&A-style obligations that involve detailed land and regulatory due diligence, construction and zoning approvals, and long-term risk allocation.
There is a marked increase in the number, size and tenure of privately held and large companies led by the Gulf Cooperation Council. office rental transactions in India, according to Cyril Shroff, managing partner of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas.
“GCCs are no longer back-office operations but long-term strategic hubs for technology and global operations,” Shroff said. “As a result, real estate commitments are larger, leases are longer, and campus developments are more customized and future-proof. This has fundamentally changed the nature of legal work in this area.”
The company recommended GCC clients Last year alone, we rented more than 5 million square meters. His recent assignments include advising JPMorgan on what has been described as Asia’s largest Gulf Cooperation Council lease, a 1.3 million square meter purpose-built campus in Mumbai’s Powai.
Firms such as Nishith Desai Associates now advise GCC clients across the entire lifecycle of a transaction, from the legal, tax and regulatory structuring of the Indian entity to the establishment of operations.
“There has been a clear increase in the scale, duration and strategic importance of GCC-focused office and campus transactions in India,” said Aaron Kamath, head of Nishith Desai Associates’ technology, digital and commercial law practice. “10-20 year leases and large integrated campuses are becoming more common, and legal work is shifting from standard leases to complex, project-style consultancy.”
Strategic centers
GCCs are offices established by multinational companies in India to handle functions such as technology, finance, research, data, analytics and customer operations. India is currently home to more than 1,800 GCCs, with these countries generating revenues of $64.6 billion in 2024, a figure Nasscom estimates will surpass $110 billion by 2030.
These centers, once focused on back-office operations, are now strategic hubs for engineering, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, financial services and global operations, resulting in a sharp increase in legal complexity.
Mint Emailed questions GCCs of companies They included Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, Amazon India, Citi and Walmart, but responses were awaited by press time.
Law firm involvement now begins long before a lease is signed. Advisors help multinational clients structure their assets in India, plan intercompany financing around foreign exchange and tax rules, evaluate state-level incentives, and map workforce and regulatory compliance. This is followed by site selection, title deed and zoning checks, and negotiation of long-term leases or development agreements.
“It is important to understand why a company is setting up a GCC in India and what its long-term needs are,” said Harsh Parikh, partner at Khaitan & Co, who leads the firm’s real estate practice.
The firm recently advised Brookfield on its private transaction with JPMorgan in Mumbai and has worked on several major GCC mandates for global banks and technology companies.
A key part of the authority is intensive land and regulatory due diligence. Attorneys conduct comprehensive title searches, review past ownership and litigation, verify zoning and land use permits, and review environmental and municipal approvals to ensure long-term property security. On private projects, construction risk is managed through milestone-based delivery schedules, late penalties, defect liability, and change-of-code protection.
The right real estate partner
“Legal advice is crucial in assessing a developer’s financial stability, scalability, ongoing litigation, environmental and urban planning compliances and profile of existing residents – factors that are as important as cost and availability,” said Vinod Mannattil, partner and general counsel at Gloplax, a consulting and enablement firm for GCCs. “Engaging with a trusted law partner early helps identify risks, anticipate disputes, and make an informed choice of the right real estate partner.”
According to Vivek K. Chandy, joint managing partner of JSA Advocates & Solicitors, there is no room for poor construction quality as even design and specification choices can significantly impact costs and risk.
“The cost of constructing a building can vary by up to 300%, and much of this variability is due to the façade alone. Therefore, it is critical that specifications are detailed and tenants have inspection rights at every stage to meet global quality standards,” he said.
JSA has advised on a number of major GCC and single-tenant campus transactions, including an Australian multinational bank’s lease of approximately 1 million sq ft from Embassy, a 500,000 sq ft lease for Honeywell, Vanguard’s GCC in Hyderabad, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s India headquarters and major mandates for Deloitte in key markets.
Negotiations now go far beyond rent and lockdown. Companies focus on renewal and exit rights, expansion and downsizing options, limits on rent increases, delivery timelines, change-of-code protection, construction quality, defect liability, takeover rights, compliance with global anti-bribery and ESG norms, and faster resolution of disputes.
“Twenty-five years ago, leases were 20-25 pages. Today, they easily exceed 100 pages with detailed technical plans and appendices,” Chandy added.
The increase in legal complexity reflects the changing role of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Led by companies such as Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Boeing and Walmart, GCCs currently employ around 1.35 million people across India, with the largest hubs being Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
business interruption
Mint It had previously reported that these hubs are emerging as key hiring hubs amid a slowdown in IT services firms, with productive AI and automation starting to disrupt hiring, and some GCCs indicating that headcount growth in certain roles may slow as AI-driven productivity increases.
The workforce in the Gulf Cooperation Council has grown by 48% in five years, from 1.3 million to 1.9 million, according to Kamal Karanth, co-founder of specialist staffing firm Xfeno. The Gulf Cooperation Council is expected to add approximately 200,000 employees in 2026, after adding approximately 150,000 employees in 2025; However, this number may decrease to 70,000-80,000 if offshore conditions weaken in important markets such as the USA.
According to Savills India’s report titled Global Talent Hubs: Ensuring India’s Strategic AdvantageGCCs have leased approximately 112 million sq m from 2020 to 2024 and could lease another 180 million sq m by 2030. In 2024 alone, GCCs accounted for 44% of India’s total office leasing, while Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune together contributed 70% of GCC absorption in 2020-24.
White paper from SPAG FINN Partners The Road Ahead for Gulf States in India: Glocal Approach It notes that India remains the world’s largest and most mature GCC hub, with almost 90% of hubs now operating as multi-functional, innovation-driven hubs, supported by a 5.4 million-strong technology workforce and rapid adoption of artificial intelligence.
