GCCs by Origin Country: Who Is Leasing What and Why It Matters (2025)

India's commercial real estate market is on a red-hot streak. The market has been steadily climbing to new heights, as more and more office space is being leased out every year. A key factor behind this growth in leasing are Global Capability Centers (GCCs). Global capability centers in India represent offshore units of multinational companies designed to support the organization's global strategic needs. These global capability centres in India support India's long-term goals to be a top hub of innovation and operational excellence.

By the end of 2025, there are expected to be over 1,900 global capability centers in india, creating 1.9 million jobs in India. This means that global capability centers are an important factor in the economic, digital, and strategic agenda of this great country. As the global capability center india ecosystem continues to expand and mature, strategic decision-making for these companies becomes more important. One such important decision is about location.

Where? Why? When? How? All of these questions need to be answered by the company before setting up a GCC, to maximize value creation. Understanding how to set up a global capability center in india requires careful consideration of location, which impacts dimensions like talent, innovation, cost, and global competitiveness for any global capability center. Understanding who is leasing what and where can offer critical insights for other companies. These insights can help companies to make decisions on expansion, innovation, and benchmarking.

Here's a deep dive into who's leasing what in India. We have segmented global capability centers by their country of origin, key trends, and more. We also explore key cities attracting global capability centres, the strategic reasons behind their location choices, and how factors like talent availability, cost efficiency, and innovation ecosystems influence this distribution. This knowledge will help you make informed choices about where and how to establish or grow your own global capability center in india, and for insights into competitive benchmarking and operational success.

Introduction

What is a global capability center? A global capability center (GCC) is a strategic offshore unit that enables multinational corporations to leverage India's talent pool, cost advantages, and innovation ecosystem. The GCC full form stands for Global Capability Center, representing a sophisticated global capability center operating model that goes beyond traditional outsourcing.

As India cements its position as the global capital for Global Capability Centers (GCCs), multinational corporations from every corner of the world are racing to establish and expand their strategic hubs here. Currently, more than half of all global capability centers are located in India. The rest are spread across other global hotspots like Poland, Mexico, Vietnam, and the UAE to mitigate risk and capitalize on regional strengths.

While India's vast talent pool, robust digital infrastructure, and favorable regulatory environment make it the top choice worldwide, the "why" behind each origin country's investment is unique. Not all global capability centres are created equal, and each origin country brings its unique priorities, strategies, and operating patterns. Understanding these differences is key to decoding the future of global business operations.

Why Location Matters

Global capability centers are no longer just about cost arbitrage. Their location shapes everything from the scope of operations to talent strategy and real estate footprint. Each global capability center evaluates locations based on:

Talent availability and specialization

Global capability centers prioritize locations based on the skills needed. For example, a back office for a US-based tech company will prioritize locations with high IT talent availability. On the other hand, a German pharmaceutical company setting up an R&D facility will prioritize locations based on biochem, life sciences, and pharmaceutical talent.

Industry focus

Each location has different levels of maturity across industries. Global capability center companies match their needs to the capabilities of different locations to reap the most benefits. Sometimes companies want the advantage of already established talent pools and infrastructure. In other cases, companies want to avoid high-density locations to avoid competition. For example, an automobile company setting up a global capability center in Chennai to enjoy existing infrastructure and talent. Or a tech company setting up an incubation center in Kolkata to avoid competition from other global capability centers.

Regulatory and tax environment

Entity formation, tax planning, and compliance are factors that are assessed for each setup. Global capability center companies in India evaluate jurisdictions based on tax incentives, regulatory environment, and data privacy laws. Companies also have to tailor entity formation, tax planning, and compliance to the needs and risks of their home country.

Risk management

Multilocation strategies help companies diversify risk, ensure business continuity, and enable around-the-clock operations. This is especially important in a volatile global environment and represents one of the key global capability center challenges.

Location Choice

While a minor factor, sometimes locations are also chosen based on the preferences of each company. This is often a result of a company's origin country's industry focus and strategic priorities. US and UK firms favor tech and financial hubs; German and Japanese firms prefer industrial and manufacturing centers; Singaporean firms focus on regional gateways.

Scale and Scope

US firms tend to build large, multi-functional campuses, while European and Asian firms may start with smaller, specialized centers. Over time, many expand to match the scale of their US peers.

The Powerhouse of India's Office Market

India's office leasing measured in at 16.3 million sq. ft. in Q1 2025, an impressive increase of almost 20% QoQ from Q1 2024. Bengaluru alone accounted for over one-fourth of all leasing in the quarter. Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, and Mumbai, together accounted for 63% of India's total office leasing in Q1 2025. Of this, global capability centers continue to be the biggest growth lever, having driven 45% of all leasing activity in the quarter, totaling 7.3 million sq. ft. The demand from global capability centers for office space has continued to grow, increasing by around 70% over the corresponding quarter last year. And there seems to be no brakes on the rising demand, as early estimations indicate more growth in demand from the segment for this year.

Who's Leasing What: GCCs by Country of Origin

Just as the location plays a role in the decision-making process, so does the country of origin for each global capability center. The country of origin plays an important role in everything from a global capability center's strategic priorities, leadership, and organizational structure, legal and local compliances, and more.

United States: The Trendsetter

Share of GCCs in India: The vast majority of all global capability centers in India are US-headquartered. US-based companies account for between 55-60% of the over 1700 global capability centres in india.

Growth Rate: US-based global capability centers have grown at a rate of 20–25% over the past five years, with expectations to replicate this in the next 2–3 years.

Value Proposition: US firms leverage India for deep tech talent, cost savings (60–70% on technology and back-office operations), and robust digital infrastructure. This represents a prime global capability center example of how multinational corporations can achieve operational excellence while maintaining cost efficiency.

EMEA: Value Addition

Growth: European companies are expanding rapidly, particularly in BFSI, consulting, and manufacturing.

Share of GCCs in India: Global capability centres from the EMEA region account for 15-20% of global capability centers in india, with the largest share of companies belonging to Germany.

Growth Rate: Germany is the key driver of this expansion with a 6.5% growth rate. EMEA-based global capability centers accounted for 28% of all GCC leasing in Q1 2025. EMEA-based global capability centres prefer Delhi-NCR and Pune, with a growing interest in Chennai and Hyderabad.

UK: Innovation Hubs

Share of GCCs in India: 6–8% of all global capability centers are UK-headquartered, with the number growing every year at a CAGR of 7.6%.

Value Proposition: UK firms leverage India's cost-effective environment, large talent pool, and time zone overlap to maintain competitiveness post-Brexit. Skilled labor in India is generally 60-70 percent cheaper than in the UK.

Innovation: UK-led global capability centers are increasingly centers for digital transformation and global mobility, showcasing innovative global capability center examples of how companies can drive transformation initiatives from India.

Asia-Pacific (Excluding India)

Emergence: Japanese, Singaporean, and Australian firms are increasing their presence, especially in engineering, manufacturing, and tech.

Share of GCCs in India: APAC-headquartered global capability centers make up around 5-10% of India's total global capability center count. Of this number, Japan is the leading contributor to the region. APAC-based global capability centers have a growing presence in Hyderabad and Chennai, especially in the engineering and manufacturing sectors.

APAC-based global capability centers have grown by more than 65% over the past five years, at a CAGR of 10.6%. APAC-headquartered global capability centers made up 7% GCC's total Q1 2025 leasing.

Value Proposition: Japanese companies value India's innovation potential, sustainability initiatives, and strong manufacturing base. APAC-based global capability centers also get access to a much larger talent pool in India.

Collectively, these countries are shaping India's global capability center ecosystem into a global powerhouse for innovation, talent, and value creation.

City-wise GCC Leasing Snapshot (Q1 2025)

South India (Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad) collectively accounts for over 60% of all global capability center office leasing in 2025. These cities have become prime destinations for global capability center jobs, offering diverse opportunities across technology, manufacturing, and financial services sectors.

Why Companies Care About Where GCCs Come From

Understanding where global capability centers originate reveals critical business intelligence and insights. When companies establish global capability centers, they bring their own business logic and competitive pressures. And these patterns can be lobbed in together based on their country of origin.

For example, US companies often build for scale and speed. Many US global capability center companies lease large campuses and hire aggressively. On the other hand, European firms focus on compliance and sustainability. This results in smaller and more focused operations with robust data governance. Japanese companies emphasize precision and quality over rapid expansion. These aren't random choices but strategic patterns shaped by their home market realities.

The competitive advantage lies in decoding these patterns. This is a topic of critical importance for investors, policymakers, and business leaders alike. Understanding the global capability center meaning in different cultural and business contexts helps stakeholders make informed decisions about market entry, expansion, and strategic partnerships.

Read More: The Best Cities Around the World to Set Up a Global Capability Center

Location Tactics

When multiple industry leaders choose the same city, they've essentially conducted collective due diligence on talent, infrastructure, and risk. Location clustering offers valuable market intelligence. Following established players reduces location selection risk while benefiting from their accumulated market knowledge.

There's also a talent acquisition advantage. Global capability center companies entering cities where industry peers already operate gain immediate credibility with local professionals. This makes hiring faster and more cost-effective than pioneering entirely new markets. This strategy is particularly effective for companies seeking global capability center advice on optimal location selection.

Why This Matters for India and the World

India's global capability center transformation represents one of the largest shifts of knowledge work. The scale is impressive: 1.7 to 1.9 million professionals are currently employed, with 300,000 additional jobs expected by the end of 2025. This workforce supports a $60-70 billion market, making it larger than many national economies.

The evolution beyond traditional outsourcing is clear. While IT services still lead at 35% of global capability center leasing, banking and financial services follow at 22%, manufacturing at 13%, e-commerce at 6%, and consulting at 5%. This diversification proves India can handle complex, high-stakes operations across industries.

Global capability centers have evolved from cost centers to innovation hubs. They now drive product development, strategic planning, and market expansion for their parent companies. India isn't just executing decisions made elsewhere anymore but making them. This transformation has redefined the global capability center definition from a simple cost-saving mechanism to a strategic value-creation engine.

The growth trajectory points to even greater significance. Industry projections show 2,200 to 2,300 global capability centers by 2030, employing 2.8 million professionals and generating $100-110 billion in market value. At this scale, India's global capability center ecosystem becomes a critical global business infrastructure.

The sustainability dimension adds another layer of significance. About 88% of new office space in Q1 2025 was green-certified, with over 80% of total leasing occurring in certified sustainable assets. This trend reflects the growing alignment between global corporate sustainability commitments and India's infrastructure development priorities.

This transformation changes how countries compete globally. Nations now vie for knowledge work and innovation capacity, not just manufacturing or resources. India's success in capturing this market shifts the global competitive balance and forces other countries to develop their own strategies for attracting high-value corporate operations.

Read More: All You Need To Know About GCCs

Conclusion

As the global capability center ecosystem continues to mature, understanding the interplay between parent company priorities and local capabilities becomes increasingly critical for success. The country of origin analysis provides a roadmap for strategic decision-making, while India's position as the global capability center hub creates opportunities that extend far beyond individual corporate strategies.

For investors, policymakers, and business leaders seeking global capability center advisory services, these trends signal a fundamental shift in how global business operations are structured and where value is created in the modern economy. Understanding what global capability center operations mean for the future of work, and how different global capability center examples demonstrate successful implementation strategies, becomes essential for navigating this evolving landscape.

The global capability center represents a strategic partnership between multinational corporations and India's dynamic business ecosystem, creating value that extends far beyond traditional cost savings to encompass innovation, talent development, and sustainable growth.