Regus opens longest and largest centres and pilots rail hubs

The world's first 24-hour business centre opens its doors in London next month. Regus is to open its Lombard Street centre in the City of London around the clock as a pilot for further extended opening in Europe and the US. The centre will open from 6.00 am on Monday morning to midnight on Friday evening, but will include weekend openings if required by clients.

The decision is in direct response to demand says Regus director Clive Hammond: "Business people do not want to work longer hours – just smarter, flexible hours that match the times zones of global companies. For example, many of our customers have clients in Germany, where the stock exchange has just extended its opening hours to 9pm GMT. Others trading with the USA fear losing business if they go home when it is only midday in New York.

"But our research shows that the greatest demand for extended office hours will come from business people flying into the UK late evening. With their body clocks preventing sleep, it is more productive for them to put in a few hours work while their home base is still open."

Meanwhile, in Munich, Regus is set to open, what is believed to be the world’s biggest business centre. The Leopoldstrasse centre located to the north of Munich will cover an area of 11,726 sq m, almost 5,000 sq m larger than the St James Square centre in London.

The new Munich centre will have 230 offices, 10 conference rooms and 750 workstations. Work on the centre should be completed next April, with the centre opening the following month.

Finally, in Norway, Regus is testing the concept of railway platform business centres in a joint initiative with Norwegian State Rail, which is seeking ways to reduce rush hour travel.

The initiative will provide train commuters with the opportunity to use instant offices at the main rail hubs. The network of centres will be of particular value to commuters waiting for connections and for hosting meetings where business people want to avoid wasting time by having to travel into the main cities.

The first Satellitt centre is launched this month in Tonsberg, 110km south of Oslo. It is one of six business centres that NSB, Regus and Norwegian telecoms company Telenor will be opening in commuter towns this year.

"The Norwegians have given us every support to develop this initiative," says Clive Hammond. "Tonsberg alone has a commuting population of 8,000, causing immense strain of the train services. NSB is determined to develop alternatives options and having state-of-the-art business centres actually located in rail termini is an innovative solution."

Friends of the Earth and commuter rail operators such as Connex, have already expressed interest in the big environmental and commercial benefits that the new scheme could bring.

News on 25 April
Regus opens longest and largest centres and pilots rail hubs
The world's first 24-hour business centre opens its doors in London next month. Regus is to open its Lombard Street centre in the City of London around the clock as a pilot for further extended opening in Europe and the US. The centre will open from 6.00 am on Monday morning to midnight on Friday evening, but will include weekend openings if required by clients. The decision is in direct response to demand says Regus director Clive Hammond: "Business people do not want to work longer hours – just smarter, flexible hours that match the times zones of global companies. For example, many of our customers have clients in Germany, where the stock exchange has just extended its opening hours to 9pm GMT. Others trading with the USA fear losing business if they go home when it is only midday in New York. "But our research shows that the greatest demand for extended office hours will come from business people flying into the UK late evening. With their body clocks preventing sleep, it is more productive for them to put in a few hours work while their home base is still open." Meanwhile, in Munich, Regus is set to open, what is believed to be the world’s biggest business centre. The Leopoldstrasse centre located to the north of Munich will cover an area of 11,726 sq m, almost 5,000 sq m larger than the St James Square centre in London. The new Munich centre will have 230 offices, 10 conference rooms and 750 workstations. Work on the centre should be completed next April, with the centre opening the following month. Finally, in Norway, Regus is testing the concept of railway platform business centres in a joint initiative with Norwegian State Rail, which is seeking ways to reduce rush hour travel. The initiative will provide train commuters with the opportunity to use instant offices at the main rail hubs. The network of centres will be of particular value to commuters waiting for connections and for hosting meetings where business people want to avoid wasting time by having to travel into the main cities. The first Satellitt centre is launched this month in Tonsberg, 110km south of Oslo. It is one of six business centres that NSB, Regus and Norwegian telecoms company Telenor will be opening in commuter towns this year. "The Norwegians have given us every support to develop this initiative," says Clive Hammond. "Tonsberg alone has a commuting population of 8,000, causing immense strain of the train services. NSB is determined to develop alternatives options and having state-of-the-art business centres actually located in rail termini is an innovative solution." Friends of the Earth and commuter rail operators such as Connex, have already expressed interest in the big environmental and commercial benefits that the new scheme could bring. Richard Byatt