Office space specialist Regus reported a dramatic 63% increase in operating profits for the six months to 30 June as a result of increased revenues.
The news follows from a bitter dispute with London tenants over rent increases that saw 35 being locked out of their offices in Brentford, as reported by EG earlier this month.
Group operating profit hit £23.3m in H1, compared with £14.3m for the same period in 2011.
Regus ramped up its investments in the first half of the year, spending £65.1m compared with £37.0m in H1 2011. The group opened 76 centres and expanded its global footprint to 96 countries.
Occupancy levels remained strong at 85.9%, a slight increase from 84.4% for the same period last year.
Mark Dixon, chief executive of Regus, said: “Our mature business saw strong demand across all geographies and customer types, with profitability more than doubling on the back of improvements in occupancy and yield management.We continue to invest to satisfy this growth in demand, adding another 76 centres in the period. Our new centres are performing well, endorsing our growth strategy.
“At the same time, Regus continues to innovate, developing new products and services. This maximises revenues from our existing centres and gives customers more reasons to come to Regus. Overall, our business continues to perform well and in line with our expectations.”
sophia.furber@estatesgazette.com
