A fitness equipment supplier has become one of the first companies in Turkey to enter the facility management business.

Center Dis Ticaret ve Pazarlama, a supplier of Nautilus equipment, recently signed a contract to manage a corporate health club.

Located in the headquarters of IBM in Istanbul, the facility includes a 200sq m gym, aerobics studio and café/bar.

The gym has been equipped with Nautilus equipment and currently has 73 members, but the aim is to attract 30 to 40 per cent of the 300 employees.

Membership costs 154 euros (£108) a month and the company has arranged a number of classes including yoga, step, body sculpting and pilates.

This is the second corporate contract for the company, which also manages the health club at Siemens headquarters and factory in Istanbul. This facility has some 750 members.

Founded in 1992 by former professional basketball player, Cihangir Sonat, Center Dis Ticaret ve Pazarlama has now set up a sister company, CSM Center Sport Management, to develop the facility management business.

“This is completely new for Turkey,” said Sonat. “No one else is doing this sort of thing at the moment and we are in talks with several companies about managing their health clubs.”