Global
serviced office giant Regus has announced plans to move its head office to
Switzerland, in part to take advantage of the country being outside of the EU
and the uncertainty surrounding it, and create a new holding company of Regus
and its subsidiaries named International Workplace Group (IWG plc) incorporated
in Jersey.
Regus said the changes via a proposed scheme of
arrangement reflected the “continuing progression of the Regus Group in its
provision of a broad spectrum of flexible work solutions across multiple
brands”.
It is also “in recognition of the Board's view of
the broader market opportunities that the Regus Group can develop”.
It said the group would however continue to use the
Regus brand extensively, “which has served it well for over 27 years”.
IWG will have its primary listing on the main
market of the London Stock Exchange and, upon listing, is expected to be
included in FTSE's UK Index Series.
All of the directors of Old Regus have been
appointed to the board of IWG.
There will be no substantive changes to corporate
governance and investor protection measures which apply to IWG from those that
currently apply to Old Regus.
If the xcheme becomes effective, it will result in
shareholders of Old Regus holding ordinary shares in IWG in the same
proportions.
The assets and liabilities of the Regus Group
immediately after the Scheme Effective Date will not differ substantially from
the assets and liabilities it had before the Scheme Effective Date and the
rights attaching to the IWG Shares will be substantially the same as those
attaching to the existing Old Regus Shares.
It is expected that the Regus Group will continue
to develop as an international business.
Since the relocation of the Regus Group's
headquarters and place of central administration to Luxembourg in 2008 there
have been a number of material changes in the way that the Regus Group operates
and to the various regulatory frameworks that govern the business. The Board
believes that the future growth of the Regus Group would be supported by the
ots headquarters to Switzerland.
It said that as the Regus Group continues to
develop worldwide there has been an increasing presence of senior management
located in Switzerland.
Significantly, in November 2015, Regus appointed
Dominik de Daniel to the position of Group Chief Financial Officer and Chief
Operating Officer. de Daniel lives in Switzerland and many of his direct and
indirect reports are also based there. The Regus Group's financial control,
treasury and procurement functions are all now run from Switzerland and, as the
business continues to centralise its key functions in order to achieve
synergies of scale, the Board “considers that this hub will continue to grow
further”.
The Board has also considered the current
regulatory regime that governs Old Regus.
Old Regus is incorporated in Jersey and has its
place of central administration (head office) in Luxembourg and it has” become
increasingly burdensome for the Regus Group to manage”. In contrast, IWG, as a
Jersey incorporated company having its head office in Switzerland, would not be
governed by Swiss company law but only by Jersey company law.
Regus said that will the uncertainty surrounding
the future shape of the EU and in particular its increasingly complex
legislative environment meant Switzerland’s position outside the EU was an
advantage as a headquarters location.
If you are interested in Regus' serviced offices please call Gryphon Property Partners on 0203 440 9800 or click on the following link - Serviced Office