India’s office market is riding a fresh wave of expansion, driven by global capability centres (GCCs), rising enterprise hiring, and a structural shift toward flexible workspaces. WeWork India Managing Director and CEO Karan Virwani says the company is seeing record financial performance and accelerating demand, reflecting a broader resurgence in commercial real estate.
“We’ve had an exceptional nine months,” Virwani told NDTV Profit, noting that the company reported revenue of around Rs 1,700-Rs 1,800 crore over the past year, alongside its highest-ever EBITDA margins and quarterly profitability.
The growth, he said, underscores the strength of India’s talent ecosystem and its increasing importance as a global operations hub.
GCC Expansion Is Reshaping Office Demand
A major driver of this growth is the rapid expansion of GCCs, as multinational firms scale their India presence. Virwani cited one example where a global client expanded from just 16 desks to 650 seats within a short span, illustrating the pace at which companies are growing.
“We have multiple such deals that aren’t publicly disclosed but are reflected in our occupancy and business growth,” he said.
India’s talent advantage continues to attract global firms, with flex office providers increasingly becoming strategic partners that help companies scale quickly without the long lead times associated with traditional real estate.
Demand Outpaces Supply, Pushing Rentals Higher
Strong demand and limited supply have also pushed rental prices upward across key office markets. Vacancy levels remain low, while new supply is not keeping pace with enterprise expansion.
“Demand is outpacing supply by a large margin,” Virwani said, adding that ready-to-move-in flexible workspaces allow companies to expand faster.
The segment itself is growing significantly faster than the broader economy. Virwani said the flexible workspace market is expanding at roughly triple the pace of GDP growth, reflecting structural changes in how companies approach office infrastructure.
Post-COVID Shift Toward Long-Term Commitments
Corporate confidence has strengthened sharply since the pandemic. Average contract durations at WeWork India have nearly doubled-from about 12-14 months during COVID to 28-30 months now.
Return-to-office trends have stabilised, with companies taking longer-term views on workspace needs while still prioritising flexibility. Many firms are also adopting distributed office models to support hybrid and decentralised teams.
WeWork India is scaling up to meet demand, with plans to add around 30,000 seats, equivalent to roughly 2 million square feet of new capacity over the next year. This would take its total portfolio from about 9 million square feet to nearly 11 million square feet.
The company’s sales velocity has risen nearly 50% over the past year, giving it confidence to expand while maintaining high occupancy and strong margins.
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