Regus to Open 100 Biz Centers Here in 5 Years

By Kim Jae-won
Staff Reporter

Have you ever had trouble finding office space during a business trip overseas and forced to work out of a small hotel room? If your answer is yes, you had better listen to Mark Dixon, founder and CEO of Regus Group, an office rental services provider, with over 1000 locations all over the world.

"We provide very flexible workplaces. We have meeting rooms, presentation rooms and can provide video conferencing services,’’ said Dixon from Paris in a teleconference interview with The Korea Times, in an office of Regus Korea, in southern Seoul, Thursday.

"Regus operates over 1000 business centers across 450 cities in 75 countries. Products and services include fully-furnished, equipped and staffed offices, world-class business support services, meeting, conference and training facilities and the largest network of public video conference rooms.’’

Dixon said the company plans to increase its presence here by opening 100 locations in five years.

"We expect bigger business in Korea. Eventually, we want to launch 100 locations in Korea over the next five years or so.’’

Regus has run three business centers in Seoul for the last six years. It plans to add one more in a few months time.

"We will extend offices to satellite cities and other locations. We will connect those centers to provide more convenient services for customers,’’ Dixon said.

Korea has huge potential for the business as local companies are reaching overseas markets. The nation also has a high technology-equipped IT infrastructure, he added.

Hanni Cha, manager at the Trade Center branch of Regus Korea agreed with Dixon adding that the demand for office rental services is increasing.

"Many foreign companies as well as local businessmen are using our services. The demand is getting higher, so we plan to expand our business,’’ she said.

Dixon said he got the idea for the business on a trip to Brussels, 20 years ago. "I noticed many business people were forced to work from hotels for lack of a more professional environment. I concluded that there must be a better way to work on the road and at home.’’

The British businessman’s vision was to transform the way companies managed their global real estate needs by having them outsource their office space requirements to a service provider.

"With this goal in mind, I launched Regus in 1989 with a single business center in Brussels. Met with strong demand, it quickly developed to a global network of fully-equipped, furnished and staffed business centers.”

shosta@koreatimes.co.kr,

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Office Space News

Why Is Regus So Interested in Korea Office Space?

Published April 26th, 2010 by Jennifer LeClaire

The international battle between executive suites providers is heating up. As Servcorp celebrates its grand opening in Abu Dhabi, Regus is revealing plans to open new serviced office space in Korea.

 

On Saturday night, Servcorp opened the doors in Building-B of the Al-Mamoura Complex. Servcorp’s global expansion has put a heavy emphasis on the Middle East. The company now has business centers in Dubai, Manama, Doha, Jeddah and Kuwait.

 

Meanwhile, Regus is focusing on Asia. Regus Group CEO Mark Dixon announced plans to open 100 business centers in Korea over the next five years. Regus currently operates three business centers in Seoul, with a six-year history there. Regus plans to open a new executive office suite in Seoul in the next month.

 

“We will extend offices to satellite cities and other locations. We will connect those centers to provide more convenient services for customers,’’ Dixon told The Korea Times. Dixon is expecting “bigger business” in Korea. He noted Korea’s potential for businesses as more companies expand internationally.

 

Tech companies are finding opportunity in Korea. In fact, South Korea is ranked first in the world in the Digital Opportunity Index. Seoul’s Digital Media City is the first high-tech complex in the world for digital technologies. South Korea’s high-tech infrastructure is the most wired country in the world. South Korea also has an advanced transportation network.

It’s easy to see how Regus would focus its attention on this Asian nation. If Regus opens 100 serviced office centers in Korea in the next five years as planned, it would dominate the scene. Currently, Servcorp doesn’t have any business centers in Korea