Over 130 UK firms have already established Global Capability Centres in India. The question is no longer whether to build — it is how fast, and with whom.
Entity registration. Location advisory. Talent acquisition. Compliance. Governance. Ongoing operational support. All from a team present in both Birmingham and Pune.
Typical time to first hire: 6–12 weeks · Build, Operate, Transfer available
India hosts more Global Capability Centres than any other country. The ecosystem — talent, infrastructure, policy — is mature and proven.
Over 170 new centres launched last year. Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune continue to dominate, but tier-II cities are now viable for first builds.
What once took 18–24 months now takes six weeks using Employer of Record or Build-Operate-Transfer models. The barrier to entry is gone.
The India–UK CETA opens Indian government procurement to UK firms. A GCC in India positions you to bid — and win — contracts in-market.
Most GCC advisors operate from the UK and manage India remotely. We are different. Our team is based in Pune — which means your GCC build is managed by people who are physically present in the market, every day. We are not consultants who visit India. We live and work there.
Our India team operates from Pune — one of India's fastest-growing GCC cities. When your office needs signing, your lease needs reviewing, or your first hires need meeting, we are there.
We manage both the UK-side strategy and India-side execution. You have one point of contact in Birmingham who coordinates everything — no separate legal, HR, and real estate firms to manage.
ANSR and Zinnov build for multinationals. We build for ambitious UK mid-market businesses — the ones that can't afford a 12-month consulting engagement before breaking ground.
RBI/FEMA approvals, transfer pricing, GST registration, labour law compliance, and DPDP Act readiness — we handle the regulatory architecture so your team focuses on hiring and delivering.
The India–UK CETA changes the calculus for UK businesses. We have been advising on it since launch. Your GCC can be structured to take advantage of procurement access, talent mobility, and reduced trade friction.
Unlike standalone GCC advisors, we also run the accounting function. Your India entity's books, payroll, management accounts, and transfer pricing compliance are handled end-to-end by the same team.
The right model depends on your timeline, risk appetite, and how much operational control you want from day one. We advise on which fits your business — and can execute any of the three.
You register your own India entity (WOS, Branch, or LLP), build the team directly, and own the operation fully from day one. Maximum control, maximum IP ownership, slightly longer setup timeline.
We set up and run the India operation under our entity while your own entity is registered in parallel. When ready — typically 12–24 months — the operation, team, and assets transfer to you cleanly.
Hire specific India-based talent immediately — under a compliant EOR arrangement — while evaluating whether a full GCC makes sense. Low commitment, fast execution, easy transition to a full entity later.
City selection is the single most consequential GCC decision. Talent depth, cost, government incentives, and sector fit vary dramatically. We advise on the right location for your mandate — and our Pune office gives us ground-level intelligence no UK-based advisor can match.
India's largest GCC hub. 880+ centres. The deepest tech, AI, and ER&D talent base. Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Rolls-Royce, and Amazon all operate here. First choice for innovation-heavy mandates.
India's fastest-growing GCC city. 355+ centres. Strong government support via T-AIM. Microsoft India Development Centre and Vanguard's largest global tech hub are based here. Excellent for cloud, pharma, and digital.
350+ GCCs. Strong in ER&D, industrial software, automotive tech, and enterprise SaaS. BMW, Mercedes-Benz Tech, Eaton, and Microsoft operate here. Our AB team is based here — we know this market from the inside.
Strong in engineering, healthcare, and manufacturing tech. Lower cost than Bengaluru with a deep engineering talent pool. Preferred for automotive ER&D and life sciences. Rapidly growing GCC policy support.
We do not hand you a strategy deck and leave. We manage the build end-to-end — from location selection to your first hire to ongoing governance. Here is what that looks like in practice.
Typical total timeline: First hire operational within 6–12 weeks (BOT/EOR model) or 10–16 weeks (direct entity). Full GCC operational at 25+ headcount typically reached within 6–9 months. We remain engaged throughout — not just for the setup phase.
A GCC setup touches legal, HR, finance, real estate, compliance, and technology simultaneously. We cover all of it — so you are not managing six separate advisors across two time zones.
Wholly-owned subsidiary, branch office, or LLP — we advise on the optimal structure and manage incorporation, MCA filings, and all pre-operational registrations end-to-end.
All inbound FDI notifications, RBI filings, FEMA compliance, and ongoing foreign investment reporting — managed by our India CA-qualified team with no gaps in the regulatory chain.
Location selection, SEZ and IT park evaluation, lease negotiation, and fit-out project management. Our Pune team provides on-the-ground due diligence no UK advisor can replicate.
Identifying and recruiting the right GCC Head is the most critical early decision. We manage the search, compensation benchmarking, and offer structuring for senior India-side leadership roles.
Inter-company agreements, arm's length pricing documentation, and India-side transfer pricing filings — structured from day one to withstand CBDT scrutiny and minimise tax leakage.
End-to-end India payroll, PF and ESI compliance, gratuity provisioning, statutory bonus, and leave management — all running to Indian labour law requirements from first hire.
India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act requires full compliance by May 2027. We embed DPDP requirements into GCC design from the outset — consent management, breach protocols, and data localisation.
Monthly management accounts, board reporting packs, India statutory accounts, GST returns, and transfer pricing compliance — all managed by the same team that set the entity up.
State GCC policies, IT park incentives, SEZ tax holidays, PLI scheme applicability, and CETA procurement access — we identify and apply for every applicable incentive on your behalf.
For BOT engagements, we manage the full lifecycle: operating the GCC under our entity, hiring and building the team, and executing a clean transfer of people, assets, and contracts to your ownership.
The India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement changes the GCC calculus for UK businesses in three ways: talent can move more freely under the Double Contribution Convention; your UK products enter India at 3% average tariff while your GCC supports sales; and £38bn of Indian government procurement is now accessible to UK firms for the first time. A GCC in India is no longer just a cost play — it is a market access strategy.
Transparency matters. Here is the realistic cost picture for three common GCC sizes, based on current India market data. Our engagement fee is scoped separately — we will quote a fixed price at the strategy stage.
Costs are indicative ranges based on 2025 India market data. Actual costs depend on city, sector, talent profile, and model selected. SEZ locations and state incentives can reduce operating costs by a further 15–30%.
Most GCC projects stall because the advisor is in London managing India at arm's length. We are in Pune. That is the difference. Start with a 30-minute conversation — we will tell you which model fits your business and what it realistically costs.
No obligation. No deck. Just a direct conversation about your India opportunity.