LONDON and DUBLIN, April 9 /PRNewswire/ --

- Businesses encourage telecommuting; practice is driving down real 
estate costs

As recession-battered companies look to save money on real estate costs,
a growing number of businesses are equipping their employees with BlackBerrys
and laptops and moving them out of the main office as a way of reducing
expenses. The Regus Group (LSE: RGU), the leading global provider of
workplace solutions, is reporting an increase in virtual office contracts in
part to this growing corporate trend.

"During these challenging economic times, employers are embracing
flexible workplace practices as a key business strategy," said Regus Group
CEO Mark Dixon. "Companies have created a new band of mobile workers who
don't need a full-time office but require a professional environment and
support services on-demand. Our Virtual Office program is an ideal solution
for this type of worker and is proving popular with businesses eager to
reduce facilities cost."

Striking a Balance Between Home and Office

To advance the process, employers are helping workers set up home offices
and are securing virtual office locations for them to use instead of heading
to the main office. As a result, companies are able to shed costly office
space and employees are realizing substantial savings on commuting costs and
improved productivity.

GBB Group is a Dutch consulting company based in Regus Amsterdam
Sloterdijk centre whose employees work remotely but need a centrally located
facility when meeting with clients. GBB enlisted Regus' Virtual Office
services to establish a professional business address and to utilize a
support staff without the expense of hiring and managing a full-time
assistant.

Richard Gillebaard, Director of the GBB Group, explains: "Our employees
often do their work for our customers either from home or via teleworking.
For our customers, a traditional office entails higher overheads, that is why
we have chosen Regus Virtual Office. Regus collects our post and sends it to
our advisors. They also manage phone calls, transferring them directly to the
relevant employees. Using Regus' services is a great advantage for us as it
enables us to lower our real estate investments."

In addition to basic, but necessary, office equipment like fax machines
and copiers, Virtual Office users have access to day offices, meeting rooms,
business lounges and videoconferencing studios. They also have the
opportunity to network with other professionals in a business environment
quelling the fear of isolation as they adjust to a new work style.

Based on Regus calculations, companies can save up to 60 to 80 percent on
their real estate costs by implementing flexible workplace strategies.
Virtual Offices are playing a major role in how businesses support employee
needs. Consequently, Regus reports a trend of increasing month-on-month
demand for the product.

Virtually There - Businesses Test Markets with Minimal Risk

While virtual offices benefit companies looking to trim property
expenses, they also serve as a resource for businesses interested in testing
new markets without taking on additional costs and risk.

CAPCO Health Group, Inc. a provider of healthcare services in the North
American medical insurance community has been a Toronto-based Regus client
since 2000 and is using virtual offices to pursue new business opportunities.

"For as little as a few hundred dollars a month virtual offices allow us
to move into additional markets such as Mexico and Central America," said
Ernie Gershon, President and COO of CAPCO. "The services along with the
office and meeting space we use vary depending on the market and our
ever-changing needs. Establishing a presence with virtual offices allows us
to avoid costly upfront capital expenditures and minimize our risk. If a
market is not as successful as we had initially planned, our investment and
risk exposure is minimal."

"The local phone number, the recognizable business address and in-country
phone answering services that virtual offices provide are also very important
to our expansion into these new markets," added Gershon.

"Second to payroll, real estate is a company's second largest fixed
expense. Increasingly, real estate expenses will come down for businesses who
adopt flexible working practices. This newly-saved capital can be re-directed
back into the business," said Dixon.

About The Regus Group

The Regus Group is the world's leading provider of pioneering workplace
solutions, with products and services ranging from fully equipped offices to
professional meeting rooms, business lounges and the largest network of
videoconferencing studios. The Regus Group delivers a new way to work,
whether it's from home, on the road or from an office.

Clients such as Google, GlaxoSmithKline, and Nokia join thousands of
growing small and medium businesses that benefit from outsourcing their
office and workplace needs to The Regus Group and allowing them to focus on
their core business.

Over 400,000 clients a day benefit from Regus Group facilities spread
across a global footprint of 1,000 locations in 450 cities and 75 countries,
which allows individuals and companies to work wherever, however and whenever
they want to.