As 2025 winds down, business leaders and executives will feel it has been a particularly expensive year as the cost of employment shot up, inflation of raw materials impacted supply chains and both oil and tariff shocks hit in the first half of the year.

But perhaps the biggest cost of all was one borne by companies hit by cyber attacks.

One damning government report suggests that close to half of British businesses (43 per cent) and three in ten charities (30 per cent) claimed to suffered a type of cyber security breach or attack in the past year. These include anything from a phishing attack to a full-blown digital shutdown costing hundreds of millions of pounds.

The list of those affected includes some of Britain’s biggest businesses.

Marks and Spencer. Adidas. Co-op Group. Heathrow airport. Harrods. And, of course Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). Each have suffered publicly confirmed cyber hacks. These attacks were not limited to companies either: the German parliament also suffered a breach and, in October, the UK government saw the Foreign Office hacked.

Organisations have to fight a moving target, one with seemingly limitless capabilities. This isn’t a foe a business and kill and move on from – cyber attacks come in all different ways, from all points of the earth and if one attempt doesn’t work, it just keeps coming.

Jason Soroko, a cybersecurity expert and host of the Root Causes podcast, put it bluntly: “For cyber attacks, 2025 was brutal. 2026 will be worse.”

What did the hacks cost?

Attackers aren’t just looking to break into digital vaults and extract cash. Data has become incredibly valuable, while damage to economic or manufacturing operations can provide an opportunity for someone else to pick up the slack in demand, meaning State-level involvement is part of the picture at times too.

The truth is for a business, lost sales are only part of the picture – there’s reputational damage to consider, possible reimbursement or lost opportunity costs, the loss of ongoing clients to rivals and, obviously, the amount spent to fix and then upgrade their own systems too.

Cybersecurity Ventures, a noted source of data and research in the cybersecurity sphere, says the entire “industry” was worth around $10.5 trillion this year alone (£7.8tn). In country terms, this would make it the third-biggest economy in the world after only the US and China.

For individual companies, the reliance is on their accountancy estimates being made public. M&S originally said the hit to their profits would be in the region of £300m, but ultimately in November gave a figure of just under half that, having recouped £100m in insurance payouts.

JLR were not so fortunate as they had not renewed their cyber insurance specifically, meaning they’d bear the brunt of a £200m estimated cost. Meanwhile, Co-op’s cyber attack saw more than 6 million customers’ data stolen, with the final tally expected to cost around £120m.

Elsewhere, the “cost” is more difficult to place a figure on, but is more wide-ranging and potentially damaging.

JLR’s shutdown was big enough, and prolonged enough, to contribute towards an economic downturn: car production failed to rebound in September and October across the industry and was one of the big factors in UK GDP contracting 0.1 per cent in the latter month.

The biggest issues and why firms are struggling

There are several good reasons why companies cannot keep cybercrime at bay.

Attacks can be multi-pronged in style or timing and have the advantage of being first: those in defence must rely on seeing what the attackers are doing and respond accordingly.

“Attackers now deploy AI at a speed defenders simply haven’t matched. It’s an asymmetry that widens by the month. Defenders have been slow to uptake stronger authentication, which is like failing to better locks on the doors. The attackers take advantage of this,” explained Mr Soroko, who works with online security firm Sectigo.

Cybersecurity Ventures, meanwhile, estimates that the “frequency of ransomware attacks on governments, businesses, consumers, and devices will continue to rise […] to hit once every two seconds by 2031.”

It’s a lot to stop – and that’s just the digital version.

What about when humans get involved? We know about people getting caught out by scams through texts, emails and more. Why would it be any different for ordinary people at work?

“We’re currently seeing youths socially-engineer their way into global businesses. After online research and exploiting other breaches to obtain information, a single phone call to a help desk can be enough to persuade them to reset passwords or MFA tokens,” explained Tim Rawlins, security director at the cyber firm NCC Group.

“This opens the door for criminals to move across systems and escalate their access until they have the same level of access as IT teams do.”

What comes next is critical.

Co-op notably opted to pull the plug, as it were, locking out those hacking them but also limiting their own initial powers of response as it was deemed that was the safest course of action.

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The government’s cyber report notes even the biggest firms don’t actually have a set course of action for if they are hit: 53 per cent of medium businesses and 75 per cent of large ones have “have an incident response plan”, it suggests.

“Following breaches, organisations can’t afford knee-jerk fixes,” Mr Rawlins adds. “Organisations must work with cyber experts to rebuild their systems safely; seeing how the hackers were able to infiltrate, what they accessed, and how a breach is impacting critical business systems.”

But this is a wide-ranging topic, a brand new area for many businesses to deal with and an area of high expertise needed. As such, many remain underprepared to deal with it.

Research from compliance company IO suggests a third of British and American companies don’t feel that governments are doing enough to support and protect them.

What are the next big risks?

The pace of technological change means firms are facing an awful lot of “the same, but different”. Hackers looking to exploit gaps in security, individuals unwittingly opening or accessing files and even external or third party contributors accidentally letting outsiders in have all been part of the equation this year.

Companies essentially have to defend against what they cannot see coming – plus there’s no telling when attackers themselves might decide a particular target is now the ideal one.

Moody’s, the global ratings firm, says cyber attacks on banks in particular “are rising and becoming more sophisticated”. If you thought being unable to order a click and collect from M&S for a couple of months was bad, try imagining not being able to make payments, withdraw cash or check your balance.

Happily they do note most banks have “robust defences”, though those financial institutions using technological infrastructure “developed decades ago” and simply building new apps and process on top of it do present an ongoing concern.

Simply put, it’s a race to a never-in-sight finish line to keep security systems updated. For some businesses next year, the question will at some stage inevitably turn to what the best method of containment is, rather than how to keep attackers out. Once the defences are breached, the answer to that question can be the difference worth many, many millions.

New Delhi: India’s real GDP growth is projected at 7.4 per cent for FY26, up from 6.5 per cent in FY25, a report has said, highlighting seasonal pick up in electricity, mining and construction sectors. The report from ICRA said that growth is expected to ease below 7 per cent in H2 FY26 from 8 per cent in H1 because of an unfavourable base effect and moderation in exports.

The report expects a pause in the February 2026 policy review by the RBI, with future decisions to be guided by the FY27 Union Budget and evolving inflation-growth dynamics. Meanwhile, economic activity remained healthy in Q3 FY26, aided by GST rate‑cut led festive demand and seasonal upticks in some sectors.

ICRA expects consumption volumes of goods and services as well as manufacturing volumes to have benefited from GST cuts and festival demand in Q3, though the export drag may intensify in H2 unless a US trade deal materialises.

The firm forecasts CPI inflation to plunge to 2 per cent in FY26 from 4.6 per cent in FY25, with WPI at 0.4 per cent. CPI rose to 0.7 per cent in November 2025 from 0.3 per cent in October, due to a narrower deflation in food and beverages.

Additionally, mining and construction activity as well as electricity demand are set to witness a seasonal pick up in the coming months, after the easing owing to rainfall-related disruptions, it said. “Cement production is expected to grow 6.5–7.5 per cent in FY26. Steel demand growth may moderate to 7–8 per cent after strong previous years. Electricity demand growth is muted at 1.5–2 per cent for FY26,” the report noted.

It also flagged external risks including delay in the US-India trade deal, and global policy changes affecting service exports. Domestic risks encompass subdued export growth, monsoon variability, fiscal constraints, and inflationary pressures from commodity prices.

Last Updated:December 27, 2025, 15:42 IST

Net office absorption in NCR jumped 61% year-on-year in 2024, the sharpest increase among major cities, to touch 9.5 million sq. ft.

Delhi-NCR has entered a phase of commercial real estate activity that is beginning to stand apart even in an otherwise buoyant Indian property cycle. Over the past few years, the region has experienced rapid real estate growth, infrastructure development, and corporate expansion, attracting global capital at an unprecedented speed and scale. Institutional investors, pension funds, sovereign wealth entities, and private equity platforms treat NCR as one of Asia’s more reliable commercial markets, rather than a speculative bet.

The change is visible in the numbers: net office absorption in NCR jumped 61% year-on-year in 2024, the sharpest increase among major cities, to touch 9.5 million sq. ft. Despite substantial new supply, vacancy levels have eased 2.6% to 22.6%, while rentals across key micro-markets have strengthened by about 5% on average, with pockets like Noida Expressway and Golf Course Extension Road seeing a far steeper climb over the past five years. Prime retail assets tell a similar story, with vacancy in premium malls having slipped to 8.3%, and trading densities continue to rise.

This resilience explains why NCR has become a preferred deployment zone for foreign institutional investors. Of the USD 8.87 billion in real estate investments that entered India in 2024, global investors accounted for nearly two-thirds, and a disproportionate share found its way into Delhi–NCR’s office, retail, and mixed-use portfolios. Their interest is not episodic. Capital managers view NCR as a deep, maturing market, large enough to absorb sustained inflows without the volatility that characterized earlier cycles.

Mohit Goel, managing director of Omaxe Limited, said, “Global capital is showing unprecedented confidence in NCR’s commercial real estate, and we see this reflected strongly in emerging hubs like Faridabad and Dwarka, Delhi. Over the last two years, institutional investments in NCR’s Grade-A commercial and retail assets have risen by an estimated 30–35%, driven by stronger connectivity, infrastructure upgrades, and sustained demand from organized retail and new-age businesses. Our developments in Dwarka and Faridabad are directly benefiting from this momentum. Investors are now prioritizing long-term, stable, income-generating assets, a shift that underscores the structural transformation taking place in the NCR market.”

The momentum is driven by a combination of structural and cyclical factors. Multi-national companies are scaling their Global Capability Centres, which have evolved from back-office support roles to high-value engineering and digital functions. This shift has materially changed the nature of demand. NCR’s strong engineering workforce, proximity to decision-making centres, and established social infrastructure make it a preferred base for complex, high-skill GCC operations.

Sandeep Chhillar, founder and chairman of Landmark Group, said, “NCR has reached a maturity level where global investors feel comfortable committing long-term capital. The region offers depth, diverse occupiers, a large GCC presence, and rental resilience across cycles. What stands out today is the consistency of demand in office and retail assets. Infrastructure upgrades have unlocked several micro-markets, reducing risk and widening opportunity. Institutional investors recognize this stability, and that is why we expect inflows into NCR’s commercial assets to accelerate over the next few years.”

Another easily recognizable trend is the predilection for “return-ready” commercial assets. This inherently places NCR in pole position, given its sheer stock of Grade A assets. At rentals averaging INR 340 per sq. ft. per month in prime pockets, Delhi NCR is the APAC region’s sixth most-expensive office market with clearer income visibility than many competing Asian cities.

Ishaan Singh, director of AIPL, said, “What differentiates NCR today is the depth of its demand base. From Grade-A office occupiers to global retail brands, the region attracts tenants looking at long-term consolidation. This stability, supported by strong consumption and infrastructure, has made NCR very attractive for global capital. Quality assets will continue to outperform, and institutional investors are increasingly seeking exposure in Grade A projects. Moreover, we expect this momentum to sustain for a long time period.”

Mohit Batra, regional director of Realistic Realtors, said, “NCR’s commercial landscape is going through a structural transformation backed by growth in consumption, expansion by corporates, and a preference for organized retail formats. The market has demonstrated resilience even when global conditions were uncertain. The investor community sees footfall, spending power, and high-quality mixed-use developments coming together. As retail-led destinations become community meeting points and offices increasingly see experiential spaces, NCR presents an interesting case for long-term yield-driven investment.”

As per industry estimates, GCCs alone may lease 50-55 million sq. ft. nationally by FY27, with NCR capturing a significant share. Due to this, NCR is no longer competing with domestic markets alone; it is competing with regional Asian cities for capital, and increasingly, it is winning. Global funds are convinced that India’s multi-decade growth cycle has enough momentum to support long-tenure commercial returns. NCR, with its expanding corporate footprint and maturing urban form, finds itself at the centre of this shift, and there is little sign of the momentum cooling.

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