India Emerges as Global Leader in Flexible Office Market Maturity: Cushman & Wakefield

Gurugram, September 23, 2025: India has established itself as one of the world’s most advanced and mature flexible office ecosystems, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest Global Trends in Flexible Office 2025 report. At a time when global occupiers are recalibrating portfolios for agility, India’s flex sector is not only keeping pace—it is setting benchmarks for scale, maturity, and innovation.

Global Backdrop

The report highlights that flexible offices have become an essential part of corporate real estate portfolios globally. More than half of occupier executives now use flex as part of their workplace strategy, leveraging it to control costs, support hybrid work, and respond swiftly to shifting business needs. Rising fit-out costs across major international markets have only reinforced the role of flexible offices as a business-critical solution.

India Leads on Maturity

Against this backdrop, India stands out for the strength and maturity of its flexible workspace market. Flexible workspace sector includes business centres, coworking centres and managed offices.

Scoring a perfect 100 on Cushman & Wakefield’s maturity index, India has outpaced its global peers with well-established office markets, including the United Kingdom at 98 per cent, France at 97 per cent, the United States at 81 per cent, and both Japan and Singapore at 77 per cent respectively. These figures reflect the rare combination of scale, operator diversity and innovative agreement structures that are reshaping occupier strategies in India.

The maturity score has been calculated by comprehensive assessment of key industry metrics including flexible inventory as a percentage of total office space, the number of flexible providers present in the market, leasing activity of flexible providers, the presence of emerging flexible agreement structures, along with some other variables that collectively gauge the depth and development of the sector.

India’s Flexible Workspace Landscape

India today is the largest flexible office market in APAC, with 79.7 million square feet (MSF) of stock, across top 8 cities as of Q2 2025. It is expected to reach ~85 MSF by year-end and surpass 100 MSF by 2026. (This figure encompasses space across Grades A+, A, and B, reflecting the broadest spectrum of flexible office offerings in the country.*).

This growth has been matched by surging demand. Since 2020, flex demand has risen nearly sixfold, fueled by occupiers prioritizing shorter commitments, managed solutions, and speed-to-market strategies. In 2024 alone, flexible space accounted for 15 per cent of total new office leasing, confirming its mainstream adoption.

Operator expansion has also accelerated sharply. Over the past three years (2022–2024), flexible workspace providers leased 33.5 MSF, equivalent to 500,000+ seats. Annual operator take-up has tripled in just five years, from 4.3 MSF in 2020 to 15.4 MSF in 2024, firmly establishing flexible workspace as a core workplace solution rather than an alternate option.

Flexibility and agility are driving India’s flex space story, and this trend is set to accelerate as firms actively seek business-ready offices to rapidly scale or adjust headcount as needed. The bulk of this demand is coming from international enterprises, which accounted for 72 per cent of flex seat absorption in 2024, while start-ups took up 28 per cent. The significant influx of Global Capability Centres and other new companies entering India is accelerating this shift, further solidifying flexible workspaces as the preferred model for companies seeking speed, resilience, and growth in a dynamic market. The managed office/enterprise model now dominates, accounting for 70–80 per cent of demand post-COVID, well ahead of traditional coworking.

The bulk of this stock remains concentrated in the top eight cities, with Bengaluru leading the charge with ~30 per cent of national flex inventory, followed by Delhi NCR, Pune and Hyderabad. Bengaluru also leads the demand with an average of one-third of annual enterprise transactions in the country.

Beyond these leading metros, occupiers are increasingly expanding to Tier II cities such as Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kochi, Trivandrum, Coimbatore, Visakhapatnam, and Bhubaneswar to tap into new talent pools and capitalise on lower operating costs.

India’s cost advantage further strengthens its position. Fit-out costs in top cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru average ~$75 per sq ft, among the lowest globally. In contrast, major global markets often see fit-out costs exceed $150 per sq ft, excluding furniture, fixtures, technology, and other costs which can add another 10–40 per cent premium to the total. This cost efficiency is a critical driver for global occupiers choosing India as a growth hub.

Outlook

India’s flexible office sector is also drawing strong institutional validation. Four operators have already gone public, with more IPOs expected, signaling heightened transparency, governance, and investor confidence. The next 3–5 years are expected to bring consolidation, with leading players cementing their market share while niche and regional operators continue to serve specialized requirements.

Commenting on rising prominence of India’s flexible office market globally, Ramita Arora, Managing Director Bengaluru & Head – Flex, India, Cushman & Wakefield, said “India’s flexible office sector is widely recognised as a global pacesetter. What sets it apart is the maturity, diversity of operators, and its ability to pivot with demand—qualities that many Western markets are still developing. For India, the flexible workspace story is only strengthening. With more operators entering, leasing volumes rising, and IPOs validating the sector, India has built the world’s most agile, enterprise-ready ecosystem. This is no longer just about providing space—it’s about enabling companies to scale, innovate, and stay resilient in a fast-changing world.”