Regus calls financial pitch in wake of profits recovery
Office space company Regus is reviewing its financial PR account as it returns to profit and tries to draw a line under its past financial troubles.
Regus came close to collapse following the end of the dotcom boom. 'People still hark back to that but we don't see it as an issue,' said Regus company secretary Tim Regan. He added that the pitch was part of a regular review of advisers.
'This is part of an adviser review process, which the board requires,' Regan said. 'We don't want people to get complacent or too comfortable.'
Founded in 1989, Regus runs 750 centres in 300 cities across 60 countries. In September it returned to profit following last year's acquisition of US rival HQ Global for £163.5m.
In the six months to June 2005, Regus reported a £13.9m pre-tax profit, compared with a £7.1m loss for the same period in 2004.
The company said the shift into the black was also helped by a 12.5 per cent increase in average revenue per workstation and a 76 per cent increase in occupancy.
Although founder and chief executive Mark Dixon said centres opened this year had performed well, some analysts were concerned about the high cost of opening sites.
Regus has been tipped to buy back control of its UK arm from private equity group Alchemy.
