Hyderabad, Bangalore: Top commercial destinations

Sharath Chowdary | The Dollar Business

With more and more availability of quality commercial spaces, two South Indian cities - Hyderabad and Bangalore – have become preferred commercial destinations for global brands. According to real estate experts, whether it is office building or retail malls, these two cities have registered a strong uptake of commercial space.

Anshuman Magazine, CMD of CBRE South Asia said, “The global shopping centre pipeline has continued to increase, reaching 41.9 million sq m in 2015, from 39 million sq m in 2014, and with Asian cities dominating all of the top 10 most active global markets. Of this, India has about 1.4 million sq m of under construction shopping centre space across Hyderabad, Bangalore and New Delhi.”

Veera Babu, MD of Cushman & Wakefield Hyderabad said, “Bangalore and Hyderabad accounted for a chunk of total demand for office space at approximately 72 per cent on the back of strong activity from companies in the IT-ITeS sector, which expanded their footprint. The IT-ITeS sector continues to fuel the Hyderabad market leading to a 107 per cent increase in demand to 2.3 million sq ft in Q1 2016 over Q1 2015 levels.”

Referring to Hyderabad, he said, “Limited availability of Grade A supply of office space has led to high levels of pre-commitment in the IT-ITeS sector in Hyderabad. With competitive rentals in the city, quality infrastructure and a proactive government that is creating more visibility for ‘Brand Hyderabad’, global companies are increasingly preferring to set up offices here.”

Vineet Surana, Director of Advanced Property Solutions said, “Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has already leased out the retail space of Hyderabad Metro Rail project to various brands including HyperCity, Shoppers Stop and PVR Cinemas to set up malls and multiplexes. The company is also providing built-to-suit opportunities to IT-ITeS offices, hotels, hospitals etc. Global branded retailers are going to start their outlets in the city along with Hyderabad Metro Rail commencing its operations.”

“Demand looks promising going forward with increasing business confidence backed by policy announcements and government initiatives. The first quarter began by recording a high pre-commitment level ensuring healthy momentum the next few quarters' especially in southern cities. Moreover, the year 2016 began with some outright purchases in top cities, which have fueled optimism into the sector,” said Ritesh Sachdev, MD of Tenant Advisory Group.