Regus ready to invest as profits rise

The company said it would open another 200 locations this year to fuel further growth.

The group, which offers ready-to-use offices for rentals as short as half a day in cities in 94 countries, on Tuesday said operating profit for 2011 was £50.6m, up from £23.9m in 2010 and ahead of the consensus forecast of £49.8m according to a Reuters poll.

Revenue for the year rose 12 percent to £1.16bn, helped by an eight per cent rise in occupancy levels in its core mature business.

Regus, whose customers include Google, GlaxoSmithKline and Nokia, said it expected to open 200 new locations in 2012, up from 139 last year, as it edges towards a target of 2,000 locations by 2014. Regus currently has around 1,200.

“The group continues to see significant opportunities in the structural move toward flexible work... We are ready and capable to invest further to accelerate growth but if macro-economic conditions deteriorate scale back accordingly,” Chief Executive Mark Dixon said in a statement.

Regus, which has also been expanding its network into locations such as train stations and motorway services, increased its full-year dividend by 12 per cent to 2.9 pence. Current trading remains in line with its expectations, it added.