Regus - Industrial - $100m US Investment In Regus To Fund Major International Expansion

Date: 06 Aug 1998

A Bankers Trust led consortium, including BT Alex. Brown, BT Capital Partners, Apollo Real Estate and Pelham Partners Ltd, today announced that it is investing in Regus, Europe's largest provider of serviced offices.

Already one of Europe's fastest growing private companies, Regus will be using this multi-million dollar investment to fund the next phase of its international expansion, in particular speeding up its business centre opening programme in the US and Asia.

The consortium has bought a 17.5% stake in Regus for $100 million. Regus chairman Mark Dixon retains the remaining majority of equity. His company recently converted to 'PLC' status and this strategic investment is seen as a move towards an intended flotation within the next three years.

"The flexibility of having instant access to serviced offices has captured the imagination of corporate business throughout Europe", says Mark Dixon. "We have an aggressive expansion timetable which will see our 200th centre opening by the end of this year. This investment from Bankers Trust and Apollo means we can increase the momentum of this expansion. I am delighted that we have found two financial investors who support this business strategy and recognise the global opportunities."

lan Marcus, Managing Director of Real Estate Investment Banking at BT Alex. Brown, said: "Regus is revolutionising how people work. With companies seeking more ways to manage costs while retaining flexibility, the Regus concept will become recognised as the template for how office space should be provided."

Currently opening two new centres a week, Regus operates a global network of fully serviced business centres, containing over 10,000 high specification individual offices in 29 countries.

Each business centre provides fully equipped offices and meeting rooms, multilingual secretarial support, video conferencing and IT services. Clients range from multi-nationals accessing new markets or utilising serviced space as a more effective means of controlling their own property overheads, to new start-up companies requiring comprehensive facilities and the flexibility to grow.

BT Alex. Brown is the investment banking subsidiary of Bankers Trust Corporation. BT Capital Partners is the private equity investing arm of Bankers Trust. Bankers Trust Co is regulated by the SFA.

Apollo Real Estate Advisors is a large US based real estate fund. Pelham Partners Ltd is Apollo's European Affiliate.

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