IWG plc, formerly Regus, is a multinational corporation that provides a global workplace. Founded in Brussels, Belgium, in 1989, the business is incorporated in Saint Helier, Jersey. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
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History
In 1989 while on a business trip to Brussels, English entrepreneur Mark Dixon noted the lack of office space available to travelling business people; they were often forced to work from hotels. He identified a need for office space that was maintained, staffed, and available for companies to use on a flexible basis and went on to found his first business centre under the name "Regus" in Brussels. In 1994 Regus entered Latin America with a center in São Paulo and Asia with its first center in Beijing. The company completed a successful IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 2000.
In 2001 it acquired Stratis Business Centers, a U.S.-based network of franchised business centers, and expanded into the United States market. Later in 2001 the Regus business center on the 93rd floor of South Tower at the World Trade Center was destroyed during the 9/11 attacks; five employees lost their lives. The company was criticized for a lack of response to the victims' families, though a Regus official said they had made "proactive outreach to each and every family of the team members who are missing."
In 2002 the company sold a controlling stake (58%) of its cornerstone UK business to Rex 2002 Limited, a company created by the private equity firm Alchemy Partners. This move raised £51 million for the company, which had been facing severe financial difficulties. In 2003 Regus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for its US business, which had been struggling in the wake of the dot-com bubble. Less than a year later it took its US business out of Chapter 11 after restructuring, financed by its share of the profitable UK business.
The company acquired HQ Global Workplaces, a global workplace provider based in the U.S. in 2004. It re-acquired the Regus UK business in 2006 for £88 million, marking the end of a dramatic recovery from the company's near collapse in 2002. The company went on to acquire Laptop Lane, a chain of American airport business centers, later that year. In 2006 the company entered partnerships with Air France-KLM and American Airlines for preferred access for business travellers and in 2007 it entered a partnership with American Express for preferred access for their Business Platinum cardholders.
In 2007 Regus further expanded its global position, opening business centers in Bulgaria, Jordan, Kenya and Qatar. In June 2008 Regus introduced Businessworld, a multi-level membership service which allows users flexible access to Regus services in any Regus location worldwide, taking advantage of the company's international scale. It is aimed at clients who travel frequently. Effective October 14, 2008, Regus Group plc became Regus plc. Regus plc was created as a holding company for Regus Group plc, in order to establish the company's headquarters in Luxembourg and its registered office in Jersey. Regus has maintained a policy of expansion, opening new business centers. The company has also renegotiated some leasing agreements with property owners in the UK to save money, warning owners that the vehicles holding the leases could go into administration; this has angered the British property industry.
On 5 July 2012 UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced that Regus would provide 30,000 young entrepreneurs across England with access to its global network of business lounges and administrative support, complementing the Government's StartUp Loans scheme managed by James Caan. On 19 February 2013 Regus took control of MWB BE, the UK's second largest serviced office provider with a £65.6m cash bid. In 2013 Regus opened in its 100th country, Nepal, and its 1,500th centre in Pune, India. In 2014 Regus opened its 2,300th business centre in Boulder, Colorado and opened in 50 new towns and cities in Q1 alone. It also signed deals with Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport, as well as the Singapore government.
In December 2016, under a scheme of arrangement, the company established a new holding company IWG (International Workplace Group) and announced its intention to move its base outside the European Union referring to the "increasingly complex legislative environment".
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Operations and services
The company provides serviced offices, virtual offices, meeting rooms, and videoconferencing to clients on a contract basis. It operates in 106 countries with more than 2,300 business centers, making it the world's largest provider of flexible workspace. It is also one of the sponsors of Fair Spend, and Mars One, a Dutch private spaceflight project. It also hosts Britain First at their Belfast office by hosting Britannia Campaigning, the company behind Britain First and owned by Paul Golding.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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