Indian Office REITs Forge Ahead with Expansion Plans
In a striking contrast to the global trend of workspace contraction, India's office real estate investment trusts (REITs) are charting a path of aggressive growth. The four publicly listed office REITs—Embassy Office Parks REIT, Mindspace Business Parks REIT, Brookfield India Real Estate Trust (BIRET), and Knowledge Realty Trust (KRT)—are actively increasing their portfolios through strategic acquisitions and new development projects. This bold move is aimed at capturing higher occupancy and leasing rates, capitalizing on the robust demand within the Indian office market.
Strong Financial Performance Fuels Ambition
The first half of the 2025-26 financial year has been exceptionally positive for these trusts. Key metrics such as net operating income, occupancy levels, and distributions to investors have all shown significant growth. This upward trajectory is projected to continue into the second half of FY26, powered largely by leasing activity from Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and domestic companies. The decline in leasing by traditional IT services firms has been effectively offset by this diversified demand from multinational corporations and Indian enterprises.
Mindspace REIT exemplifies this growth, having expanded its completed portfolio by over 4.2 million square feet in just nine months. The company now plans to intensify its focus on acquisitions, evaluating multiple third-party assets and those available through right-of-first-offer (ROFO) agreements from its sponsors. "Our portfolio's committed occupancy has increased to 94.6% driven by good leasing momentum. So, the drop in leasing by IT services firms has been filled up by MNCs, GCCs and Indian companies," confirmed Ramesh Nair, Managing Director and CEO.
Major Deals and Rising Occupancy Signal Market Strength
In a landmark transaction, Brookfield REIT announced in November its plan to acquire a 100% interest in Ecoworld, a massive 7.7 million sq ft Grade A office park in Bengaluru, for ₹13,125 crore. This acquisition is set to boost BIRET's operating area by 31% and increase the share of GCCs in its tenancy mix to 45%. This move underscores the strategic importance of high-quality assets in key markets like Bengaluru.
The positive sentiment is reflected across the board. Committed occupancy levels for all major office REITs have now crossed the 90% threshold, with some analysts predicting they will reach the mid-90s by the end of FY26. For instance, BIRET's committed occupancy rose to 90% at the end of H1FY26, up from 85% in the same period the previous year. It is important to note that committed occupancy includes space that is not only physically occupied but also has signed leases in place.
Newly listed Knowledge Realty Trust (KRT), backed by the Sattva Group and Blackstone, made its first distribution payout since its August listing, declaring a distribution of ₹690 crore, or ₹1.55 per unit, for the quarter ended September. KRT also reported impressive operational numbers, with 1.8 million sq ft of gross leasing in H1FY26 and portfolio occupancy climbing to 92%. "Leasing has happened at an 8% premium to market, and rental growth has happened in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai. In a significant change, we are seeing annual rental escalation in cities such as Hyderabad and Mumbai, compared to the three-year escalation before," revealed Quaiser Parvez, Chief Operating Officer of KRT.
According to property advisory CBRE India, GCCs accounted for a substantial 35-40% of the 60 million sq ft of gross leasing recorded between January and September 2025. The overall office leasing in India is expected to surpass an impressive 80 million sq ft by the end of the year. Leading the pack, Embassy REIT, India's first listed REIT, secured 3.5 million sq ft of gross leasing in the first six months of FY26. The trust is further bolstering its presence by launching 2 million sq ft of new projects in Chennai, expanding its development pipeline to a total of 7.2 million sq ft.
