Google Leases 13 Lakh Square Feet Office Space In Bengaluru: One Of The Biggest Real Estate Deals In India After Pandemic!

In what comes as one of the largest lease transactions in the country since the pandemic began, as per the people who are aware of the deal, Tech giant Google has leased 1.3 million sq ft of office space in Bengaluru.

How Much is 1.3 Million Square Feet?

But what is the this all fuss about? How much is 1.3 million square feet. Let’s simplify! Take 1 million square feet. Take a square area of 1000 feet, one side of a football field is 300 feet. So basically the google office is bigger than three football fields combined.

As per the agreement between the tech giant and Bagmane Developers, the property at Bagmane Rio Business Park on Outer Ring Road has been leased for a tenure of 15 years and is expected to be operational by the third quarter of 2022.

They said that for the property Google will be paying Rs 85 per sq ft. The property is under fitout and marks one of the largest deals signed so far.

Including flexible office space in Gurgaon, Google has taken up 2.8 million sq ft of office space in India since the start of the pandemic. Including the country headquarters in Hyderabad, it has total four offices in India. 

An industry source said that to implement a hybrid work model, Google is exploring flexible offices across various cities.

The Overall Overview Of Leasing Industry

Despite the much-talked-about emergence of the work-from-home option after the pandemic, new leases are big signed or old lease agreements are being renewed by occupiers and tenants of large office complexes across the country, including big corporations.

With a share of about 58%, it is the technology companies who have led the leasing in India as far as first six months of the year 2022 are concerned. Renewals and renegotiations continue to remain the preferred short-term portfolio strategies of occupiers.

AMD and BYJUs have signed over 5 lakh sq ft of office space each in Bengaluru since the coronavirus spread its claws in 2020. ANZ has taken up 6 lakh sq ft and consulting firm Deloitte over 7.5 lakh sq ft in the city.

Arpit Mehrotra, MD (Bengaluru) Office Services, South India, Colliers said that the market orientation meter is moving from tenant-friendly to balanced. With 30% of the total absorption, Bengaluru led the Q2, followed by Hyderabad and Chennai. As many corporates are working on the capex light model, flexible space demand has increased. In the southern cities, the tech companies remain dominant and the vacancy level have dropped as well.

Due to the combination of pent-up demand and expansion / consolidation-led leasing, the leasing activity in the country is expected to strengthen further in the coming quarter. Meanwhile occupiers are realigning their post-pandemic business strategies.

For the official real estate, the Indian IT industry continues to be the leading demand driver. 

As top companies like TCS, Infosys, Cognizant, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra have hired 230000 out of total 360000 by total 30 companies, there will be a requirement of 18.5 million sq ft of office space in India.

Taking cues from H1 2022, the second half of the year is expected to witness increased momentum in office space pick-up.