AI-led workforce rationalization, West Asia tensions pause leasing in India
DLF says big companies are hitting pause on leasing new office spaces in India because of global concerns around artificial intelligence-led workforce rationalization and geopolitical tensions in West Asia.
Sriram Khattar (vice chairman and MD, rental business) shared that Global Capability Centres started delaying their expansion plans from February onwards, which has cooled demand for offices in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, and Delhi-NCR.
DLF expects ₹7,300-7,500 cr rentals
Even with these delays, DLF expects things to bounce back gradually. They're aiming for rental income of ₹7,300 to 7,500 crore in FY27.
In Q1 FY27 alone, their rental arm pulled in ₹1,917 crore in revenue with a 21% jump in net profit to ₹717 crore.
The company is also seeing more leasing inquiries lately and says demand for top-quality offices remains strong: operational spaces are still at 95% occupancy and new projects like Downtown Gurugram Phase II are already 40% pre-leased.