ICE Expands India Operations with Major Office Lease in Pune
PUNE — US financial services and technology firm Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has significantly expanded its India operations by securing a long-term lease for a large office space in Pune’s Magarpatta Cybercity, underscoring the city’s rising stature as a global capability centre (GCC) hub.
Key Deal Highlights: • Leased space: ~193,053 sq ft across nine floors in Tower S3. • Location: Magarpatta Cybercity, Pune business district. • Rent: ₹90 per sq ft per month (~₹1.73 cr/month). • Escalation: 15% every three years. • Security deposit: ~₹10.42 crore. • Lease term: Nine-year agreement with Axis Max Life Insurance as the lessor.
The leased facility will be developed into a Global Capability Centre supporting product engineering, technology services, and back-end operations for ICE’s global platforms.
India’s office market continues to grow, led largely by demand from global capability centres (GCCs). According to commercial real estate research, the top seven Indian cities together have more than 263 million sq ft of Grade-A office space, accounting for nearly 40% of total office leasing over the past decade.
In the last two years alone, over 200 new GCCs have been set up across the country. Market estimates suggest that the total GCC office footprint in India could cross 350 million sq ft in the next three to four years. This reflects a clear shift in strategy, with GCCs moving beyond cost-focused operations to become centres for innovation, engineering, and product development.
The ICE transaction ranks among the larger single GCC leases in Pune this year and highlights a broader trend of multinational companies expanding their India operations beyond traditional back-office roles. India’s GCC-led office leasing reached a record around 31 million sq ft in 2025, with cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune seeing strong occupier demand.
Pune has emerged as a key beneficiary, accounting for an estimated 15–20% of national GCC activity in recent years. The city’s appeal is driven by a strong talent base, competitive operating costs, and well-developed office locations such as Magarpatta, Hinjewadi, and Kharadi.
Commenting on the transaction, Raja Seetharaman, co-founder of Propstack, said, “The ICE MT India deal reinforces the continued strong demand from global capability centres for large-format office spaces in Pune. The nine-year tenure and the size of the transaction signal long-term confidence in the Magarpatta micro-market as a leading IT corridor.”
About ICE India Operations: Intercontinental Exchange, a major operator of digital infrastructure and technology platforms for financial markets globally, has been expanding its India footprint to support global technology, product, and engineering functions. The Pune centre is part of this strategic expansion aimed at tapping India’s deep technical talent base.
