Morgan Stanley secures Rs 2,122 cr office lease for 16 floors in Mumbai

The office space spanning 1.1 million square feet in Mumbai's Goregaon suburb is one of the largest commercial real estate deals in India

Morgan Stanley has signed an agreement to rent office space of 1.1 million square feet in Mumbai's Goregaon suburb, marking one of the largest commercial real estate lease deals in India. The almost 10-year lease is valued at more than Rs 2,122 crore,  according to the 'Economic Times'.

Morgan Stanley has leased 16 floors in the Oberoi Commerz III tower, one of the tallest mixed-use commercial towers in the country, for a term of nine-and-a-half years. The deal was finalised through the company’s India arm, Morgan Stanley Advantage Services, the report added.

This deal was initially set in motion in July 2020, during the peak of Covid-19 and when the US-based bank agreed to lease the space in the over 40-storey tower. After completing negotiations, the company has now registered the transaction in the final week of August.

 

Morgan Stanley has made a security deposit of Rs 104.9 crore for this deal, the report said citing documents accessed via realty data analytics firm Propstack. This represents the largest office space deal by any company in 2024.

The Oberoi Commerz III tower, part of the 2.9 million square feet Oberoi Garden City, is situated within an 80-acre premium mixed-use development. Its proximity to an upcoming metro station adds further appeal to the location.

Mid and large office space leasing trends in 2024

According to a Knight Frank India report, about 45 per cent of total office space demand in the first half of 2024 came from large workspaces of over 100,000 square feet. Transactions in this category reached 15.69 million square feet during January-June. Meanwhile, spaces between 50,000 and 100,000 square feet contributed 21 per cent, or 7.28 million square feet, of total office leasing during the same period.

The demand for smaller office spaces, those under 50,000 square feet, also remains strong. Knight Frank data showed that leasing for such spaces totaled 11.7 million square feet in the first half of 2024, accounting for 34 per cent of the total office space demand.

Rise in flexible workspace leasing

Meanwhile, a growing trend among companies, both domestic and foreign, is the increasing preference for flexible office spaces. Business Standard recently reported that flex office spaces now account for 12.7 per cent of overall leasing, up from 10.2 per cent in 2019. In particular, the absorption of flex spaces has surged since the pandemic, with companies taking up 155,000 seats in 2023, compared to 85,234 seats in 2021.