Bigger and better: how Regus accelerated its expansion in 2021 to meet soaring demand

Posted on: 4th January 2022

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2021 was the year that hybrid working skyrocketed. Powering the transition, Regus opened an abundance of new flexspace locations around the world, making it easier than ever for employees to achieve work-life balance in 2022.

Although 2021 was a challenging year in many respects, Regus has been working harder than ever to support companies in their transition to hybrid working, where employees are empowered to split their working time between a central HQ, home and a local flexspace.

To meet the explosion in demand for flexspace worldwide, Mark Dixon, Founder and CEO of Regus parent company IWG, says that the company’s ultimate aim is “to provide a flexible workspace in every village, town and city”.

1. New centre openings

Regus focused on accelerating its expansion even further in 2021 to meet growing demand for hybrid work, particularly in suburban and rural areas close to where people live.

This supports the concept of the 15-Minute City for quality of living, whereby people have everything they need within 15-minutes of their home without the use of polluting transport, including communal workspace.

New suburban openings this year included…

Regus Northtown in Townsville on the Australian Queensland coast, Regus Markoever in Terheijden, Netherlands and Regus Rua Mouzinho da Silveira in Lisbon. Regus also landed in the Siglo Hotel in the fishing village of Siglufjörður, Iceland, further extending its reach into hybrid hospitality.

2. New franchise and joint partnerships

Since launching its franchise opportunity globally in 2019, partnering with entrepreneurs has become central to IWG’s strategy to grow tenfold over the next decade to meet soaring demand for flexible workplaces.

Over the last year, IWG has launched a host of new franchise partnerships across the globe to meet demand. In February, for example, the brand announced its first US franchising deal to open seven Regus locations in the Detroit metro area of Michigan.

In May, IWG signed an agreement with Indian entrepreneur Gaurav Sharma (who runs real estate firm Jaipurbulls) that will see eight new Regus centres open across the state of Rajasthan. Sharma says: “We are planning our centres so that the major hubs of the city are covered. So, if somebody has to go to the office, they don’t have to travel more than two to three kilometres.”

In Africa, Regus expanded into new markets with franchise deals bringing the development of new flexspaces in Togo, Libya, Guinea and Gabon. The growth of the brand in these regions signal the strength of the demand for flexible work solutions in every corner of the globe, and the long-term trend of commercial property estates looking to diversify their portfolios with flexspace.

Another milestone was the formation of a Joint Venture with Hysan Development in Hong Kong, which has acquired and is now operating 32 existing IWG locations across the Greater Bay Area that will include several Regus locations with plans to expand further across the region.

And, as Dixon observed: “Studies have shown that globally, the flexible workspace industry will support the creation of 30 million new jobs, and we are proud to be playing a part in unlocking the growth opportunities afforded by the sector to new markets across the globe.”

3. Breaking new ground across Europe

IWG also launched a number of inaugural franchise partnerships in Europe, further expanding flexspace offerings to new territories across the continent.

In Poland, IWG joined forces with L&L Club to expand throughout south eastern Warsaw and its suburbs. The partnership will see five new centres open under the Regus brand.

In Spain, three floors of the defunct Asturian Bank of Industry and Commerce building in Oviedo will soon reopen as Regus Mendizábal - a 'coworking' space run by IWG’s first franchise partner in Spain, Inaciu Suárez Echevarría.

And a major 10-centre franchise deal with Romanian partner Transinvest, will kickstart with a new Regus location in the rapidly growing tech hub of Cluj-Napoca.

4. More locations, greater flexibility

These are just a few examples of how Regus has been supporting hybrid working around the world, giving companies and employees greater choice of flexspaces in both cities and, increasingly, rural and suburban locations. The intention is to make coworking spaces highly accessible wherever people happen to be, so that hybrid working is available to everyone.

Evidence of this ambition is IWG’s intention to unveil 800 to 1,200 new workspace locations in suburbs, towns and villages across the UK alone by 2030.

Regus members can drop into any of IWG’s 3,500 locations around the world. Indeed, for companies and employees who have adopted hybrid working, aspire to a better work-life balance, and plan to fully embrace the idea of WFA (Work From Anywhere) in 2022, all they need is a membership card and a laptop.

Find out how Regus can help your business thrive in the new, hybrid world of work.

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  • Regus World

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