Regus decides the time is not right after all

Serviced office provider Regus has changed its plans and will not now proceed with flotation until some time next year.

It had hoped to offer shares to institutional investors, raising at least £200M. Although interest was said to be strong, it has become clear that placing a value on the company is less than straightforward. Regus has no directly comparable quoted competitors, and the proposed value of £1bn seems to have made some potential investors uneasy.

The company has grown quickly, opening a string of new centres across Europe and launching a number of joint ventures designed to broaden the options for office occupiers. It expects to have over 250 business centres in operation by the end of the year.

Partly because of the investment represented by that, Regus does not expect to become profitable until 2001.

Elliott Chase