Ahmedabad’s flex workspace leasing explodes 570%: Is India’s boom spreading beyond Bengaluru, Mumbai & Delhi?

Ahmedabad is emerging as a fast-growing flexible workspace market, with seat leasing surging 570.3% year-on-year (YoY) in the first half of 2026. The sharp rise, alongside strong growth in Kolkata and other cities, suggests India’s flex workspace expansion is beginning to reach beyond its traditional metropolitan hubs.

According to Cushman & Wakefield data, Ahmedabad recorded 4,927 flex seats leased in H1 2026, up from just 735 seats in the same period last year. While the city’s volumes remain relatively small compared with Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai, the pace of growth highlights rising demand for flexible office formats across a wider set of markets.

Smaller cities join the flex workspace expansion

Kolkata also recorded a strong increase, with flex seat leasing rising 48% YoY to 3,454 seats in H1 2026 from 2,334 seats a year earlier. Pune, meanwhile, saw seat uptake rise 27.8% to 20,900, while Chennai posted a more modest 3.6% increase to 16,297 seats.

The expansion comes as India’s overall flex workspace market recorded its strongest first half on record. Flex operators leased 191,306 seats across the top eight cities in H1 2026, a 68.4% increase from 113,623 seats in H1 2025.

Flex operators also recorded 8.4 million square feet (MSF) of gross leasing volume (GLV) during the period, up 55% from 5.4 MSF a year earlier. Their share of overall office leasing rose to nearly 20%, compared with 13% in H1 2025.

The numbers indicate that flexible workspace is gaining traction as companies look for office solutions that can be scaled more quickly across different markets.

Hyderabad and NCR show broader shift

The expansion is not limited to smaller markets. Hyderabad recorded one of the strongest increases among major cities, with flex seat leasing jumping 170.8% to 40,451 seats. Delhi NCR saw a 152.7% increase to 21,970 seats, while Mumbai recorded 25,820 seats, up 130%.

Bengaluru remained the largest flex market, accounting for 30% of total seat uptake with 57,487 seats, although its 31.8% YoY growth was considerably lower than that of several other markets.

Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are an important factor behind the wider expansion. They accounted for 44% of total flex seats leased in H1 2026, up from 37% for full-year 2025.

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“Flexible workspaces have firmly established themselves as a core element of corporate real estate strategies,” Ramita Arora, Executive Managing Director, Bengaluru and Head-Flex, India, Cushman & Wakefield, said.

“As enterprises seek greater agility and efficiency, flex and managed office solutions are becoming an integral part of long-term workplace planning,” Arora added.

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She said occupiers are increasingly seeking “highly customized, experience-led workplaces”, with flex operators delivering environments that reflect global office standards, brand identity and workplace culture.

The sharp rise in Ahmedabad and Kolkata, therefore, points to a broader evolution: flex workspace demand is no longer concentrated only in India’s biggest office markets, as companies increasingly use flexible formats to support expansion across a wider geographic footprint.

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