Regus Rides Flexible Working Boom with Launch of 31st Singapore Centre

Regus has launched a new location in Singapore’s Jurong East business district, as the biggest flexible office provider in the city-state continues to build up its network.

Regus, a brand of London-based IWG, now has a total platform of 385,000 square feet across 31 serviced office and flexible workspace venues in Singapore. The latest workspace occupies the full 24th floor of Vision Exchange, a premium commercial tower in the centre of the emerging business hub on the west side of the island. Covering nearly 25,000 square feet, the venue will provide more than 100 private and drop-in office spaces.

Regus has already leased 20 percent of the space to a number of major tenants that are either relocating to Jurong or expanding their existing footprint in the area, ahead of the centre’s official launch. The company also flags interest from potential tenants in sectors related to innovation, financial services, infrastructure development and maritime services.

Regus Taps Flexible Office Thirst in SG

“Regus has operated in Singapore for almost 20 years and we’ve witnessed the shift in the workplace culture towards collaboration and increasing productivity and innovation among workers,” commented Betül Genc, country manager of Regus Singapore in a statement.

“The demand for flexible working options e.g. pay-as-you-go offices, virtual offices and drop-in business lounges has fueled Regus expansion in the market as more Singapore businesses recognise the financial and strategic advantages of a flexible workspace strategy – cutting real estate costs, allowing companies to concentrate on their core business and securing the best talent,” she added.

Developed by Singapore’s Sim Lian Group, Vision Exchange is a new, 25-storey integrated office tower with F&B and medical suites. The building is located at 2 Venture Drive, nearby the Jurong East MRT Station.

IWG Still Growing as Starwood and TDR Make Offers

Elsewhere in Singapore, Regus has locations in prime commercial hubs including Raffles Place, Robinson Road, City Hall and Orchard Road. Parent company IWG also runs the Spaces co-working brand, which has already opened a centre in City Hall — its first in Southeast Asia — and recently leased a 35,000 square foot space on Orchard Road.

The company’s global platform spans 3,300 serviced office, co-working and meeting locations in 110 countries. IWG has expanded rapidly through acquisitions, most recently picking up New Zealand’s biggest co-working brand BizDojo in February.

Private equity firms Starwood Capital and TDR Capital have made tentative offers for London Stock Exchange-listed IWG, and US-based buyout firm Lone Star is also in talks for a potential takeover, according to published reports. The company is valued at $4.1 billion including debt, compared to co-working giant WeWork’s $20 billion valuation.

New York-based WeWork has eight centres open and in the pipeline in Singapore. Serviced office rivals Servcorp and The Executive Centre each have five and six locations in the country, respectively.

Singapore has roughly 80,000 square metres of serviced office and co-working space in total, according to a recent report by JLL — trailing Hong Kong, Tokyo and Melbourne at around 100,000 square metres each.