Investor interest brings office services
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Ekrem Ekinci
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 27, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - As foreign investors eye Turkey more than ever, Sterling Serviced Offices offers them trendy, full-service "instant offices" if they wish to relocate.
Sterling, located in Esentepe Astoria residences in Istanbul, does not only find office space, it also furnishes the place. The firm, which entered the Turkish market in July, also provides various equipment its clients may need.
Finding a place to set up an office at prestigious locations may be quite hard in many countries, due to high demand as well as high costs, Sterling Managing Director Giles Blanchard told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. That is where the full-service offices come into play, as they offer companies quick and cost-effective solutions.
"Foreign interest in Turkey is strong and there is an increasing need for office space, but it is hard to deal with such issues when you are a in a different country," Blanchard said. "Finding the right location, the right office and dealing with bureaucracy may prove to be a daunting task. So we provide a professional office space service, including office furniture and high-tech equipment as well as communication vehicles."
Operating in Bulgaria for five years, the company witnessed the rising economic activity in Istanbul as Turkey drew high levels of foreign investments throughout the past few years.
"The more the economy developed and foreign interest rose, the more the serviced office concept became necessary," Blanchard said. "The benefit of our concept is to reduce the time and effort wasted while looking for office space. Instead of having unnecessarily big office spaces and dealing with bureaucracy, we provide a cost-effective premium service, which includes everything essential for an office."
Besides the permanent instant office service, Sterling also offers a solution for global companies’ short-term needs.
Set monthly office fees usually include the rent, furniture and furnishings, utility and management fees, cleaning, maintenance, insurance, 24/7 access to offices, dedicated phone lines and phone answering, and multilingual client services associates. While the costs can be easily managed month to month, the time and labor force is also reduced.
"This concept is usually preferred by companies that are in Turkey for market research for a short time, or companies that are setting up an entity or a liaison office, or the entrepreneurs who are setting up a company," Blanchard said.
Virtual office
The virtual office is another concept that Sterling provides. It is ideal as a low-cost starter solution for an established company investigating a new market, or for a businessperson who travels frequently or works from a home office and does not need a permanent office space.
"It has all the benefits of a serviced office, just without the space. It’s a prestigious business address with a full range of business support services, so your corporate presence is felt even if you are not there," said Blanchard. "Your mail and faxes will be forwarded to wherever you happen to be in the world, and we assign operators to answer your dedicated telephone on your behalf, in your company name, and handle your business tasks. You will have access to meeting rooms, video conferencing, broadband Internet and business services when you are there," he said.
Sterling is delivering services to its clients over three floors of the Esentepe Astoria building. The company offers 34 individual offices and four executive suites. It is currently operating at 35 percent occupancy. Eighty percent of the tenants represent foreign companies in Turkey and Sterling expects to reach full capacity in the next four to six months. The company invested around 1.5 million euros for its operations in Istanbul.
Finding a place to set up an office at prestigious locations may be quite hard in many countries, due to high demand as well as high costs, Sterling Managing Director Giles Blanchard told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. That is where the full-service offices come into play, as they offer companies quick and cost-effective solutions.
"Foreign interest in Turkey is strong and there is an increasing need for office space, but it is hard to deal with such issues when you are a in a different country," Blanchard said. "Finding the right location, the right office and dealing with bureaucracy may prove to be a daunting task. So we provide a professional office space service, including office furniture and high-tech equipment as well as communication vehicles."
Operating in Bulgaria for five years, the company witnessed the rising economic activity in Istanbul as Turkey drew high levels of foreign investments throughout the past few years.
"The more the economy developed and foreign interest rose, the more the serviced office concept became necessary," Blanchard said. "The benefit of our concept is to reduce the time and effort wasted while looking for office space. Instead of having unnecessarily big office spaces and dealing with bureaucracy, we provide a cost-effective premium service, which includes everything essential for an office."
Besides the permanent instant office service, Sterling also offers a solution for global companies’ short-term needs.
Set monthly office fees usually include the rent, furniture and furnishings, utility and management fees, cleaning, maintenance, insurance, 24/7 access to offices, dedicated phone lines and phone answering, and multilingual client services associates. While the costs can be easily managed month to month, the time and labor force is also reduced.
"This concept is usually preferred by companies that are in Turkey for market research for a short time, or companies that are setting up an entity or a liaison office, or the entrepreneurs who are setting up a company," Blanchard said.
Virtual office
The virtual office is another concept that Sterling provides. It is ideal as a low-cost starter solution for an established company investigating a new market, or for a businessperson who travels frequently or works from a home office and does not need a permanent office space.
"It has all the benefits of a serviced office, just without the space. It’s a prestigious business address with a full range of business support services, so your corporate presence is felt even if you are not there," said Blanchard. "Your mail and faxes will be forwarded to wherever you happen to be in the world, and we assign operators to answer your dedicated telephone on your behalf, in your company name, and handle your business tasks. You will have access to meeting rooms, video conferencing, broadband Internet and business services when you are there," he said.
Sterling is delivering services to its clients over three floors of the Esentepe Astoria building. The company offers 34 individual offices and four executive suites. It is currently operating at 35 percent occupancy. Eighty percent of the tenants represent foreign companies in Turkey and Sterling expects to reach full capacity in the next four to six months. The company invested around 1.5 million euros for its operations in Istanbul.