Bengaluru Q1 retail leasing volume dominated by main streets

Overall leasing volume declined by 10% during the quarter.

In a report, Cushman and Wakefield revealed Bengaluru recorded retail leasing volumes of 0.18 msf in Q1 2024, a 10% drop on a yoy basis and sharply lower than the leasing activity witnessed in the previous quarter. 

Main streets dominated lease volumes with 0.15 msf worth of transactions, while mall leasing remained largely tepid. 

Here’s more from Cushman and Wakefield:

Locations such as Varthur Road (peripheral east), Indiranagar 100 Feet Road (suburban east), Koramangala 80 Feet Road (suburban south), HSR Layout 27th Main (southeast) and Jayanagar 11th Main (suburban south) recorded lease transactions across various retail categories. 

F&B and fashion retailers led leasing activity in the quarter, contributing 21% and 19% of the leasing volumes respectively. Accessories and lifestyle retailers, including some leading jewellery brands, contributed around 16% of the leasing volumes, The quarter also saw new automobile showrooms and fitness & wellness centres being established at key suburban locations. 

No new mall completion in Q1; mall vacancy dips marginally 

Bengaluru recorded no new mall completion in Q1. A greenfield mall 0f 0.9 msf that is under-construction at Kanakpura Road and is expected to enter the market by the end of the current year. Headline mall vacancy declined marginally by 20 bps on a quarterly basis to 13.2% though the city’s superior malls continued to record relatively lower availability of space with a vacancy of around 8%. While demand for premium mall space will continue to remain strong from leading domestic and international brands, the relative space shortage is likely to translate into healthy space take up at main streets, particularly at fast emerging peripheral locations. 

Prime main streets continue to record rental appreciation 

Main streets such as Indiranagar 100 feet Road, Kamanahalli Main Road, and HSR Layout 27th Main recorded rental appreciation of ~10% on a quarterly basis on the back of strong demand and lower availability at prime locations. Other markets such as Koramangala 80 Feet Road, Jayanagar 11th Main, Whitefield, Thanisandra Road recorded rental growth of 6-7% on a qoq basis. Quoted mall rentals remained stable on a quarterly basis.