Flexspace & Istanbul: Where East Meets West
At Offices iQ we source Flexspace for our Enterprise clients in every market of the world. From Shanghai to San Francisco and beyond. Moving forward we will share an overview of some of these markets for your interest and by way of an introduction to these countries and cities.
We are keen to share our experiences of searching for and supporting flexspace within these markets.
On this occasion I am sharing our recent experiences of the Istanbul market. Of late, we have been seeing an increasing demand for Flexspace in Istanbul across the financial, technology and media sectors from our global clients. In fact, we have conducted several searches recently for large multinational corporations in Istanbul, including some of the largest companies in the world. So, if you are looking for office space in Istanbul (or elsewhere for that matter!) we would be delighted to assist you and draw on our experience of navigating the office market within this vibrant and exciting city.
The workspace needs of your organisation will be unique to each team’s needs and as your partner in sourcing solutions, Offices iQ are committed to finding your ideal office space.
Therefore, we have revolutionised the search for Flexspace, by developing our own innovative search platform
‘Flex iQ’. Alongside our global connections and in-depth knowledge of local providers, Flex iQ ensures we are in the perfect position to present the widest range of potential office locations, suited to your specific requirements.
It is worth noting that many of these large organisations have their own in-depth levels of due diligence, security, and safety standards. For example, one large financial institution needed a space within Istanbul’s financial district. Access to public transport links was essential, as well as the requirement for the building to have a strong infrastructure capable of supporting an international financial institution.
In addition, this client required a workspace with its own exclusive security access, restricted to team members. Crucially, the building also needed to comply with the latest earthquake building regulations—tbdy-2018. While many buildings in Istanbul still comply with the older tbdy-2007 standards, this is now deemed outdated by many corporates and is no longer acceptable for housing their teams.
It is this in-depth level of search that Offices iQ provides to its clients, layered onto Flex iQ.
Flexspace in the city
Istanbul continues to grow in popularity for several reasons including sustained economic growth being 4.5 % in 2023, a population of 16 million, providing a growing labour pool and its beneficial location, between Europe and Asia. Many organisations choose to locate here, for representation across the region.
Consequently, the number of Flexspace locations and quality has significantly increased over recent years.
Across the range of business districts, you will find all the global operators of Flexspace that you would expect to find, in a key city. However, you are not restricted to just these global players. Our recent searches have continued to deliver good quality options from local operators. This allows our clients to have a great choice of office style and options across a wide price range.
Before you decide upon your office, it’s important that you choose the best geographic location, of most benefit to the organisation. Whether this be for team convenience, or the vicinity of clients, suppliers and competitors.
Of course you may just want a prominent central location. You will find below, a brief overview of the key business districts to help you commence your search.
Map indicating a sample of Istanbul Flexspace locations
Overview
If you are looking for an obvious choice of location in Istanbul, I’m afraid you will be spoilt for choice.
Whilst there are some more prominent business districts, there isn’t one that every organisation gravitates to.
Whatever the reason for your move, you will find a number of business districts, primarily located along a 7km corridor running the length of Buyukdere Avenue which starts in the North and cuts through a number of business districts, with the journey being picked up by Babaros Boulevard into the south.
Istanbul is famous for being divided by the Bosphorus Strait with a European side to the west and Asian (Anatolian side ) to the east.
By far, most business districts are on the European side with areas such as Maslak, Levent, Sisli and Beyoglu, although there are options further afield within Basin Express to the west.
Within the Asia side there are far less options for your office with much smaller business districts in Kozyatagi, Atunizade, Ateshir and Umraniye being the home of the International Finance Centre.
Maslak Business District
Maslak is one of Istanbul’s most important business districts, being the largest and arguably the oldest. With a good mix of modern skyscrapers, high-rise office buildings and more subtle older real estate, the choice here is significant with a good range of price points.
Whilst many organisations have their local headquarters in Maslak, there is a significant concentration of organisations within the finance insurance and banking sectors.
Its popularity is helped in part due to its location on the E80 motorway which provides great access to Istanbul’s International airport, being a 25-minute drive.
Levent Business District
Based on square metres of commercial real estate, Levent would be the second largest business district after Maslak and only a 15-minute drive further south.
With a range of high-quality, purpose-built office buildings, you will find many local and global organisations have decided to make Levent the location for their regional headquarters.
With a great range of high-end shopping malls, it is a great location for teams and your visitors to Istanbul, with the airport still only 25 minutes away.
Sisli and Beyoglu
As you travel further south, Sisli is just an 18-minute drive from Levent, with Beyoglu another 7 minutes’ drive. Even with a location further south the airport remains a short 30–35-minute drive away.
Whilst there is good quality office space available in both areas, the feel is much more cultural with character buildings dominating new builds.
Beyoglu is known for being favoured by the arts, media, marketing and advertising organisations.
Istanbul Finance Center (IFC) - Umraniye
As mentioned earlier the IFC is located in the Asian side (Anatolian side ) of Istanbul. Originally set up by the government to encourage collaboration within the finance industry, it consists of just 21 buildings and is home to the Turkish National Bank along with other national and international institutions.
Whilst we can always try to find your workspace in the IFC, your tenancy is not guaranteed, as a certificate of tenancy must be approved by the IFC before we commence our search. You will need to qualify to be in this area.
Although a drive of 1 hour and 15minutes from the Istanbul international airport, the IFC is located only 45 minutes from Istanbul’s second international airport at Sabhia Gocken.
In summary
Whether you’re seeking a flexible project office close to a client for a few months or a year or two, we are here to help you. You may even require a bespoke managed office space with your own identity, which we can also achieve in the city.
We can even map the home location of your whole team, identify the likely transport links and thus the most suitable location.
Please let us know if you would like to know more about how we support some of the largest global organisations with their Flexspace needs. We would be delighted to send you an example of our unique, complete cost of occupancy market appraisal.