TCS inks two big-ticket office lease deals

Takes 400,000 sq ft in Noida; 375,000 sq ft in Bengaluru

Riding on revenue growth, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has inked two large office space deals in the last quarter. TCS, India’s largest software firm, signed a 400,000 sq ft office space deal in Okaya Tower in Noida’s Sector 62.

It is expected to pay a rent of Rs 19 crore a year, or Rs 40 a sq ft a month, on the property. The lease deal is one of the largest in the National Capital Region (NCR) this year.

TOWERING RENT
Top leasing deals in April-June quarter of 2016

• TCS takes 400,000sq ft office in Okaya Tower in Noida
• TCS  takes 375,000sq ft in Whitefield in Bengaluru
• IBM takes 300,000sq ft in HITECH City, Hyderabad
• ValueLabs takes 220,000sq ft in Hyderabad

The company also signed a 375,000-sq ft office deal in Brigade Bhuwalka Icon in Bengaluru’s Whitefield area, where it is expected to pay Rs 34 per sq ft a month.

“The properties are expected to be used by the company as software development facilities,” said a source who did not wish to be identified.

TCS did not respond to an e-mail questionnaire on the subject.

In the June 2016 quarter, TCS posted a 3.7 per cent sequential increase in dollar revenue. Although the company is hiring less in FY17, it is still the largest employer in the Indian software sector with 360,000 employees.

The company’s attrition rate has also come down consistently in the past couple of quarters, reports said.

Both Indian and foreign tech companies are taking large offices in the country to support their growth plans.

IBM and ValueLabs leased 300,000 sq ft and 220,000 sq ft, respectively, in Hyderabad in the second quarter of this calender year, according to Colliers International.

TCS’ rival Infosys took 620,000 sq ft in Hinjewadi in Pune and 152,000 sq ft in Bengaluru in the March quarter.

US-based HP leased nearly 500,000 sq ft in Maruthi Concorde Tower in Electronic City in Bengaluru, while IBM also took 500,000 sq ft in Bhartiya City, an integrated property project at Thanisandra in Bengaluru.

According to Colliers International, the Indian office market saw an absorption of 10.4 million sq ft in the second quarter of the current calendar year, which is 18 per cent higher on a quarterly basis. Bengaluru contributed the highest proportion to this absorption at 30 per cent followed by NCR at 21 per cent, and Hyderabad at 20 per cent.

The quarter saw addition of seven million sq ft inventory to the office supply in the country, it said.

Tech companies accounted for 70 per cent absorption of office space in the March quarter.