India’s flexible workspace market is entering a crucial growth phase, with demand accelerating across major cities and smaller hubs alike. According to a new report by Colliers, flex office stock in the country’s top seven cities is expected to cross 100 million square feet by 2027, up sharply from 72.3 million square feet in 2025.
This expansion reflects how the way India works is changing. More companies are moving away from long-term leases and towards flexible, tech-enabled and ready-to-use offices that can scale up or down quickly. As a result, flex spaces are no longer just a start-up option. They are becoming a mainstream choice for large enterprises and global firms.
Colliers’ report, titled Flex India: Pioneering the Future of Work, estimates that flex spaces will account for 10.5 percent of India’s total office stock by 2027, compared to 8.5 percent in 2025. This growth is being supported by steady expansion from operators and rising confidence among investors, including several flex players raising capital through IPOs.
Enterprise demand is at the heart of this momentum. Average annual seat absorption is expected to rise by about 25 percent over the next two years, reaching nearly 200,000 seats in 2026 and 2027. This is a significant jump from the average of around 160,000 seats absorbed annually during 2024 and 2025.
Arpit Mehrotra, Managing Director, Office Services at Colliers India, says the market is entering a pivotal stage. He notes that Grade A flex space is growing at nearly 20 percent annually across top cities, driven by domestic companies, global firms and Global Capability Centres, or GCCs. Operators, he adds, are responding by offering more customised workspaces with advanced technology and sustainability features.
Among cities, Bengaluru continues to dominate India’s flex office landscape. It accounts for about 31 percent of the country’s total flex stock and has more than 22 million square feet of operational flex space. Delhi NCR follows with around 12.5 million square feet. Together, these two markets make up nearly half of India’s total flex inventory.
Pune stands out for a different reason. It has the highest flex space penetration among major cities, at 11.5 percent. This is largely driven by steady demand from technology firms, BFSI companies and start-ups. Chennai, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the fastest-growing flex markets in the country, recording a 5.6 times increase in flex stock since 2021.
What occupiers want from offices is also changing. Scalability, customisation and technology integration have become key decision factors. To meet these expectations, flex operators are offering fully managed offices with IT support, value-added services and layouts tailored to occupier needs.
With GCCs becoming a major source of demand, operators are also introducing “GCC-as-a-Service” models. These offerings help global firms with everything from choosing the right location and securing approvals to delivering offices that meet global standards. Sustainability is another major focus area. Over the past two to three years, nearly 70 percent of flex space uptake has taken place in green-certified buildings, highlighting the growing importance of ESG considerations.
Enterprise occupiers now dominate the flex market, accounting for nearly 70 percent of total flex seat demand. Technology and BFSI firms lead the way, contributing around 60 to 65 percent of current enterprise demand. Average annual enterprise seat uptake has risen sharply, from about 50,000 seats in 2021 to nearly 160,000 seats in 2024 and 2025.
This trend is expected to continue. Annual enterprise seat uptake is projected to touch around 200,000 seats during 2026 and 2027. While technology and BFSI will remain the largest contributors, other sectors such as engineering, manufacturing and consulting are expected to play a bigger role, together accounting for 20 to 30 percent of enterprise demand.
GCCs are emerging as one of the strongest drivers of flex space growth. In 2025, they accounted for roughly 40 to 45 percent of enterprise seat uptake. This share is expected to increase further as GCCs expand into higher-value functions such as research and development, engineering, analytics and artificial intelligence.
Vimal Nadar, National Director and Head of Research at Colliers India, says flex operators are increasingly offering specialised solutions for GCCs, including compliance-ready infrastructure, onboarding support and rapid deployment models. With technology-led efficiencies and sustainability features becoming standard, GCCs are likely to account for nearly half of enterprise flex demand over the next two years.
While Tier I cities continue to dominate, there is a clear shift in where flex spaces are coming up within these cities. Secondary Business Districts, or SBDs, have emerged as preferred locations, contributing to over half of Grade A flex space uptake in the past five years. Their proximity to talent hubs, better infrastructure and relatively lower costs make them attractive for both operators and occupiers.
At the same time, expansion into Tier II cities is gathering pace. Markets such as Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Indore, Chandigarh and Lucknow are seeing increased interest. With average seat rentals 30 to 35 percent lower than Tier I cities, these locations offer a strong cost advantage. Colliers expects Tier II cities to account for 10 to 15 percent of India’s total flex stock by 2027, driven by hub-and-spoke and distributed workforce models.
Together, these trends suggest that flex offices are no longer a niche segment. They are fast becoming a core part of India’s commercial real estate story.
