Regus Sri Lanka, the local arm of the world's largest provider of flexible workspace, is changing the way companies in Sri Lanka work, with their business centers offering entrepreneurs, start-ups, SME’s and even Multinational Corporations (MNCs) flexible workspaces in and around the city of Colombo.

Having being in the market for 25 years at a global level, Regus is  the world’s leading provider of flexible workspaces with 2,300 locations globally, supporting over 2 million customers every day. Regus is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and is used by most Fortune/FSTE 250 companies. The Regus network includes famous business locations such as the Wall Street in New York, Trafalgar Square in London, IFC Tower in Hong Kong, Nehru Palace in New Delhi, Exchange Tower in Bangkok, Raffles City in Shanghai and King Street Center in Sydney.

Regus Sri Lanka commenced operations in August 2012 and opened their first center at the World Trade Center in October of the same year. Subsequently, the company opened centers in prime locations in Colombo and immediate suburbs including the GPD Building on Dharmapala Mawatha - Colombo 7, McLaren's Building on Bauddhaloka Mawatha - Colombo 4, Lotus Building on Nawala Road - Nawala and Bernard's Business Park on Dutugemunu Street, Dehiwela.

Speaking about why Regus chose Sri Lanka as a destination, Regus Sri Lanka Country Manager  Dr. Nirmal De Silva stated, “Sri Lanka is a part of Regus’ Asia-Pacific region, which also includes Australia, China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore – 19 countries in total. With its strategic location, skilled and educated workforce, political stability and opportunities across all industries, we felt that Regus should have a presence in Sri Lanka as part of its regional growth plans.”

Regus has a number of solutions options to suit various types and sizes of businesses, all of which are offered in Sri Lanka. Their first solution is the “Offices” product which provides various types of offices i.e. –“Equipped Offices” which are fully-furnished & equipped offices, designed to suit every size of business, “Co-work offices” that allow work in a shared space with colleagues, project teams and other remote workers, “Campus offices” which are ideal for teams who need a dedicated office and “Day Offices” for which clients need to only pay for the office time when they use it.

Their second solution is called “Home & Virtual Working” and is a solution which offers “Mailbox”, “Virtual Office” and “Virtual Office Plus” services for customers. Depending on the solution required by the customer, they can benefit from a number of ways such as dedicated office for five  days  a month, a telephone answering service with personalized call answering and mailbox service which gives a professional business address to the client.

From a “Mobile Working” perspective Regus offers a unique program called Businessworld. Businessworld is a card-based programme that provides members walk-in access to Regus business lounges in 104 countries worldwide. All Businessworld members have access to free and secure Wi-Fi, free refreshments, and a safe and professional work environment. Regus offers different membership plans based on whether the customer requires a local, national or global package. A typical Regus business centre therefore provides conference rooms, meeting or training rooms, business lounge / cafe, full/part-time day offices and a professional reception area, together with vital on-demand business services from telephone to video communications and Internet to printing, copying and scanning.

Commenting further, De Silva stated, “Work is now a thing you do anywhere, not a place you go to. Regus’ global research has shown that 51% of global workers see the office as a place for occasional use while 58% of people working in large organizations predict a decrease in the need for office space as a result of future work styles. In addition, 60% of businesses globally believe flexible working practices to be lower cost than fixed working.” He added that working flexibility supported productivity and sustainable living as it leads to a better work-life balance and reduces stress. “In fact, 72% of companies globally report that their employees productivity has increased as a result of flexible working practices while 68% of companies globally link increasing revenues directly to flexible working,” he further added.

Founded in Brussels, Belgium, in 1989, Regus is the global workplace provider based in Luxembourg and listed on the London Stock Exchange.  Regus’ network of more than 2,300 business centres in 850 cities and 104 countries provides convenient, high-quality, fully serviced spaces for people to work, whether for a few minutes or a few years. Companies like Google, Toshiba and GlaxoSmithKline choose Regus so that they can work flexibly and make their businesses more successful. Regus has opened wherever its 2.1 million members want support - city centres, suburban districts, shopping centres and retail outlets, railway stations, motorway service stations and even community centres.