Regus opens second UK Franchise centre
Regus enters UK franchise market as first serviced office provider, with a second location in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
Regus, the global workspace provider, is set to throw open the doors to its second UK franchise centre in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, following a multi-unit partnership with franchise expert ACCA Office Ltd.
The newly-refurbished office space in Ermine Business Park is spread across two floors with private office space, coworking areas, state-of-the-art meeting and interview rooms, and a lounge available to members. All come with high-speed Wi-Fi, are fully-furnished and equipped, and can be configured to spec, with friendly, competent staff on hand to deal with requests 24/7.
Located five minutes from the train station and with easy transport links to Peterborough and Cambridge, the new centre is ideally located for the area’s growing number of technology and manufacturing businesses, offering flexible workspace for local entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs.
Members can benefit from the nearby Towerfields Leisure Park, with Coneygear Park and the Riverside Park, along the River Great Ouse – all ideal spots for downtime.
The partnership between Regus and ACCA Ltd, which already has an existing food, beverage and gym franchise portfolio, will see the development of a further nine locations over four years.
Regus is the first serviced office provider to enter the UK franchise market with Regus’ Head of Franchise Strategy in the UK Julian Chambers, previously Head of Franchise for Travel, Leisure and Ireland at Costa Coffee, and Kyle Whittle, UK Franchise Business Development Manager, driving its strategy.
The unprecedented move marks a key channel of growth for Regus in a market that is seeing exponential expansion. Businesses are increasingly attracted by the idea of being able to operate from spaces that don’t necessitate set-up costs or capital investment – it’s estimated that by 2030, 30% of all corporate real estate portfolios will be flexible working space.
Equally, an ever-expanding pool of digital nomads are looking to work smarter; moving away from working in one set place and doing the standard 9-5, they want flexibility, plugging in at a time and a place that suits them.
Franchising allows Regus to accelerate the rollout of its centres in towns and cities where it currently has no coverage and develop its network to meet this demand.
“Our research shows that 73% of Brits believe that flexible working is the ‘new normal’, with 53% of professionals globally now working remotely for at least half their working week,” says Richard Morris, UK CEO of Regus. “Regus is helping to supply this growing demand and drive a workspace revolution across the UK and beyond.”
In turn, franchisees will benefit from Regus’ 30 years of industry experience. With 3,400 centres across more than 120 countries, Regus – and its parent company, IWG – has the systems, resource, brand awareness and know-how already in place. The brand’s proven operating model will enable franchisees to reap the benefits of the rapidly growing flexible workspace industry and provide them with an attractive return on investment.
“We’re excited to see our first Regus Centre opening,” says Jeet Sohal, Managing Director of ACCA Office Ltd. “As a market leader in flexible working, Regus was the perfect franchise partner and we’re looking forward to seeing our relationship prosper with the opening of this new centre in Huntingdon.”
“We are delighted to be opening this centre in partnership with ACCA Office Ltd, and to be leading the way in helping businesses capitalise on the benefits of flexible working through our new franchise propositions,” agrees Richard Morris. “This new centre will offer something fresh for Huntingdon’s growing community of local businesses, whilst being in the perfect location to attract companies from further afield.”
Regus has currently partnered with a further five franchisees in the UK, this will result in the opening of 50 new locations over the next three years. The strategy of franchising is also being adopted internationally.
Source: https://www.regus.co.uk/work-uk/regus-opens-second-uk-franchise-centre