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KPMG has said it will use the space to expand as well as consolidate its business in Bangalore. The transaction comes at a time when the sector has been marred by the economic downturn that resulted in a significant decline in office space absorption across the country.

RMZ has locked in 7.6 lakh sq ft in RMZ Ecoworld for KPMG, which will be taken up in phases. In the first phase it will occupy 4.6 lakh sq ft, while balance 3 lakh sq ft will be occupied in the second phase, that is yet to be built and will depend on KPMG’s requirement, at least four people with direct knowledge of the development told ET.

However, a KPMG spokesperson said that the firm had recently contracted for use of 1.5 lakh sq ft of premises in Bangalore, which would eventually go up to 4.70 lakh sq ft. “KPMG is the fastest-growing professional services firm in India with offices across 12 locations. We have ambitious growth plans for the future and we continue to expand on the number of offices as well as the premises we use,” the spokesperson said.

A deal for commercial space of this magnitude suggests a major buildup of business by KPMG in India in coming years, with experts assessing that 7 lakh sq ft of space can accommodate about 7,000 people.

The space, housed in 50-acre RMZ Ecoworld, is located on Bangalore’s Sarjapur outer ring road. The business park, which has leased 3.25 million sq ft of the total 5.75 million sq ft, houses multinational companies such as SAP, Morgan Stanley, ANZ and Honeywell.

At present, KPMG has over 200 partners, more than 8,000 people on its rolls and has set a target of becoming a $1-billion organisation by 2018. For this it requires a total workforce of 17,000 people and 460 partners. Most of the hiring will be in the advisory business including management consultancy business across infrastructure and government projects.

KPMG recently hired senior professionals from Protiviti Consulting and Eicher Consulting Services team that was earlier acquired by PwC.

The brisk investment flow has come as a blessing for the real estate sector in the country, with multinational firms including KPMG, Ernst & Young, Deloitte and PwC looking to ramp up hiring. Driven by a huge emphasis on emerging markets as well as increasing business opportunities in infrastructure and government projects, these four companies are expected to hire nearly 43,000 people by 2018 and will require 43 lakh sq ft of office space alone.

Via : ET