Mumbai, Delhi most expensive office fit-out locations in India: Cushman & Wakefield

Mumbai and Delhi are the most expensive office fit-out locations in India, but all the seven Indian cities feature in the bottom 10 out of the 30, with average fit-out costs being sub $70 per square feet in the Asia Pacific region, says Asia Pacific Office Fit-out Cost Guide 2020-2021 by Cushman & Wakefield.

Fit out refers to developing an office space based on the needs of its occupants.

Cities in Japan and Australia continue to dominate the top 10 list of most expensive office fit-out locations in Asia Pacific region with average costs being upwards of $150 per sq ft, the report stated.

Mumbai commanded the higher office fit-out costs at $69 per sq ft, followed by Delhi at $65, Hyderabad at $63, Bengaluru at $62, Pune at $61, Kolkata at $61 and Chennai at $60 per sq ft.

Asia Pacific is forecast to emerge from the downturn earlier than other regions across the globe and is well-positioned to return to strong economic growth by the end of 2020. While the region's long-term fundamentals remain intact, the short but sharp recession will continue to echo and shape corporate decision-making into the future.

“As a result of the global pandemic, the increases in fit-out costs seen in recent years has reversed in most markets across the region. This trend is likely to persist as corporate occupiers continue to assess their capital expenditure budgets and corporate footprint requirements,” said Tom Gibson, Head of Project & Development Services, Asia Pacific.

“We are also seeing greater integration of workplace strategy expertise into the early stages of the design and fit-out process. With working lifestyles and preferences evolving following the pandemic, companies are increasingly focused on aligning their space requirements with efficient workplace strategies and HR policies to better meet their corporate business and financial goals,” he said.

From an office design perspective, the workplace will evolve from a regular office to a place for networking and with a social feel.

“We expect that while social distancing and a flexible work policy will reduce the number of seats in an office, there would also be a bigger focus on agile seating formats. However, conventional office formats in India are unlikely to change much expect bring in better HSSE features and create socially distant seating arrangements,” said Shashi Bushan, Managing Director, Project & Development Services, Occupiers - India, Cushman & Wakefield.

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