regus plc annual report and accounts 2009
regus plc
26 boulevard royal
l2449 luxembourg
wwwreguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 2009
thefutureofwork
20
years on… corporate directory
secretary and registered ofﬁce
tim regan company secretary
regus plc société anonyme
registered ofﬁce registered head ofﬁce
22 grenville street 26 boulevard royal
st helier l2449 luxembourg
jersey
je4 8px
registered number
jersey luxembourg
101523 rcs b 141 159
registrars
equiniti jersey limited
po box 63
11 – 12 esplanade
st helier
jersey
je4 8ph
auditor
kpmg audit sàrl
9 allée scheffer
l2520 luxembourg
legal advisers to the 
company as to english law
slaughter and may
one bunhill row
london ec1y 8yy
legal advisers to the 
company as to luxembourg law
noble  scheidecker 
avocats à la cour
398 route d’esch
l1471 luxembourg
corporate stockbrokers
investec bank plc 
2 gresham street
london ec2v 7qp
credit suisse first boston
one cabot square
london e14 4qj
reservations
uk telephone 0870 880 8484
us telephone 1877regus87 or
001 954 331 1647
websites
wwwreguscom
wwwhqcom
glossary
available workstations
the total number of workstations in the group also termed
inventory during the year this is expressed as a weighted
average at period ends the absolute number is used
bric economies
bric economies include brazil russia india and china
centre contribution
gross proﬁt comprising centre revenues less direct 
operating expenses but before administrative expenses
ebitda
earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation
enquiries
client enquiries about regus products or services
expansions
a general term which includes new business centres 
established by regus and acquired centres in the year
forward order book
the future workstation revenue already contracted with 
clients at a point in time
like for like
the ﬁnancial performance from centres owned and operated 
for a full 12 months prior to the start of the ﬁnancial year which
therefore have a full year comparative
mature business
operations owned for a full 12 month period prior to the start of
the ﬁnancial year which therefore have a full year comparative
“n11” economies
“n11” economies include egypt indonesia south korea 
mexico nigeria philippines turkey and vietnam
occupancy
occupied workstations divided by available workstation 
expressed as a percentage
occupied workstations
workstations which are in use by clients this is expressed 
as a weighted average for the year
organic growth
growth attributable to the mature portfolio and from new 
business centres established by regus
revpaw
total revenue per available workstations revenue  
available workstations
revpow
total revenue per occupied workstation
wipow
workstation income per occupied workstation
20
years on…
2009 was the 20th anniversary of the opening of our ﬁrst centre in brussels in one way it seems like
only yesterday but it truly was another age europe was still divided by an iron curtain a mobile phone
was something you carried on your back or in a car and if you’d said ‘internet’ to anyone they would
probably have thought you were talking about ﬁshing
throughout the dramatic upheavals of the 1990’s and technological innovations of the dotcom boom
we have stayed true to our core value of helping organisations and the people that make them work
whenever wherever and however they want working smarter is as true today as it was when we
opened that ﬁrst centre
we know this because irrespective of the internal and external challenges we have faced we have a
successful business which provides a much in demand service whose time i ﬁrmly believe has ﬁnally
come we are in the throes of a working revolution that is changing the way organisations function the
way people live and the way we relate to our environment increasingly people aren’t going to work
work is coming to them
it is now exactly a decade since daniel pink former speech writer to al gore wrote his book free
agent nation in which he contrasted the emerging lifestyle of the ﬂexible worker with that of the
traditional ‘organisation man’ of the late 20th century pink was one of the ﬁrst to consider the ways
that such lone wolves would have to be supported in order to link up with business and society –
meetingplaces and networks both physical and virtual
but whereas pink was concentrating on selfemployed people today’s ﬂexible worker is just as likely 
to be employed albeit in a way that is very different from the traditional employeremployee
relationship the difference today is that the power belongs not with the organisation or employer but
with the ﬂexible workers themselves as these and other factors such as the scarceness of capital
and mainstreaming of environmental concerns begin to converge i become ever more conﬁdent and
excited about our future than i have ever been in any of the last 20 years
where will we be in 2029 who can honestly know with any accuracy personally i’ve always found
that the easiest way to predict the future is to invent it what i can be sure of is that over the next 20
years there will be more dramatic upheavals to come and events will continue to blindside us all but
however much the world changes and technologies develop people and the organisations for which
they work will always need the places to congregate and collaborate to share thoughts and ideas to
work wherever whenever and however and i know that regus will be at the very forefront of providing
these services
dear shareholder
mark
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business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information
shareholder information regus plc annual report and accounts 20091
annual and interim reports 
in electronic format online
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electronically in future including your 
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contents
regus group key facts
78
78

5387
173004
500000
countries 
average occupancy
customers
workstations globally
employees worldwide
our mission
our mission is to develop deliver and support outsourced workplace
solutions that allow individuals and companies to work however 
wherever and whenever they need to
our vision
we aim to be the number one in all markets in which we operate
through our controlled and disciplined expansion strategy
our values
the commitment loyalty and efforts of our team members play 
a key role in differentiating us from our competitors
directors’ report – business review
financial highlights 2
chairman’s statement 3
chief executive’s review 4
20 years on 10
business review
americas 12
emea 13
asia pacific 14
united kingdom 15
financial review 16
corporate responsibility 19
directors’ report –
corporate governance
board of directors 22
other information 24
corporate governance 26
director statements 32
remuneration report 33
auditors’ report 40
financial statements
consolidated income statement 41
consolidated statement 
of comprehensive income 41
consolidated statement 
of changes in equity 42
consolidated balance sheet 43
consolidated cash flow statement 44
notes to the accounts 45
parent company accounts 85
shareholder information
segmental analysis 
– management basis 86
five year summary 88
corporate directory and glossary ibc directors’ report business review
financial highlights
2wwwreguscom
revenue £m £10551m
operating proﬁt £m £860m
proﬁt after tax £m £677m
gross proﬁt £m £2356m
net cash balance £m £2370m
basic earnings per share p 71p
delivering the promise
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
6800
8624
10772
10551
2009 2008 2007 2006
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
1841
2519
3057
2356
2009 2008 2007 2006
0
30
60
90
120
150
822
1226
1474
860
2009 2008 2007 2006
0
50
100
150
200
250
234
1014
2112
2370
2009 2008 2007 2006
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
823
1036
1149
677
2009 2008 2007 2006
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
84
105
120
71
2009 2008 2007 2006 for more information visit
reguscom
chairman’s statement
regus plc annual report and accounts 20093
in new markets such as senegal 
estonia and mauritius and in new cities
in existing markets such as hiroshima 
and brasilia in the year to 31 december
2009 we grew our average available
workstations by 53
during the ﬁnancial year we opened 
45 centres for a total investment of 
£283 million we will continue to 
pursue low risk targeted investments 
to strengthen our market position
dividend
it remains the intention of the board to
pay dividends at a level which it believes
is sustainable throughout economic
cycles and in line with its progressive
payment policy reﬂecting the group’s
trading performance and conﬁdence in
the future prospects for the group the
board is recommending a 33 increase
in the ﬁnal dividend per share from 12p
per share to 16p per share this will be in
addition to the interim dividend of 08p per
share paid in october 2009 which also
reﬂected a year on year increase of 33
subject to the approval of shareholders
at the 2010 agm this ﬁnal dividend will
be paid on friday 28 may 2010 to
shareholders on the register at the close
of business on friday 30 april 2010
chairman
as announced in december i will retire
from regus at the annual general
meeting in may when douglas
this beneﬁts from exceptional net
income from settlement of a legal
dispute of £183 million but is after
having returned £200 million to
shareholders and invested £283 million
in developing our workstation footprint
globally both actions reﬂect the ongoing
success of our strategy in creating a well
balanced and resilient business mix 
financial performance
group revenue has marginally decreased
21 to £10551 million and gross proﬁt
by 229 to £2356 million adjusting for
the impact of new centre growth revenue
and gross proﬁt decreased by 38 and
237 respectively average occupancy
decreased to 777 from 829 in 2008
and revenue per available workstation
“revpaw” decreased 70 to £6535
from £7029 in 2008
we continue to reduce our cost base 
to mitigate the impact of the pressures on
our revenue – in the year to 31 december
2009 we delivered cost reductions of
£546 million 
all of these factors combined contributed
to earnings proﬁt after tax declining by
411 to £677 million and basic earnings
per share decreasing by 408 to 71p
capacity growth
despite the current trading conditions 
we have continued to identify and pursue
appropriate growth opportunities – both
sutherland who joined the board in
august 2008 will become chairman 
i wish douglas every success and good
fortune in the role he brings with him 
a wealth of business experience most
recently as chief financial ofﬁcer of
skype during its acquisition by ebay in
october 2005 and chief financial ofﬁcer
at securewave during its acquisition 
by patchlink in july 2007 prior to this
douglas enjoyed a career of over 20
years with arthur andersen as a partner
for over a decade 
i would also like to thank martin
robinson who is also retiring from the
board at the forthcoming annual general
meeting for his signiﬁcant contribution
over the last eight years 
over the past eight years of my tenure as
chairman regus has been transformed
into a customer focused genuinely
international company now operating 
in 78 countries the past year has seen
extremely adverse trading conditions 
but regus is wellplaced for the future
with a strong international management
team and a consistent strategy which i
am conﬁdent will deliver long term value
to shareholders 
john matthews
chairman
22 march 2010
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information
continued robust cash generation
i am pleased to report another year of continued cash
generation for the group while our posttax earnings
have fallen from £1149 million to £677 million our net
cash has increased by £258 million to £2370 million
john matthews directors’ report business review
chief executive’s review
4wwwreguscom
over the course of 2009 we have delivered a robust
performance which underscores the resilience of our
business model despite this once in a generation recession
and the extremely challenging and unpredictable trading
conditions which have resulted the geographic and product
diversiﬁcation we have established – and continue to
develop – has beneﬁted us and reﬂects the success of our
long term strategy in creating a balanced business mix
strategy
our consistent long term strategy is that of measured sustainable profitable
growth to maximise benefits for our stakeholders
business model
companies of all sizes are able to leverage our diverse product range and
infrastructure to work in a more efficient manner
future prospects market moving to regus
we believe there has been a fundamental structural shift toward flexible 
working driven in part by the challenging economic environment which plays 
to our strengths 
the nature of our business will ensure that we continue to drive
sustainable growth
1
2
3
proven resilience
mark dixon
read our priorities for 2010 on page 9 for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 20095
operational review 
on a regional basis revenues and centre contribution can be analysed as follows
revenue contribution mature margin mature occupancy
£ million 2009 2008 2009 2008 2009 2008 2009 2008
americas 4238 4149 929 1161 24 30 793 854
emea 3062 3190 830 1092 29 36 812 877
asia paciﬁc 1323 1209 403 374 34 36 781 790
uk 1914 2208 185 415 11 20 798 834
other 14 16 09 15
10551 10772 2356 3057 24 30 797 847
 the mature business is deﬁned as the performance from centres owned and operated at 1 january 2008
restated to reﬂect the implementation of ifrs 8 see note 3 to the ﬁnancial results
overall
the group’s strategy of controlled and
disciplined growth has resulted in an
increase in total capacity including non
consolidated workstations of 10 to
173004 workstations in the year and the
number of actual workstations by 29 to
163740 workstations as at 31 december
2009 the group has opened 45 new
centres this year with the total number of
centres now standing at 983 the new
centres reﬂect the group’s strategy of
focusing on diverse growth opportunities
with 870 of new centres opened on
variable or ﬂexible lease deals reﬂecting
the focus on low risk opportunities new
locations included brasilia in brazil doha
in qatar dakar in senegal talinn in
estonia and platina in india
strategy and objectives 
despite the severity of the current
downturn our strategic approach
remains fundamentally unchanged – that
of continued proﬁt and cash generation
through controlled and disciplined
capacity growth 
after 20 years in business we have
barely scratched the surface of 
accommodating the way people work 
by updating their workplace strategy
companies will reduce overall facilities
expenses and will be in a stronger
position for success furthermore with
forecast changes over the next decade
which could see the property market
fundamentally altered by huge increases
in energy and transport costs and
employee demand for a better worklife
balance we feel uniquely positioned in
the market to support our current and
future customers 
against this backdrop of constant
economic and social change we will
continue to seek to manage our business
in a sustainable way which will have
positive impacts on the environment and
on the communities in which we operate
we do not consider these goals mutually
exclusive to achieving our wider strategic
and ﬁnancial objectives which continue
to be to pursue continued proﬁt and 
cash generation 
we have taken aggressive action to
reduce our cost base and have remained
proﬁtable throughout the year we
continue to reevaluate our costs on an
ongoing basis and in particular look to
continue improving the efﬁciency of the
business model in addition we will take
additional cost savings measures as
necessary and without delay including
centre closures where continued
underperformance is anticipated 
with continued cash generation producing
a free cash ﬂow of £803 million we can
be conﬁdent that we enter 2010 with a
stronger balance sheet than was the case
twelve months ago 
our brand awareness continues to grow
and whilst we are now present in 78
countries we are conﬁdent that we can
continue to gain market share and expand
our global footprint further we remain
ready to take advantage of sustainable
and proﬁtable opportunities for developing
our portfolio and for ensuring we are
appropriately positioned to take
advantage of a recovery when it arrives 
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information directors’ report business review
chief executive’s review continued
6wwwreguscom
the fundamental drivers of our ability to
maximise what we see to be signiﬁcant
future opportunities for growth remain 
• needs of our customers
• systems and technology
• people and processes
needs of our customers
it has been two decades since we
commenced trading from our ﬁrst centre
in belgium and our current portfolio of
nearly 1000 centres in 78 countries is 
a testament to the growth and solidity 
of our brand now recognised globally 
as the market leader
late in 2009 we undertook an extensive
survey of global business leaders to
assess what they felt the workplace of
the future could look like the following
key trends were identiﬁed
• two thirds of business leaders were
implementing extensive innovations to
their workplace models over the next
three years primarily through
implementing ‘sociallynetworked’
workplaces and ‘trustbased’ practices
these initiatives actively encourage
employees to engage and collaborate
with likeminded people far beyond the
traditional workplace boundaries with 
a view to signiﬁcantly increasing
innovation and strengthening
competitive and creative developments
• more than 40 of business leaders are
changing their workplace models to
become more collaborative in nature 
• technology continues to revolutionise
how individuals work and how
companies employ people – the
workforce is increasingly working from
home some of the time with beneﬁts to
companies in terms of reduced ﬁxed
ofﬁce space and beneﬁts to employees
in reducing commute times and in
having an environmental upside 
these ﬁndings also continue to be
supported by independent third party
studies which indicate that
• it will be even more important in the
future to choose the best location for 
a business centre avoiding locations
where workers have to commute long
distances by car and 
• business centre operators will themselves
have to be ﬂexible in terms of what they
offer to their customers and ready to
adapt to changes in both what clients
want and who the clients are
in light of this we continue to feel
strongly that the regus product and
service offerings available accommodate
all businesses – regardless of size – and
are uniquely placed to accommodate
1
a leading strategy for growth
developing our 
team members
expanding 
our network
operational 
excellence
innovative products
and services
investments in 
systems and 
technology
developing our brand
generating 
proﬁtable 
growth for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 20097
anticipated changes to the future
workplace on a global scale within the
current severe trading environment the
regus proposition also continues to offer
businesses immediate and effective cost
saving options with the added liquidity
advantage of no capital investment 
systems and technology 
our global scope requires a constant
need for technological development 
and innovation and 2009 has been no
different during the year 
• we have launched our online service
agreement initiative which involves
prospective clients being given online
visibility of their proposed speciﬁc
agreement in an easy to use way
enabling them to conveniently signup 
to the agreement online on their pc
without the need for printing signing 
and faxing
• booking of meeting rooms and
dayofﬁces online via our realtime
reservation sites has been implemented
some 11 of all bookings now go
through this route and we are growing
this number every month – with the
added beneﬁt of an increase in average
booking value via this route the service
gives both a more convenient
experience for our clients as well as
reducing our cost of sale
• there has been a further advanced
development of our centre frontdesk
point of sale software we now have 
a feature rich solution enabling full
support of our clients and centre teams
in this highly intuitive software
• we have implemented our new
business data warehouse which now
sends out a daily actiontargeted report
to every centre and salesperson in
regus who receive them at the start of
their day wherever they are around the
globe these reports are used to focus
effort for the day plan the coming days
and to improve overall performance
we also continue to develop our internal
global inventory and reservation system
to meet the changing global demands of
our business 
people and processes
after one of the most challenging years
for business that any of us can remember
the efforts of all of our 5500 team
members have been critical to weathering
the storm and to continuing to provide
the best level of service possible for our
customers our business relies upon 
our people and from a strong platform
for growth in 2010 their continued
dedication and delivery will be critical 
to our maximising our potential i would
therefore like to take this opportunity to
2
business model – a globally diversiﬁed business
regus – the global brand of choice
global trend – flexible working
centres
• 2010 planned growth
• low risk low cost
• emerging economies
• multiple brands and
price entry points
mobile workers
• enabling work from 
inbetween spaces
• lounges meeting rooms
and vc enhance
productivity and
effectiveness whilst on
the move
home workers
• business world is low
cost entry point
• focussed professional
products tailored to their
needs such as meeting
rooms and vc 
corporate
• global offering
leveraging regus scale
• low risk 
• easily scalable
• utilise all regus
products
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information culture
workstyle 
and ﬂexible 
working
real estate
buildings cities 
and work space
sustainability
transport
ict
information 
communication 
web
people
demographics 
expectations and 
behaviour
directors’ report business review
chief executive’s review continued
8wwwreguscom
thank all of them throughout the group
for their signiﬁcant efforts in the year 
during 2009 we launched
“reguscareerscom” on a global basis
and have seen this positively received 
by both employees and prospective
candidates alike this interactive website
tailored for our key global markets allows
us to
• highlight the wide variety of career
options available globally with regus
• give a clear “dayinthelifeof”
overview for a number of roles
throughout the company 
• provide career building guidance for
existing employees 
we have also considerably updated 
core elements of our learning and
development programmes to identify and
train the next generation of leaders as
well as to ensure talented people within
our business are given the appropriate
training and encouragement to develop
speciﬁc examples in 2009 have included 
• creation of new sales content to reﬂect
changes to the sales process and newly
deﬁned roles
• introduction of ﬁeldbased sales and
operations drills to reinforce critical
skills on a monthly basis
• development of leadership skills
training for area directors area
operations and commercial directors
• introduction of new ﬁeld manuals 
and a complete training suite to support
“smartworking” for centre and area
staff driving forward consistency 
of approach and best practice in
customer service 
• creation of additional online learning
modules and assessments to reinforce
key knowledge and skill
responding to market conditions
throughout 2009 and in line with our
previously communicated intentions the
group has continued to move decisively
to adapt its cost base to the increasingly
challenging trading conditions which
prevailed in the majority of its markets
we have delivered full year cost savings
of £546 million when compared to 2008
which exceeded our expectations but
which have not left us complacent 
costs continue to be monitored closely
and will be managed at a level which
ensures that they remain appropriate for
forecast activity levels in addition capital
spending is being carefully controlled to
ensure that we maximise as quickly as
possible the value of any investment 
we make and that we focus on growth
opportunities in the most resilient and
proﬁtable sectors of the global economy
working capital management also
• in the throes of a working 
revolution  changing the way
organisations function
• increasingly people aren’t going 
to work work is coming to them 
• technology  the catalyst no 
longer the same need to gather 
in one place 
• increasingly people choosing to work
away from the traditional office 
• proven increases in productivity 
via flexible working
• environmental benefits clear 
3
future prospects – market moving to regus for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 20099
remains a key focus for the business and
we have continued to manage our cash
ﬂow tightly
at the same time the group has
continued to drive forward with a number
of initiatives to increase commercial and
operational efﬁciencies within its regions
and we anticipate completion of the
migration of certain administrative
functions into our regional service centres
during 2010 we have already started 
to beneﬁt from certain cost savings
associated with these centralised
locations and would expect to garner
operational efﬁciencies shortly 
in december 2009 we implemented 
a restructuring plan to further develop
and accelerate our activities relating to
the development of our regional service
centres this plan includes reductions in
our worldwide workforce the closure of
certain underperforming facilities and
reductions in other related asset values
we incurred an exceptional charge of
£26 million in 2009 relating to the
delivery of the initial phases of this
restructuring plan 
board changes
i would like to take this opportunity 
to thank john matthews and martin
robinson for their signiﬁcant contribution
to the business over the years their
leadership within regus has been
considerable during their tenure and they
have proven real assets to the business
douglas sutherland is an excellent
candidate to succeed john as chairman
of regus and we are delighted that he
has accepted the role 
outlook
while the outlook remains unclear
particularly for the uk we are cautiously
optimistic across our other three
geographies we remain focused on
increasing revenues ﬂexing our cost
base and further improving efﬁciency 
in order to restore our margin we are
experiencing an increased level of growth
opportunities as the trend toward ﬂexible
working accelerates this combined 
with our strong cash position will allow
us to step up our new centre opening
programme in 2010
mark dixon 
chief executive 
22 march 2010
grow our revenue
the augmentation of our diverse product range and widening our
partnerships will enable us to increase our customer base and cross 
sell additional new services to the customer
control our costs 
we will continue to identify and realise signiﬁcant cost savings through 
a combination of operational simpliﬁcation and leveraging the beneﬁts 
of scale 
grow our capacity 
the current economic situation is presenting us with excellent
opportunities to grow in a focussed and controlled way both organically
and through acquisition
our priorities for 2010
1
2
3
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information the population of earth
exceeds six billion for 
the ﬁrst time
the wall came tumbling down the standard  poor 500
index closes above 1000 for
the ﬁrst time
the north american free trade
area is established
apple launch the ipod
directors’ report business review
10wwwreguscom
1994
enters latin america
and china opening
another 36 centres
across the world
1998
opens ﬁrst ofﬁce
in united states
2001
purchases us
based stratis
business centres
2000
goes public with
ipo on the
london stock
exchange
1989
mark dixon launches
regus and opens the
ﬁrst location in brussels
belgium
since 1989 regus has consistently developed its portfolio of
products and services to meet the needs of our customers to
work however whenever wherever
we will continue to invent our future and remain at the forefront 
of providing quality products and services
“the easiest way to predict the future is to invent it…”
20
years on… face book is founded
in cambridge
massachusetts
the european union
expands to 27
countries
the kyoto protocol
goes into effect
google buys youtube the global economy faces
its greatest challenge in
more than 60 years
the price of a barrel of 
oil hits an all time high of
us148
for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 200911
2004
acquires major
competitor hq to 
become world’s
largest provider of 
ﬂexible
workspace
2007
breaks the
£100 million
of earnings for
the ﬁrst time
2005
new business centre
openings in 35
capital cities expands
footprint to more than
50 countries
throughout asia
north america and
europe and support
regus’ international
growth strategy 
launches the
innovative
businessworld
membership card
enabling users to
access any regus
centre for a ﬁxed
annual cost
2006
exceeds 200000
customers
2009
in its 20th year
passes 500000
customers in
response to the
economic crisis
launches more new
products than 
in previous 15 years
2008
400000
customers in 950
locations across
70 countries two
thirds of which no
longer have a ﬁxed
serviced ofﬁce
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information directors’ report business review
regional review
12wwwreguscom
performance
our business in the americas comprises c anada 
usa and south america encompassing 483 centres
across 14 countries our main business in the usa
operates 400 centres at actual exchange rates the
region delivered revenues of £4238 million up 21 on
2008 and average mature occupancy of 79 during the
period 2008 85 during the year we added 14
centres which contributed to the increase in the average
number of consolidated workstations from 70173 in
2008 to 72277 in 2009 we opened our ﬁrst centre in
the new market of paraguay 
outlook
looking ahead into 2010 our focus remains on
maximising our yield on our current centre portfolio
continuing to scrutinise intensely our existing cost
structure and pursue opportunistic growth where it ﬁts
with our ongoing strategy 
revenue £m
gross proﬁt £929m total contribution to group 39
driving operational efﬁciencies
“any company that is looking for ways to be highly
productive has to look at their real estate costs
before regus we just rented out offices and had to
pay for them when they sat empty” 
john challenger ceo of challenger gray  christmas
regional strategy
the strategy for the americas is to maximise yield in our
existing centres whilst targeting growth in key cities where we
have minimal representation
key performance indicators 2009 2008
total contribution £929m £1161m
mature margin 24 30
mature occupancy 79 85
opportunities in 2010
maximising our yield focusing on our cost structure and
pursuing opportunistic growth in line with our ongoing
strategy 
amer ic as
39

0
100
200
300
400
500
3059
3363
4149
4238
2009 2008 2007 2006 for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual r eport and accounts 200913
performance
our business in emea encompasses 248 centres across 
45 countries the region delivered revenues of £3062
million – down 40 on 2008 and achieved an average
mature occupancy of 81 2008 88 during the year
we opened 15 centres which contributed to the increase
in the average number of consolidated workstations
from 32352 in 2008 to 34260 in 2009 we opened our
ﬁrst centres in senegal mauritius and estonia 
outlook
we will seek to recover a substantial part of the 
price erosion experienced in 2009 whilst maintaining
occupancy levels and at the same time open more
centres by exploring low risk acquisitions and new
centre openings furthermore the expansion of the
regional service centre in prague will enable us to ensure
better consistency and procedures and help us drive
cost saving initiatives further
revenue £m
gross proﬁt £830m total contribution to group 35
driving operational efﬁciencies
“regus provide me with a high quality professional
business environment which helps me project the
right image they take care of all our administrative
and secretarial needs which means the business and
my customers are always my number one priority”
elisa peris managing director despacho professional
regional strategy
to bolster our prices leverage our regional shared service
centre to drive cost savings initiatives and to look for further
lowrisk opportunities to expand our network into new markets 
key performance indicators 2009 2008
total contribution £830m £1092m
mature margin 29 36
mature occupancy 81 88
opportunities in 2010
improved efficiency through the consolidation of processes into
a regional shared service centre and continued identification of
lowrisk opportunities for expansion 
emea
35

0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
1959
2403
3192
3062
2009 2008 2007 2006
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information directors’ report business review
regional review
14wwwreguscom
performance
our business in asia operates in 116 centres across 
16 countries the region delivered revenues of £1323
million –  up 94 on 2008 and achieved an average
mature occupancy of 78 2008 79 during the year
we opened six centres which increased the average
number of consolidated workstations from 19836 in
2008 to 21390 in 2009 we opened our ﬁrst centre in
the new market of macau 
outlook
looking ahead into 2010 we are well positioned to
continue to consolidate our position as the largest
provider of serviced ofﬁces across all asia paciﬁc
markets we are seeing many opportunities for measured
growth in the region using risk structured new
development opportunities while continuing to focus on
the operational effectiveness of our current portfolio of
centres we have built and are now ﬁnessing a regional
service centre in the philippines which is already
delivering both operational as well as ﬁnancial
efﬁciencies throughout the region
revenue £m
gross proﬁt £403m total contribution to group 17
driving operational efﬁciencies
“using a regus virtual office means that i have the
flexibility to mix working from home with a central
city location virtual offices are the ideal
arrangement for entrepreneurs starting out for the
first time or looking to expand into a new area”
anne kirkness kirkness and partners adelaide
regional strategy
to continue to consolidate and develop our position as the
largest provider of serviced offices across all asia pacific
markets 
key performance indicators 2009 2008
total contribution £403m £374m
mature margin 34 36
mature occupancy 78 79
opportunities in 2010
to improve our operational effectiveness through a new
customer service centre to handle all customer administration
in the region 
asia pac ific
17

0
30
60
90
120
150
509
777
1210
1323
2009 2008 2007 2006 for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual r eport and accounts 200915
performance
c onditions during 2009 continued to be extremely
challenging with renewed pressure on key performance
indicators and particularly price set against this
backdrop the region delivered revenues of £1914
million down 133 on 2008 and achieved an average
mature occupancy of 80 2008 83 during the year
we opened 10 centres which contributed to the increase
in the average number of consolidated workstations
from 30899 in 2008 to 33528 in 2009 
outlook
looking ahead into 2010 we remain fully committed to
developing the business and growing our leadership
position in the uk we will therefore continue to pursue
low risk growth opportunities to expand our business
within the uk 
revenue £m
gross proﬁt £185m total contribution to group 8
driving operational efﬁciencies
“owning a piece of property might mean something
to a homeowner but to an effective new market
entrant it’s nothing more than a millstone that’s
why we approached regus”
anne taylor head of manchester office sg hambros
regional strategy
the strategy for the uk is to drive operational efficiencies in a
challenging market and introduce new products to support
new sales growth
key performance indicators 2009 2008
total contribution £185m £415m
mature margin 11 20
mature occupancy 80 83
opportunities in 2010
heightened focus on efficiency and cost and migration of all
centres onto centralised billing and credit control
un ited kin g dom
8

0
50
100
150
200
250
1266
2081
2221
1914
2009 2008 2007 2006
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information although we have seen the worst global economic
conditions in recent memory i am pleased to announce
that the group’s results for the year ended 31 december
2009 have demonstrated the underlying resilience of 
our business model 
stephen gleadle
directors’ report business review
financial review
16wwwreguscom
cash generated from operations 
before the beneﬁt of exceptional items
has remained robust at £1051 million
2008 £2496 million this has allowed 
us to both continue investing in the
business and increase our full year
dividend by 33 
overall our net cash on the balance
sheet has increased from £2112 million
at the end of 2008 to £2370 million at the
end of 2009 after investing £485 million
on capital expenditure and £200 million
revenue
£10551m
21
average no of workstations
161455
53
average mature occupancy
80
5 points
revpaw
£6535
70
this movement can be analysed as follows
£ million revenue gross proﬁt margin 
31 december 2008 10772 3057 284
impact of exchange rates 1157 366
31 december 2008 at constant exchange rates 11929 3423 287
change in mature business 1561 1085
centres added in 2008 350 122
centres added in 2009 62 18
centres closed 229 86
31 december 2009 10551 2356 223
on dividends the closing cash balance
also beneﬁted from the receipt of £183 
million of exceptional net income from
the settlement of a previously disclosed 
legal dispute
revenue and gross proﬁt 
centre contribution 
revenue for the group declined 21 to
£10551 million 2008 £10772 million
and gross proﬁt centre contribution
decreased 229 to £2356 million 
2008 £3057 million
a resilient business model for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 200917
sterling weakened year on year against
both the us dollar and the euro by an
average of 149 and 100 respectively
this would have increased our revenue
by £1157 million and contribution by
£366 million excluding the favourable
exchange impact revenues fell by 116
and contribution by 312 on a constant
currency basis 
our mature or “like for like” business
decreased its revenues by £1561 million
and contribution by £1085 million driven
by reductions in both occupancy and
price partially offset by cost savings
centres added in 2008 contributed £350
million of revenue and £122 million of
contribution reﬂecting our ability to
improve the proﬁtability of centres in the
year following opening by increasing both
occupancy and price 
new centres added in 2009 contributed
£62 million of revenue but reduced
contribution by £18 million due to the
normal start up losses incurred in
establishing new centres 
the year on year impact of closing
centres was to reduce revenue by £229
million and contribution by £86 million
taking all this together contribution
margins reduced from 284 to 223
administration expenses
administrative expenses increased by
£96 million to £1679 million in 2009
compared to 2008 as a percentage of
revenue they have increased to 159
2008 147
this increase can be broadly analysed 
£ million
31 december 2008 1583
impact of exchange rates 140
31 december 2008 at 
constant exchange rates 1723
impact of “smartworking” 
programme 236
2010 restructuring plan 26
underlying cost savings 306
31 december 2009 1679
during 2009 the group accelerated 
the “smartworking” programme which 
is centralising certain operational and
ﬁnance processes previously carried 
out by centre staff this has caused an
increase in administrative costs offset 
by reductions in centre costs
as part of the ongoing process of
realising cost savings in december 2009
the board approved a further restructuring
plan for the group with the target of
delivering savings in 2010 of £113 million
£132 million on an annualised basis 
at a cost of £26m these savings will 
be achieved by further improving the
efﬁciency of our back ofﬁce support
functions and sales teams through
leveraging the establishment of the
regional shared service centres and 
a restructured sales force in addition 
we will continue to aggressively address 
the parts of the regus network that do
not make an adequate contribution to
group performance
operating proﬁt before exceptionals
arising from the above was operating
proﬁt of £677 million 2008 £1474
million representing a margin of 64
2008 137 
exceptional income
in addition in the period ended 31
december 2009 the group recognised
exceptional net income of £183 million
from the settlement of a dispute with 
a supplier 
share of proﬁt in joint ventures
in the twelve months ended 31 december
2009 the share of joint venture proﬁts
attributable to regus decreased to £20
million 2008 £23 million this reﬂects
trading performance in the usa and
startup losses in new joint ventures
partially offset by improved proﬁtability 
in the middle east
financing costs 
financing costs can be summarised 
as follows
£ million 2009 2008
interest payable 16 35
interest receivable 26 53
finance lease interest 01 02
noncash amortisation 
of deferred ﬁnancing fees 05 06
noncash uk 
acquisition related 15 15
total ﬁnancing costs 11 05
the lower interest payable reﬂects the
early repayment of the remaining £24
million loan balance outstanding on the
group’s senior debt facility in november
2008 and the voluntary surrender in april
2009 of the group’s £100 million
undrawn senior committed facility 
the £27 million decrease in interest
receivable reﬂects the impact of falling
global interest rates reducing the group’s
average yield from 355 to 119
partially offset by the increase in the
group’s average cash balance to £2192
million 2008 £1503 million the
movement in the year end cash balance
has been explained in the cash ﬂow
section overleaf 
finance lease costs have remained low
reﬂecting the continued reduced level of
ﬁnance lease liabilities held by the group
the amortisation of deferred ﬁnancing
fees relates to the facility arrangement
costs incurred for the new credit facilities
entered into during 2006 and which were
voluntarily surrendered in april 2009
resulting in the recognition of an
accelerated amortisation charge of £02
million the unwinding of discounted fair
value adjustments on the regus uk
acquisition resulted in a noncash net
ﬁnancing charge of £15 million in the 
year ended 31 december 2009 
cost reduction initiatives
the group exceeded its target and delivered full year cost savings of £546 million 
on a year on year basis 
the year on year saving can broadly be analysed 
centre administration total
£ million costs expenses costs
31 december 2008 7715 1583 9298
impact of exchange rates 791 140 931
comparative at constant exchange rates 8506 1723 10229
impact of “smartworking” programme 236 236 –
2010 restructuring plan – 26 26
impact of growth and closures 165 – 165
underlying cost savings 240 306 546
31 december 2009 8195 1679 9874
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information directors’ report business review
financial review continued
18wwwreguscom
taxation
the group has recognised a £192 million
tax charge for the period representing an
accounting tax rate of 221 of proﬁt
before tax compared to a charge of £343
million 230 in the comparative period 
the current tax charge for the period 
was £125 million 2008 £573 million
a decrease from 384 to 144 of proﬁt
before tax deferred tax was a £67
million charge in the period 2008 £230
million credit on a cash basis the
group paid £243 million in tax cash tax
represents approximately 280 of proﬁt
before tax compared to 210 in the
same period in 2008
earnings per share 
earnings per share for the year
decreased from 120p to 71p with the
impact of falling underlying operating
proﬁts having been offset by a oneoff
exceptional item and a lower tax charge
the average number of shares in issue
during the year reﬂected the repurchase
of regus shares under the share buy
back programme during 2008 and
consequently reduced to 948203737
2008 950319978 
dividend
an interim dividend of 08p per share was
paid on friday 9 october 2009 and the
board is proposing a ﬁnal dividend of
16p per share subject to shareholder
approval the full year dividend will have
increased 33 year on year 
the group will continue to operate the
income access share arrangements for
the ﬁnal dividend to enable shareholders
to receive either uk sourced dividends 
or luxembourg sourced dividends
currency hedging
during 2009 the group implemented a
policy approved by the board to hedge
subject to strict limits the rates at which
we translate our overseas earnings as a
result the group realised currency hedging
gains of £22 million which partially offset
the impact of the ﬂuctuations in sterling
during the year the group intends to
continue with this strategy in 2010
goodwill
regus has £2591 million of goodwill in
the balance sheet largely arising from the
purchase in august 2004 of hq global
holdings inc and the purchase in april
2006 of the remaining 58 interest in the
regus uk business not already owned
the carrying value of the goodwill was
tested for impairment at the year end
and indicated that no impairment was
necessary although the short term
performance of the business has
worsened since the 2008 impairment
review was carried out the relatively 
high discount rates that were previously
applied by the market to our future cash
ﬂows have also reduced it should be
noted however that the headroom 
in the calculations particularly with 
respect to the uk remains low it is
therefore possible that a future non
cash impairment may be necessary
arising from relatively small changes 
in assumptions full details of the
approach taken and sensitivities are
provided in note 12
cash ﬂow from operations has fallen
£1445 million from £2496 million to
£1051 million driven both by the impact
of the fall in operating proﬁt and an
outﬂow of working capital as occupancy
and price increased in 2008 the business
beneﬁted from a working capital inﬂow 
of £357 million and as it has declined in
2009 there has been a working capital
outﬂow of £394 million 
nevertheless the business has remained
strongly cash positive producing a free
cash ﬂow of £803 million this has
allowed the group to continue to invest 
in growth and increase the dividend 
during 2009 45 new centres were opened
at a cost of £283 million in addition to the
investment in growth the group returned
£200 million to shareholders through the
payment of the 2008 ﬁnal and 2009
interim dividends and still ended the year
with an increased cash position this can
be analysed as follows
£ million 2009 2008
cash and cash 
equivalents 2051 2195
liquid investments 400 –
bank and other loans 60 53
finance leases 21 30
net ﬁnancial 
assetsnet cash 2370 2112
liquid investments are comprised of cash
balances invested for over three months
to improve the interest yield at the
balance sheet date the longest remaining
maturity was approximately four months
of the net cash balance £470 million is
pledged as security against outstanding
bank guarantees and a further £173
million is pledged against various other
commitments of the group
in summary given the robust cash
performance in 2009 the group is 
both well positioned to manage 
the continuing uncertain economic
climate as well as capitalise on the
many growth opportunities that exist 
in our market place 
stephen gleadle
chief financial ofﬁcer
22 march 2010
cash ﬂow 
the group’s cash ﬂow statement can be summarised as follows 
£ million 2009 2008
cash generated from operations 1051 2496
exceptional net income from legal settlement 183 –
dividend income and disposal proceeds 12 19
tax and net interest paid 241 302
maintenance capex 202 329
free cash ﬂow 803 1884
new centre openings 283 574
other acquisitions and jv investments 10 121
share buy back settlement of share award and dividend 204 363
loan repayment 03 375
change in cash 323 451
opening cash 2195 1429
change in cash 323 451
effect of exchange rates on cash held 67 315
closing cash 2451 2195 for more information visit
reguscom
corporate responsibility
regus plc annual report and accounts 200919
our approach to corporate responsibility
cr has never been about writing big
cheques and planting trees we are well
aware of the plethora of evidence that
demonstrates a company’s long term
performance will beneﬁt from a broad
planned and sustained cr programme
there are four elements to our cr plan
• workforce
• marketplace 
• environment
• community
as the table overleaf shows we have
established a number of key performance
indicators for corporate responsibility
and over the coming years we will report
our performance against these at each 
full results announcement 
regus has always had a good track
record when it comes to social
responsibility and community
involvement as some of the examples
overleaf bear out but we are now putting
greater emphasis on our response to
climate change as well as putting a more
coherent structure around the other
elements of our cr strategy
workforce
our long term success depends on
attracting and retaining the most talented
people to work for us across 78 countries
diversity and inclusion
regus is committed to providing a work
environment in which all individuals are
treated with respect and dignity each
individual has the right to work in a
professional atmosphere that promotes
equal employment opportunities and
prohibits discriminatory practices
including harassment therefore the
company expects that all relationships
among persons in the workplace are
businesslike and free of bias prejudice
and harassment 
it is the policy of regus to ensure equal
employment opportunity without
discrimination or harassment on the basis
of race colour religion gender marital
status age national origin disability or
any other protected characteristic as
established by law the company
prohibits and does not tolerate any such
discrimination or harassment indeed on
a number of metrics regus can be seen
as best practice and industry leading
more than 60 of our workforce and
50 of our middle and senior managers
are female in all markets our workforce is
broadly representative of the ethnic make
up of the wider community
health and wellbeing
protecting and promoting the wellbeing 
of our employees is an integral part of the
regus culture we demand the highest
standards of health and safety whilst
encouraging our employees to enjoy a
healthy and active lifestyle regus offers
generous holiday packages in all countries
and encourages its team members to take
time off in order to rejuvenate and create 
a balance between work and home life 
in the americas we provide a 2 week
sabbatical for team members who reach
their 10 year anniversary in our facilities
with gyms in the building our team
members are encouraged to utilise the
facilities in november 2009 a wellness
road show was held in our dallas
corporate ofﬁce where free biometric
screenings were provided and where team
members could get advice on nutrition
preventative care and other medical issues
skills and talent
our goal has always been to create an
environment in which our people can
develop their talents realise their ambitions
and achieve their best work in 2009 we
radically overhauled the quality and
quantity of training provided to team
members we doubled the amount of
facetoface training we provided to more
than 8500 training sessions and team
members took part in more than 37000
online training sessions on subjects as
diverse as sales techniques leading and
managing the team and the perfect tour
recruiting and training school and
university leavers remains a high priority
for the business around the world
examples include
• in india and east asia 14 graduate
trainees were hired from the institute 
of hotel management 
• in greater china 10 graduate trainees
were recruited from fudan university
shanghai polytechnic university 
hong kong and chinese university
hong kong 
• in france we have a close relationship
with paris based école française
as a responsible global company and leader in its ﬁeld
regus wants to be best in its class for corporate
responsibility and this year has brought it to the top of our
agenda we have established clearly where we are and
where we want to be as well as what we are good at and
what we need to do better
responsive to our stakeholders
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information d’hôtesse et de tourisme school which
results in students spending half of 
their time working at our centres whilst
they study
• in the netherlands we work with
rotterdam based roc zadkine college
which provides us with some 1520
workplace students for four month long
placements each year
• we have had a traineeship programme
running in germany for many years 
the annual intake is two and the
trainees spend on average three years
with the business working across
different functions before being placed
in a permanent position
we are also driven to progress the
careers of our team members more 
than 10 received a promotion in 2009
regus also encourages cross border
opportunities team member exchanges
have happened between brazil and the
us uk to germany us to australia
amongst many others
marketplace 
customers
like any prudent company we know 
that without customers we don’t have 
a business treating them with respect is
part and parcel of what we do at regus
we deﬁne respect as being mindful of
speciﬁc and unique needs allowing them
absolute choice in what they want and
when they want it providing the right
level of accessible information in the right
form always selling with honesty and
integrity and ﬁnally ensuring at all times
the safety of our customers
with more than 500000 individual
customers we take great effort to solicit
regular feedback on all aspects of our
product portfolio and service delivery
both in centre and from our regional
service centres such feedback is regularly
acted upon to enhance what we do
suppliers
regus only selects products and
solutions from suppliers which take an
active role within their community and
look to minimise the environmental
impact of their operations all new
suppliers are asked to comment on how
they address each of the following areas
• maintaining a healthy and safe
environment for staff
• work with and support for local charities
and groups
• energy efﬁciency and the use of low
carbon assets and
• waste minimisation and recycling
environment
as a responsible company we want to
signiﬁcantly reduce our environmental
impact and support our clients in doing
the same in 2010 in the uk we are
consequently putting in place a robust
programme of measures to reduce our
carbon footprint by 50 by 2020 using
our 2007 baseline which will then be
rolled out to other geographies in
subsequent years to show our ﬁrm
commitment we will be making every
effort to achieve 20 of this target by 31
december 2010 this will be achieved by
1 liaising and working together with our
property stakeholders to implement a
prioritised and visible carbon reducing
energy saving plan in all our ofﬁces
whilst complying fully with the
requirements of the crc
regus cr key performance indicators in the uk
activity 2010 target
reduction in carbon footprint 20 reduction on 2007 levels
water usage 5 reduction on 2007 levels
waste 5 reduction on 2007 levels
transport reduce air miles by 20 and increase rail travel by 20 on 2007 levels
corporate charity enable employees to select incountry corporate charity on an annual basis
employee volunteer days 500 days available to employees globally to partake in community 
based activities
suppliers all major suppliers signed up to regus cr policy
recruitment and training implement a formal graduate training programme in us uk france 
the netherlands china and india
team member career implement a global group training certiﬁcation process for all customer facing 
development and training role holders
2 integrating our planned and reactive
maintenance strategies to include
better energy saving and carbon
reduction measures
3 reviewing our new centre 
opening strategy to accommodate
better energy saving and carbon
reduction principles
4 working with our clients as 
necessary to help them reduce 
their carbon footprints
5 engaging and involving our staff 
and suppliers in the formation and
operation of carbon reduction policies
6 training as appropriate all our staff
involved in our carbon reduction
implementation
7 communicating our strategy to all our
staff and clients and supporting them
in its implementation
8 moving towards more renewable energy
sources as soon as practicable and
9 measuring reviewing acting quickly
and communicating the outcomes
community
our centres are visible landmarks within
the communities in which they reside 
as such we strive to play a positive
community based role as well as
supporting those in need further aﬁeld
from competing in triathlons and other
sports activities to raise money for charity
to recycling waste paper to help a local
hospital and donating redundant ofﬁce
furniture to local schools our community
activity is not a directed corporate edict
but a bottom up desire by our team
members to make a difference just a
few of our many examples from around
the world are highlighted on this page
directors’ report business review
corporate responsibility continued
20wwwreguscom for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 200921
macmillan cancer support
for many years regus employees in
the uk have competed in the london
triathlon and with the help of their
colleagues raised many tens of
thousands of pounds 2009 was no
exception and 25 brave souls took 
to the streets and waters of london
raising more than £10000 
“macmillan cancer support would like
to say a big thank you to all the regus
staff in the uk for their support and of
course to those that took part in the
triathlon itself” 
helen rogers 
macmillan fundraising manager
warran autism training center 
giant steps illinois chicago
a recent downsize at the warrenville
centre in suburban chicago left the
team with excess furniture the team
donated the furniture to the autism
training center at giant steps illinois
the organization had just leased a
70000 square foot facility in nearby
lisle and had no budget to furnish 
the space
“i can’t begin to express our gratitude
for the furniture donated by regus
you have made an enormous impact
on our ability to reach out and train 
the greater autism community your
contribution has made us look like 
a “real” school”
bridget o’connor executive director
warran autism training center
centre recycling in argentina funds
local hospital 
since opening two years ago the
team at regus olivos libertador in
buenos aires has been doing its part
to help clean up the environment
their recycling efforts also beneﬁt a
local hospital every week the centre
donates its cardboard and plastic
items to the garrahan foundation 
the foundation collects recyclables
from businesses schools and
households throughout buenos aires
and sells them to a recycling
company so far more than 42000
tons of paper items have been
recycled the money collected from
the programme is allocated to various
local social service organisations
including casa garrahan a home for
children receiving medical treatment 
katie piper foundation
katie piper is a 26 year old woman
who was the victim of a vicious acid
attack in 2008 which destroyed her
face her life and her career as she
knew it in october 2009 she told her
story in a tv documentary this resulted
in a huge response from the public 
as a result katie set up the katie
piper foundation to help other burns
victims like herself regus is providing
the foundation with its ofﬁce space
“since october 2009 when the
documentary went out i have been
overwhelmed by the amount of offers
of support i’ve had regus were one
of the ﬁrst organisations to contact me
and i wouldn’t have been able to set
up my charity without them they have
been instrumental in allowing me to
register the charity” 
katie piper
south florida team lends a hand 
for local charity 
former miami dolphins star and
regus client oj mcdufﬁe is an active
leader in south florida his charity the
catch 81 foundation is committed to
helping the less fortunate throughout
the region 
mcdufﬁe recently organised his ﬁrst
annual charity softball event and
invited regus team members from
south florida to participate in the
tournament although team regus
lasted only two games in the
tournament they managed to raise
1000 to help children in need 
team members recently put their
endurance to the test at the toyota 
us open triathlon in dallas raising
money to beneﬁt the makeawish
foundation twenty team members
competed and two of our teams took
ﬁrst and second place in the sprint
relay raising us28000
“it was great to see regus come
together and help in supporting my
foundation i will continue to build 
on our relationship with regus and
always mention their great services 
to my colleagues and people in 
the community”
oj mcdufﬁe catch 81 foundation
using our success to make a difference
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information directors’ report corporate governance
board of directors
22wwwreguscom
john matthews 
c
chairman
john joined the regus board of directors
in 1995 as nonexecutive director and
was appointed chairman in 2002 he also
serves as chairman of the nomination
committee john has announced his
retirement from the board of directors
with effect from 18 may 2010 following
the company’s 2010 annual general
meeting he is independent director 
of diploma plc minerva plc and sdl plc
a chartered accountant he was
previously managing director of county
natwest and deputy chairman as well 
as deputy chief executive of beazer plc
the international aggregates construction
and housing group
an international team
the board has a blend of experience demonstrating 
both depth and global perspective
mark dixon
chief executive ofﬁcer
mark founded the regus group in 1989
and has been chief executive for over 
18 years leading the group’s worldwide
expansion programme and the
development of pioneering workplace
solutions prior to 2007 mark was located
in the usa overseeing the integration of
the hq global workplaces acquisition
and has now relocated to europe prior
to regus he established businesses in
the retail and wholesale food industry 
martin robinson 
abc
senior independent 
nonexecutive director
martin joined the regus board of
directors in 2002 he is senior
independent director and chairman of
the remuneration committee martin 
has announced his retirement from the
board of directors with effect from 
18 may 2010 following the company’s
2010 annual general meeting martin 
is currently chairman of centre parcs
uk a partner in figaro llp and a
director of the supervisory board of
eurodisney sca he was chairman of
the board of management of centre
parcs europe until august 2004 martin
previously held senior management
positions with scottish and newcastle
plc and sara lee corporation and
worked as a management consultant 
for four years with mckinsey  co inc
stephen gleadle
chief financial ofﬁcer
stephen joined the regus group as chief
financial ofﬁcer in october 2005 prior to
regus he was group financial controller
of tarmac plc and finance director at
both synstar plc and lastminutecom plc
stephen is a chartered accountant  for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 200923
notes
a member of the audit committee
b member of the remuneration committee
c member of the nomination committee
lance browne 
abc
independent nonexecutive director
lance was appointed nonexecutive
director of regus on 27 august 2008 and
will become senior independent director
on 18 may 2010 following the
company’s 2010 annual general
meeting lance is vice chairman of
standard chartered bank china limited
non executive vice chairman 
of earthport plc and member of the g3
advisory council he was previously
china senior advisor to the city of
london nonexecutive director of imi
plc chairman of china goldmines plc
and director of business development 
at powergen international hk
ulrich ogiermann 
abc
independent nonexecutive director
ulrich was appointed nonexecutive
director of regus on 27 august 2008 
and will become chairman of the
remuneration committee on 18 may
2010 following the company’s 2010
annual general meeting ulrich is
president and chief executive of
cargolux international airlines he is
also a member of the cargo committee
of iata chairman of the board of
governors of the international air 
cargo association and member of the
boards of sita inc and champ cargo
systems ulrich previously held senior
management positions with lufthansa
douglas sutherland 
abc
independent nonexecutive director
douglas was appointed nonexecutive
director of regus on 27 august 2008 
and with effect from the 18 may 2010
following the company’s 2010 annual
general meeting will become non
executive chairman and chairman 
of the nomination committee douglas
currently serves as chairman of the audit
committee and will stand down from 
this role on 18 may 2010 douglas was
previously chief financial ofﬁcer 
of skype during its acquisition by ebay 
in october 2005 and was also chief
financial ofﬁcer at securewave during 
its acquisition by patchlink in july 2007
prior to this douglas enjoyed a career 
with arthur andersen as a partner for
over a decade douglas is currently also
a director of hosco kliniken sarl and
hosco gruppe sàrl
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other information
24wwwreguscom
the directors of regus plc société anonyme the “company”
present their annual report and the audited ﬁnancial
statements of the company and its subsidiaries together 
the “group” for the year ended 31 december 2009 
directors
the directors of the company who held ofﬁce during the
ﬁnancial year were 
executive directors
mark dixon 
stephen gleadle
nonexecutive directors 
john matthews
martin robinson
lance browne
ulrich ogiermann
douglas sutherland
biographical details for the directors are shown on pages 
22 and 23
details of the directors’ interests and shareholdings are given 
in the remuneration report on pages 33 to 39 
the corporate responsibility statement corporate governance
statement remuneration report and director statements on
pages 19 to 21 and 26 to 39 all form part of this report
principal activity
the company is the world’s leading provider of global ofﬁce
outsourcing services 
business review
the directors have presented a business review as follows
the chief executive’s review and financial review on pages 
4 to 9 and 16 to 18 respectively address
• review of the company’s business pages 12 to 15
• trends and factors likely to affect the future development
performance and position of the business page 7
• development and performance during the ﬁnancial year
pages 16 to 18
• position of the business at the end of the year page 18
• principal risks and uncertainties pages 28 to 30
the corporate responsibility report on pages 19 to 21
includes the sections of the business review in respect of
• environmental matters
• employees
• social and community issues
the corporate governance statement on pages 26 to 31
includes a description of the principal risks and uncertainties
facing the company 
the directors statements on page 32 includes the statutory
statement in respect of disclosure to auditors 
the directors do not consider any contractual or other
relationships with external parties to be essential to the
business of the group
results and dividends
proﬁt before taxation for the year was £869 million 2008
£1492 million 
the directors are pleased to recommend the payment of a ﬁnal
dividend for 2009 of 16 pence per share 2008 12 pence per
share this is in addition to the interim dividend of 08 pence
per share paid by regus group limited in october 2009 the
ﬁnal dividend of £152 million 2008 £113 million is expected
to be paid on 28 may 2010 to shareholders on the register at
the close of business on 30 april 2010
policy and practice on payment of creditors 
the group does not follow a universal code dealing speciﬁcally
with payments to suppliers but where appropriate our practice
is to
• agree the terms of payment upfront with the supplier
• ensure that suppliers are made aware of these terms 
of payment
• pay in accordance with contractual and other 
legal obligations
at 31 december 2009 the number of creditor days outstanding
for the group was 21 days 2008 21 days and the company
48 days 2008 36 days
going concern 
the directors having made appropriate enquiries have a
reasonable expectation that the group and the company 
have adequate resources to continue in operational existence
for the foreseeable future for this reason they continue to
adopt the going concern basis in preparing the accounts on
pages 41 to 88
in adopting the going concern basis for preparing the ﬁnancial
statements the directors have considered the further information
included in the business activities commentary as set out on
pages 12 to 15 as well as the group’s principal risks and
uncertainties as set out on pages 28 and 30 based on the
performance of the group its ﬁnancial position and cash ﬂows
the board is satisﬁed that the group is well placed to manage
its business risks successfully despite the current uncertain
economic outlook 
further details on the going concern basis of preparation can
be found in note 23 to the notes to the accounts on page 66
employees
the group treats applicants for employment with disabilities
with full and fair consideration according to their skills and
capabilities should an employee become disabled during their
employment efforts are made to retain them in their current
employment or to explore opportunities for their retraining or
redeployment elsewhere within the group
political and charitable donations 
it is the group’s policy not to make political donations either 
in the uk or overseas the group made charitable donations 
of £01 million during the year 2008 £01 million for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 200925
capital structure
the company’s share capital comprises 950969822 issued and
fully paid up ordinary shares of 1p nominal value in regus plc
2008 950969822 all ordinary shares have the same rights to
vote at general meetings of the company and to participate in
distributions there are no securities in issue that carry special
rights in relation to the control of the company the company’s
shares are traded on the london stock exchange 
on 14 october 2008 the group completed a capital
reorganisation which resulted in the introduction of the new
holding company of the group regus plc a company
incorporated in jersey with its place of central administration
head ofﬁce in luxembourg and accordingly being registered 
as a société anonyme the ordinary shares of regus plc were
admitted to listing on the main market of the london stock
exchange the ordinary shareholders of regus group plc
acquired ordinary shares in regus plc in the same proportions
in which they held regus group plc ordinary shares immediately
prior to the reorganisation and regus group plc became 
a wholly owned subsidiary of regus plc the transaction was
accounted for as a reverse acquisition in the consolidated
accounts and details can be found in note 2 to the accounts 
on page 45
details of the role of the board of directors the “board” and
the process for the appointment of directors can be found on
pages 26 to 27
at the company’s annual general meeting held on 19 may
2009 the shareholders of the company approved a resolution
giving authority for the company to purchase in the market up
to 94821908 ordinary shares representing approximately 10
of the issued share capital excluding treasury shares as at 20
april 2009
details of the company’s employee share schemes can be
found in the report of the remuneration committee on pages
33 to 39 the outstanding awards and options do not carry any
rights in relation to the control of the company
substantial interests
at 22 march 2010 the company has been notiﬁed 
of the following interests held in the issued share capital 
of the company
number of  of issued 
ordinary shares share capital
estorn limited 320141288 3366
prudential plc 104043649 1095
ameriprise financial inc 53821569 567
standard life group 46538104 493
blackrock inc 46064455 485
tree top convertible sicav 45167670 475
  mark dixon indirectly owns 100 of estorn limited
 the interest held by tree top convertible sicav relates to a ﬁnancial instrument
convertible into ordinary shares of the company
auditors 
in accordance with the articles of association of the company
a resolution for the reappointment of kpmg audit sàrl as
auditors of the company is to be proposed at the forthcoming
annual general meeting 
approval
this report was approved by the board on 22 march 2010 
on behalf of the board
tim regan 
company secretary 
22 march 2010
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corporate governance
26wwwreguscom
the board is committed to the high standards of corporate
governance set out in the combined code published in june
2008 “the code” for ﬁnancial periods beginning after
29 june 2008 the board is accountable to the company’s
shareholders and this report describes how the board applied
the principles of good governance in its prospectus dated 
8 september 2008 the company stated its intention to
voluntarily comply with the combined code so far as it is
practical for a luxembourg company to do so there is no
similar corporate governance regime in luxembourg 
the board
at 31 december 2009 the board of directors was made up 
of seven members comprising the chairman two executive
directors and four nonexecutive directors biographical
details of the directors are set out on pages 22 and 23 
role of the board
the primary role of the board is to provide entrepreneurial
leadership and to review the overall strategic development 
of the group the board approves the corporate plan 
and the annual budget and reviews performance against
targets at every meeting through the audit committee the
directors ensure the integrity of ﬁnancial information and the
effectiveness of ﬁnancial controls and the internal control and
risk management system the board has delegated authority
to the remuneration committee to set the remuneration
policy for directors and senior management the nomination
committee recommends the appointment of board directors
and has responsibility for succession planning at board level
the various board committees the “committees” have
authority to make decisions in their areas of expertise 
frequency of meetings
there were nine board meetings during 2009 
the number of meetings of the board and committees and
individual attendance by the directors are shown below
main audit remuneration nomination
board committee committee committee
total meetings 94 7 5
mark dixon 9
stephen gleadle 9
john matthews83
martin robinson 84 7 5
lance browne 94 7 5
ulrich ogiermann 94 7 5
douglas sutherland 94 6 5
matters reserved for the board
the board has a formal schedule of matters reserved to it for
its decision to ensure that no one individual has unfettered
powers of decision these include
• approval of regulatory announcements including the interim
and annual ﬁnancial statements
• terms of reference and membership of the board and its
committees
• changes to the group’s capital structure
• changes to the group’s management and control structure
• capital investment in excess of £5 million
• material contracts annual value in excess of £5 million
minutes are taken of all board discussions and decisions 
and all directors are encouraged to request inclusion of any
unresolved concerns that they may have in the board minutes 
roles of board members
there is a clear division of responsibilities between the
chairman and the chief executive 
the chairman
john matthews is responsible for leadership of the board
setting its agenda and monitoring its effectiveness he
ensures effective communication with shareholders and that
the board is aware of the views of major shareholders he
facilitates both the contribution of the nonexecutive directors
and constructive relations between the executive directors
and nonexecutive directors 
the chairman together with the company secretary are
responsible for ensuring all directors are properly briefed on
issues arising at board meetings and that they have full and
timely access to relevant information 
the chairman is not deemed to be independent 
on 18 december 2009 it was announced that john matthews
will retire from the board with effect from 18 may 2010 the
date of the next annual general meeting and will be replaced
as chairman by douglas sutherland who joined the board 
in august 2008
the chief executive
mark dixon is responsible for formulating strategy and for its
delivery once agreed by the board he creates a framework 
of strategy values organisation and objectives to ensure the
successful delivery of key targets and allocates decision
making and responsibilities accordingly 
nonexecutive directors
the nonexecutive directors each bring their own senior level 
of experience and objectivity to the board the independent
counsel brought to the group by the nonexecutives
enhances the overall decision making of the board non
executives are appointed for an initial three year term subject
to election by shareholders at the ﬁrst annual general
meeting “agm” after their appointment 
on 18 december 2009 it was announced that martin
robinson senior independent nonexecutive director and
chairman of the remuneration committee will also retire
from the board with effect from 18 may 2010 the date of the
next agm the board will seek to appoint a new international
independent nonexecutive director in due course
company secretary 
the company secretary tim regan is responsible for
advising the board through the chairman on all governance
matters and for ensuring that appropriate minutes are taken
of all board meetings and discussions the appointment and
removal of the company secretary is a matter reserved for
the board for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 200927
board committees
the board has delegated certain of its governance
responsibilities to the audit nomination and remuneration
committees the company secretary acts as secretary 
to all of the board committees and minutes of meetings 
are circulated to all board members 
the terms of reference of the committees have been
documented and approved by the board and are available 
on the company’s website wwwreguscom a brief summary
of the members activities and terms of reference of the
committees is provided below 
audit committee
douglas sutherland chairman
martin robinson
ulrich ogiermann
lance browne 
the board has delegated the responsibility for applying 
an effective system of internal control and compliance
accurate external financial reporting fulfilling its obligations
under law and the combined code and managing the
relationship with the company’s external auditors to the
audit committee the committee consists entirely of non
executive directors
the audit committee meets at least three times a year at the
request of the chairman the external auditors the executive
directors the company secretary and the head of risk
management attend each meeting
summary terms of reference
• financial reporting – provide support to the board by
monitoring the integrity of and ensuring that the published
ﬁnancial statements of the group and any formal
announcements relating to the company’s ﬁnancial
performance comply fully with the relevant statutes 
and accounting standards 
• internal control and risk systems – review the 
effectiveness of the group’s internal controls and 
risk management systems
• internal audit – monitor and review the annual internal 
audit programme ensuring that the internal audit function 
is adequately resourced and free from management
restrictions review and monitor responses to the ﬁndings
and recommendations of the internal auditors 
• external audit – the audit committee advises the board 
on the appointment reappointment remuneration and
removal of the external auditors 
• employee concerns – the audit committee reviews the
company’s arrangements under which employees may 
in conﬁdence raise any concerns regarding possible
wrongdoing in ﬁnancial reporting or other matters 
the audit committee ensures that these arrangements
allow proportionate and independent investigation and
appropriate follow up action 
the audit committee also meets independently with the
company’s auditors and with the head of risk management
to informally discuss matters of interest
external auditors
kpmg audit sàrl were the company’s auditors for 
the year ended 31 december 2009 for 2010 the audit
committee has recommended to the board that a resolution
to reappoint kpmg audit sàrl as the company’s auditors
be proposed at the agm the audit committee will continue
to keep under review the independence and objectivity of the
external auditors the effectiveness of the audit process and
the rotation of the lead audit partner
the scope and extent of nonaudit work undertaken by 
the company’s external auditor is monitored by and above
certain thresholds requires prior approval from the audit
committee to ensure that the provision of nonaudit services
does not impair their independence or objectivity during 
the year kpmg performed due diligence work on certain
acquisitions kpmg is prohibited from providing services that
would be considered to jeopardise their independence such
as book keeping services valuations and system design 
remuneration committee
martin robinson chairman
lance browne
ulrich ogiermann
douglas sutherland
details of the remuneration committee are set out in the
remuneration report on pages 33 to 39 
nomination committee
john matthews chairman
martin robinson
lance browne
ulrich ogiermann
douglas sutherland
the committee meets as required during the year to consider
matters delegated to it under its terms of reference board
effectiveness performance and leadership were discussed
informally by the board as a whole 
summary terms of reference
• board appointment and composition – to regularly review
the structure size and composition of the board and make
recommendations on the role and nomination of directors
for appointment and reappointment to the board for the
purpose of ensuring a balanced board in respect of skills
knowledge and experience 
• board committees – to make recommendations to the
board in relation to the suitability of candidates for
membership of the audit and remuneration committees
the appointment and removal of directors are matters
reserved for the full board 
• board effectiveness – to assess the role of chairman and
chief executive and make appropriate recommendations 
to the board
• board performance – assist the chairman with the annual
performance evaluation to assess the overall and individual
performance and effectiveness of the board 
• leadership – to remain fully informed about strategic issues
and commercial matters affecting the company and to keep
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corporate governance continued
28wwwreguscom
under review the leadership needs of the organisation 
to enable it to compete effectively 
principal risks and uncertainties
there are a number of risks and uncertainties which could
have an impact on the group’s longterm performance the
group has a risk management structure in place designed to
identify manage and mitigate business risks risk assessment
and evaluation is an essential part of the annual planning
budgeting and forecasting cycle 
the directors have identiﬁed the following principal risks and
uncertainties affecting the company these do not constitute
all of the risks facing the group 
economic downturn in signiﬁcant markets
the group has a signiﬁcant proportion of its centres in the
americas predominantly the usa and europe an economic
downturn in these markets could adversely affect the group’s
operating revenues thereby reducing operating performance
or in an extreme downturn resulting in operating losses
generally the terms on which the group earns revenues 
from customers and pays its suppliers principally landlords
are matched to reduce working capital needs however 
a reduction in revenues with no immediate decline in the 
cost base could result in signiﬁcant funding shortfalls in 
the business any funding shortfall may require the group 
to seek external funding or sell assets in the longer term
in addition competition may increase as a result of landlords
offering surplus space at discounted prices and companies
seek to reduce their costs by subletting space these factors
could result in reduced revenue for the group as the prices it
is able to charge customers would be reduced 
the group has taken a number of actions to mitigate this risk
• the group has entered into performance based leases 
with landlords where rent costs vary with revenues earned
by the centre 
• building lease contracts include break clauses at periodic
intervals to allow the group to exit leases should they
become onerous in cities with a number of centres this
allows the group to stagger leases such that an orderly
reduction in exposure to the location may be facilitated 
• the proﬁle of clients in a centre is continually reviewed 
to avoid undue reliance on a particular client or clients 
in a particular industry group 
additionally in the event of a downturn the group has 
a number of options for mitigating losses for example 
by closing centres at lease break points 
the group’s strategy also focuses its growth into emerging
markets that will reduce the proportion of the group’s revenue
generated from the usa and europe over time and provide
better protection to the group from an economic downturn 
in a single market
exposure to movements in property markets
a number of the group’s lease contracts contain market rent
review clauses this means that the costs of these leases
may vary as a result of external movements in the property
market in particular in the uk lease contracts typically
contain ‘upward only’ rent reviews which means that should
open market rents decrease then regus could be exposed 
to paying higher than market rent in these locations 
if the group is unable to pass on increased rent costs to
customers due to local property market conditions then 
this could result in reduced proﬁtability or operating losses 
in these markets 
equally for group lease contracts without market rent review
clauses the group may beneﬁt from paying below market
rent in a market with increasing open market rents this may
allow the group to improve proﬁtability if the movements 
in open market rents are passed on to clients
the length of the group’s leases or the period after which 
the group can exercise any break option in the leases is
usually signiﬁcantly longer than the duration of the group’s
contracts with its customers if demand falls the group may
be unable to increase or maintain occupancy or price levels
and if revenue declines the group may be unable to reduce
the lease cost base additional costs could be incurred if the
group disposes of unproﬁtable centres 
changes in assumptions underlying the carrying value of 
certain group assets could result in impairment
regus completes a review of the carrying value of its assets
annually to assess whether those carrying values can be
supported by the net present value of future cash ﬂows derived
from such assets this review examines the continued
appropriateness of the assumptions in respect of which the
carrying values of certain of the group’s assets are based 
this includes an assessment of discount rates and long term
growth rates and timing and quantum of future capital
expenditure due to the group’s substantial carrying value of
goodwill under ifrs the revision of any of these assumptions 
to reﬂect current or anticipated changes in operations or the
ﬁnancial condition of the group could lead to an impairment 
in the carrying value of certain assets in the group while
impairment does not impact reported cash ﬂows it does result 
in a noncash charge in the consolidated income statement and
thus no assurance can be given that any future impairments
would not affect the company’s reported distributable reserves
and therefore its ability to make distributions to its shareholders
or repurchase its shares 
the group’s geographic expansion may increase exposure 
to unpredictable economic political and legal risks
political economic and legal systems in emerging markets
historically are less predictable than in countries with more
developed institutional structures as the group increasingly
enters into emerging markets the value of the group’s
investments may be adversely affected by political economic
and legal developments which are beyond the group’s control
exposure to movements in exchange rates
the group has signiﬁcant overseas operations whose
businesses are generally conducted in the currency of the
country in which they operate the principal exposures of the
group are to the us dollar and the euro with approximately
39 of the group’s revenues being attributable to the us
dollar and 19 to the euro respectively 
given that transactions generally take place in the functional
currency of group companies the group’s exposure to
transactional foreign exchange risk is limited however the for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 200929
translation into sterling of overseas proﬁts and net assets 
will be affected by prevailing exchange rates in the event that
either the us dollar or euro were to signiﬁcantly depreciate 
or appreciate against sterling this would have an adverse or
beneﬁcial impact to the group’s reported performance and
position respectively 
the ﬁnancial risk management objectives and policies of the
group together with an analysis of the exposure to such risks
are set out in note 23 of the accounts wherever possible 
the group attempts to create natural hedges against currency
exposures through matching income and expense and assets
and liabilities in the same currency 
given the continued volatility in exchange rates in january
2009 the board approved a policy which allows the group 
to hedge subject to strict limits the rates at which overseas
earnings are translated this will enable the group to have
more certainty over the sterling value of these earnings
group reorganisation and restructuring
in october 2008 the group entered into a group
reorganisation to create a new group structure
reorganisations of international groups can lead to a risk 
of a signiﬁcant tax liability in addition as a result of the
scheme it is expected that regus plc will be regarded as 
tax resident solely in luxembourg if regus plc were
nonetheless to be treated as tax resident in any other
jurisdiction this could lead to an increase in the overall
effective tax rate and tax compliance costs of the group
as a jerseyincorporated company having its place of central
administration head ofﬁce in luxembourg and being tax
resident in luxembourg regus plc is required to comply with
both jersey law and luxembourg law where applicable in
addition regus plc’s ordinary shares are listed on the ofﬁcial
list of the ukla and admitted to trading on the main market
of the london stock exchange it is possible that conﬂicts
may arise between the obligations of regus plc under the
laws of each of these jurisdictions or between the applicable
laws and the listing rules if an irreconcilable conﬂict were 
to occur then regus plc may not be able to maintain its
status as a company tax resident in luxembourg
the group manages the risk that a signiﬁcant tax liability
could arise by taking appropriate advice both in carrying out
the group reorganisation and on an ongoing basis in addition
the group believes that under current laws and regulations
the risk of irreconcilable conﬂicts between current laws and
regulations impacting regus plc is also low
as part of the group reorganisation the group announced
plans to operate an income access share “ias” arrangement
for the payment of dividends the group expects that
dividends will be paid to regus plc shareholders who make
or are deemed to make an ias election through the ias
arrangements however there can be no certainty that
dividends will be paid in this way and the ias arrangements
may be suspended or terminated at any time and for any
reason if the ias arrangements do no operate shareholders
will be paid dividends by regus plc which may be subject to
luxembourg withholding tax in addition there is a low risk
that share buybacks undertaken by regus plc could also be
subject to luxembourg withholding tax 
centrally managed applications systems and regional shared
service centres
the group has moved to a centrally managed applications and
systems environment with the resultant effect that all systems
and applications are housed in a central data centre should
the data centre and regional shared service centres be
impacted as a result of circumstances outside of the group’s
control there could be an adverse impact on the group’s
operations and therefore its ﬁnancial results this risk is
managed through a detailed service arrangement with our
external data centre provider which incorporates appropriate
backup procedures and controls
internal controls
the board has ultimate responsibility for maintaining 
a sound system of internal control and for periodically
reviewing its effectiveness 
in accordance with the guidance set out in the turnbull report
“internal control guidance for directors on the combined
code” an ongoing process has been established for
identifying managing and evaluating the risks faced by the
group the group’s system of internal controls is designed to
• facilitate the effective and efﬁcient response to risks which
might affect the achievement of the group’s objectives
• safeguard assets from inappropriate use or from loss or fraud
• help ensure the quality of internal and external 
ﬁnancial reporting
• help ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations
no system of internal control can provide absolute assurance
against material misstatement or loss the group’s system 
of controls helps to manage rather than eliminate the risk of
failure to achieve business objectives and can only provide
reasonable assurance that potential problems will normally 
be prevented or will be detected in a timely manner for
appropriate action
strategy and risk management
the board conducts regular reviews of the group’s strategic
direction country and regional strategic objectives quarterly
plans and performance targets for 2010 have been set by the
executive directors and are regularly reviewed by the main
board in the context of the group’s overall objectives 
there is an ongoing process for identifying evaluating and
managing the risks faced by the group major business risks
and their ﬁnancial implications are appraised by the responsible
executives as a part of the budget process and these are
endorsed by regional management key risks are reported to
the board and the audit committee the appropriateness of
controls is considered by the executives having regard to
costbeneﬁt materiality and the likelihood of risks crystallising
key risks and actions to mitigate those risks are regularly
considered by the board and are formally reviewed and
approved by the board annually 
control environment
high standards of behaviour are demanded from staff at all
levels in the group the following procedures are in place to
support this
• the induction process is used to educate new team
members on the standards required from them in their role
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corporate governance continued
30wwwreguscom
including business ethics and compliance regulations and
internal policies
• all team members are provided with a copy of the “team
member handbook” which contains detailed guidance on
employee policies and the standards of behaviour required
of staff
• policies and procedures manuals and guidelines are readily
accessible through the group’s intranet site
• operational audit and selfcertiﬁcation tools which require
individual centre managers to conﬁrm their adherence to
group policies and procedures 
to underpin the effectiveness of controls it is the 
group’s policy to recruit and develop appropriately skilled
management and staff of high calibre integrity and with
appropriate disciplines 
the group has also established an externally hosted 
whistleblowing channel to all staff to report issues and
concerns in conﬁdence 
control processes
the company has had procedures in place throughout the
year and up to 22 march 2010 the date of approval of this
annual report which accord with the internal control
guidance for directors on the combined code these 
include the following
• the board normally meets with regional executives every 
six months to carry out a wideranging review of group and
regional ﬁnancial performance business development
opportunities group infrastructure and general group
management issues 
• the annual budget process is driven from senior
management meetings budgets are prepared at a detailed
level by business centre and rollup at a country and
regional level the executive directors review regional
budgets to ensure consistency with regional strategic
objectives and the ﬁnal budget is reviewed and approved
by the board the approved budget forms the basis of
business management throughout the year 
• operational reports and ﬁnancial reports are prepared and
distributed to the board on a monthly basis actual results
are reviewed against budget and forecast and explanations
are received for all material movements 
• key policies and control procedures including ﬁnance
operations and health and safety are documented in
manuals having groupwide application these are available
to all staff on the group’s intranet system
• the board has formal procedures in place for the review
and approval of investment and acquisition projects the
group investment committee comprising the executive
directors review all investments prior to approval by the
board additionally the form and content of investment
proposals is standardised to facilitate the review process 
• the group has clearly delegated authority limits with regard
to the approval of transactions purchase orders must be
obtained in advance for all purchases 
• numerous reports are generated from the group’s sales and
operating systems on a daily weekly and monthly basis to
provide management at all levels with performance data for
their area of responsibility which helps them to focus 
on operational issues that may require their input 
information and communications processes
the senior management team are integrally involved in the
business and to this extent regularly discuss and address
issues and opportunities with regional and functional teams
formal business review meetings chaired by mark dixon 
are held with the regional teams and functional heads on 
a monthly basis
regular staff communications include general information on
the business from senior management as well as operational
guidance on changes in policies and procedures 
sales staff and operational management periodically attend
regional sales or management conferences at which information
on operational issues is shared delegates present the key
messages to employees who did not attend the event 
monitoring effectiveness
the following key mechanisms were available to the board 
at various times during the year in the conduct of its review 
of internal controls
• review of the group’s monthly management accounts which
contain detailed analysis of ﬁnancial performance for the group
and each of the group’s geographic reporting segments 
• an ongoing process of review through board meetings senior
management meetings and divisional reviews as well as other
management meetings for the formal identiﬁcation of
signiﬁcant operational risks and mitigating control processes 
• internal audit reviews of key risk areas the ﬁndings and
recommendations of each review are reported to
management and the audit committee
• quarterly postinvestment reviews are presented to the
audit committee to allow appraisal of the effectiveness 
of investment activity 
• a biannual internal control selfassessment and
management certiﬁcation exercise covering the
effectiveness of ﬁnancial and operational controls this is
based on a comprehensive internal control questionnaire
collated and reviewed by internal audit results and any
necessary mitigating action plans are presented to senior
management and the audit committee
other matters
board performance evaluation
a formal evaluation of the performance of the board its
committees and individual directors is carried out annually by
means of detailed online questionnaires developed internally
using the linstock board review service the aim is to ensure
continuous improvement in the functioning of the board
the 2009 evaluation results were presented to the board
during december 2009 and were subsequently reviewed by
the nomination committee taking into account the views of
the executive directors the senior independent non
executive director reviewed the chairman’s performance 
arising from the review carried out in 2009 the board has
agreed to ongoing development in the following areas
• strategy planning at board level and
• submission of information to the board  for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 200931
training and resources 
appropriate training is made available for all new directors to
assist them in the discharge of their responsibilities training
is provided on an ongoing basis to meet particular needs with
the emphasis on governance and accounting developments 
during the year the company secretary tim regan provided
updates to the board on relevant governance matters whilst
the audit committee regularly considers new accounting
developments through presentations from management
internal audit and the external auditors the board
programme includes presentations from management 
which together with site visits increases the nonexecutive
directors understanding of the business and sector 
all directors have access to the advice and services of the
company secretary who is responsible for ensuring that board
procedures corporate governance and regulatory compliance
are followed and complied with should a director request
independent professional advice to carry out his duties such
advice is available to him at the company’s expense
directors and ofﬁcers insurance
the group’s insurance programme is reviewed annually 
and appropriate insurance cover is obtained to protect the
directors and senior management in the event of a claim
being brought against any of them in their capacity as
directors and ofﬁcers of the company
dialogue with shareholders 
regus reports formally to shareholders twice a year with 
the interim results announced in augustseptember and 
the preliminary ﬁnal results announced normally in march
there are programmes for the chief executive and chief
financial ofﬁcer to give presentations of these results to 
the company’s institutional investors analysts and media in
london and other locations the chief executive and chief
financial ofﬁcer maintain a close dialogue with institutional
investors on the company’s performance governance plans
and objectives these meetings also serve to develop an
ongoing understanding of the views and any concerns of the
company’s major shareholders the nonexecutive directors
are given regular updates as to the views of the institutional
shareholders and the chairman is available to meet with
these shareholders on request the principal communication
with private shareholders is through the annual report the
interim report and the agm
the company has engaged the services of brunswick group
plc as their investor relations adviser 
agm
the agm will be held in may in luxembourg and will be
attended other than in exceptional circumstances by all
members of the board in addition to the formal business 
of the meeting there is normally a trading update and
shareholders are invited to ask questions and are given 
the opportunity to meet the directors informally afterwards 
notice of the agm together with any related documents are
mailed to shareholders at least 20 working days before the
meeting and separate resolutions are proposed on each
issue the level of proxy votes cast and the balance for and
against each resolution together with the level of abstentions
if any are announced to the meeting following voting by a
show of hands substantial resolutions of the shareholders
require a poll to be taken
financial and other information is made available on the
company’s website wwwreguscom
reelection of the board 
all directors submit themselves for reelection by shareholders
at least every three years and directors appointed during the
period are required to seek reelection at the next agm
nonexecutive directors are subject to the reelection
requirements and serve the company under letters of
appointment which have an initial threeyear term
compliance statement
the company has complied with the provisions set out in
section 1 of the combined code throughout the year ended
31 december 2009 with the exception of the following
• provision d11 – the senior independent nonexecutive
director martin robinson does not have regular meetings
with major external shareholders 
the board considers it appropriate for the chairman to 
be the main conduit with investors rather than the senior
independent nonexecutive director the chairman
participates in investor meetings and makes himself available
for questions in person at the time of major announcements
the chairman regularly updates the board and particularly
the senior independent nonexecutive director on the results
of his meetings and the opinions of investors on this basis
regus considers that the senior independent nonexecutive
director is able to gain full awareness of the issues and
concerns of major shareholders notwithstanding this policy
all directors have a standing invitation to participate in
meetings with investors
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information directors’ report corporate governance
director statements
32wwwreguscom
statement of directors responsibilities 
in respect of the annual report and 
ﬁnancial statements
the directors are responsible for preparing the annual report
and the group and parent company ﬁnancial statements in
accordance with applicable law and regulations 
company law requires the directors to prepare group and
parent company ﬁnancial statements for each ﬁnancial year
under that law they are required to prepare the group
ﬁnancial statements in accordance with ifrss as adopted 
by the eu and applicable law and have elected to prepare 
the parent company ﬁnancial statements in accordance with
luxembourg generally accepted accounting practice and
applicable law 
under company law the directors must not approve the
ﬁnancial statements unless they are satisﬁed that they give 
a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the group and
company and their proﬁt or loss for the period 
in preparing each of the group and parent company ﬁnancial
statements the directors are required to 
• select suitable accounting policies and then apply 
them consistently
• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable 
and prudent
• for the group ﬁnancial statements state whether they have
been prepared in accordance with ifrss as adopted by 
the eu
• for the parent company ﬁnancial statements state whether
applicable luxembourg accounting standards have been
followed subject to any material departures disclosed and
explained in the parent company ﬁnancial statements and
• prepare the ﬁnancial statements on the going concern basis
unless it is inappropriate to presume that the parent
company and group will continue in business
the directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting
records that are sufﬁcient to show and explain the companies’
transactions and which disclose with reasonable accuracy at
any time the ﬁnancial position of the parent company and to
enable them to ensure that its ﬁnancial statements comply
with applicable law and regulations they have general
responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open 
to them to safeguard the assets of the group and to prevent
and detect fraud and other irregularities 
under applicable law and regulations the directors are also
responsible for preparing a directors’ report a remuneration
report and corporate governance statement that comply
with that law and those regulations
the directors are responsible for the maintenance and
integrity of the corporate and ﬁnancial information included
on the company’s website the legislation in the uk
governing the preparation and dissemination of ﬁnancial
statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions 
statutory statement as to disclosure
to auditors
the directors who held ofﬁce at the date of approval of this
directors’ report conﬁrm that
• so far as they are aware there is no relevant audit
information of which the company’s auditor is unaware and
• each director has taken all the steps that he ought to have
taken as a director in order to make himself aware of any
relevant audit information and to establish that the
company’s auditor is aware of that information
these annual accounts have been approved by the directors
of regus plc the directors conﬁrm that the annual accounts
have been prepared in accordance with applicable law and
regulations and that they include a fair review of the
development and performance of the business and the position
of the parent company and the undertakings included in the
consolidation taken as a whole together with a description 
of the principal risks and uncertainties that they face
we the directors of the company conﬁrm that to the best 
of our knowledge
• the ﬁnancial statements prepared in accordance with the
applicable set of accounting standards give a true and fair
view of the assets liabilities ﬁnancial position and proﬁt or
loss of the company and the undertakings included in the
consolidation as a whole and
• the directors’ report including content contained by
reference includes a fair review of the development and
performance of the business and the position of the issuer
and the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as 
a whole together with a description of the principal risks 
and uncertainties that they face 
by order of the board
mark dixon stephen gleadle
chief executive ofﬁcer chief financial ofﬁcer for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 200933
the report has been prepared by the remuneration committee
the “committee” of regus plc société anonyme the
“company” and approved by the company’s board of
directors the “board” in preparing the report the committee
has voluntarily complied with the relevant requirements of 
the uk companies act 2006 as required by the large and
mediumsized companies and groups accounts  reports
regulations 2008 the “regulations” this report will be
subject to an advisory shareholder vote at the annual general
meeting “agm” the report is intended to be in full compliance
with the requirements of the regulations and the combined
code on corporate governance 
this report sets out the company’s policy on directors’
remuneration for the forthcoming year as well as information
on remuneration paid to directors during the year
information relating to the emoluments and pension contributions
to the directors directors’ interests in the company’s shares and
under employee share plans is unaudited 
unaudited information
membership and responsibilities of the committee 
the committee is made up of nonexecutive directors and
chaired by martin robinson the company’s senior
independent nonexecutive director during the year the
members of the committee were
• martin robinson
• lance browne
• ulrich ogiermann 
• douglas sutherland 
the committee met seven times during the year
the committee has responsibility for determining in
consultation with the chairman andor chief executive as
appropriate the total remuneration package of each executive
director and senior manager including bonuses incentive
payments and share options or other share awards
the board has delegated to the committee responsibility to
• determine and agree with the board the remuneration policy
for the executive directors and other senior management
positions within the regus group the “group” and
• approve the design of and determine targets for any
performance related pay schemes operated by the
company and approve the total annual payments made
under such schemes 
the committee received advice on executive remuneration
from cjw remuneration consultants “cjw” an external
consultancy which has wide experience of executive
remuneration in uk listed companies cjw has no other
connection with the company 
directors are not permitted under the company’s articles 
of association to vote on their own terms and conditions 
of remuneration 
the committee’s terms of reference are available on the
company’s website wwwreguscom the members of the
committee attend the company’s annual general meeting
and are available to answer shareholders’ questions about
directors’ remuneration 
compliance with the best practice provisions
in accordance with the board’s commitment to maintaining
high standards of corporate governance the committee has
complied with all remuneration related aspects of the code
during the year 
remuneration policy 
the principal objectives of the committee’s remuneration
policy are
• to focus on rewarding exceptional pay for exceptional
performance executives should be focused on delivering
exceptional returns to shareholders over both the short 
and long term and be given the opportunity to receive
exceptional levels of reward if such performance is
delivered conversely if returns are conservative
compensation levels should be extremely conservative 
• to provide remuneration packages that will attract retain
and motivate people of the highest calibre and experience
needed to shape and execute the company’s strategy and
to deliver exceptional shareholder value 
the guiding principles which the committee has regard to
and balances as far as practicable in determining policy and
objectives for 2009 and future years are
• to maintain a competitive package of total compensation
commensurate with comparable packages available with
similar companies operating in similar markets the
“comparator group”
• to make a signiﬁcant percentage of potential maximum
reward conditional on short and longterm performance
• to ensure that the interests of the executives are closely
aligned with those of the company’s shareholders through
the provision of share based incentives
• to link reward to the satisfaction of targeted objectives
which are the main drivers of shareholder value and
• to be sensitive in determining executive directors’
remuneration to pay and employment conditions 
throughout the group
in order to achieve the above policy and in light of market
conditions the monthly living allowance provided to the 
chief executive ofﬁcer was terminated in september 2009
all other ﬁxed elements of the executives’ compensation
package for 2009 remained unchanged from 2008 
this ensured a greater weighting towards variable
remuneration with the opportunity for total compensation
packages to be in the upper quartile within the comparator
group dependent upon the degree to which the associated
stringent performance conditions attached to the short and
long term incentive schemes had been satisﬁed
remuneration report
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information directors’ report corporate governance
remuneration report continued
34wwwreguscom
the table below illustrates the balance between ﬁxed and
performance related variable compensation for each
executive director for the year ended 31 december 2009
mark stephen 
dixon gleadle
chief executive chief financial 
ofﬁcer ofﬁcer
 
fixed 379 370
variable 621 630
fixed compensation comprises salary beneﬁts and pension
contributions variable compensation only comprises the 
total fair value of share awards granted in the year as no
annual cash bonus was payable in relation to the year ended
31 december 2009 
the main elements of the packages and the performance
conditions are described below 
nonexecutive directors are remunerated with fees set at
levels that are sufﬁcient to attract and retain their services 
and are in line with market rates the nonexecutive directors
do not receive any pension or other beneﬁts other than
appropriate expenses nor do they participate in any bonus 
or share option schemes
service contracts
details of contracts currently in place for directors are as follows
notice period
and maximum
effective provision for 
date of contract term compensation
executive
mark dixon 141008 – 12 months
stephen gleadle 141008 – 12 months
nonexecutive
john matthews 270808 3 yrs 6 months
lance browne 270808 3 yrs 6 months
ulrich ogiermann 270808 3 yrs 6 months
martin robinson 270808 3 yrs 6 months
douglas sutherland 270808 3 yrs 6 months
remuneration packages 
the remuneration for executive directors during the year
comprised a basic salary a beneﬁt package and participation
in the company’s share incentive arrangement the regus plc
coinvestment plan 
basic salary and beneﬁts 
the basic salaries of executive directors are reviewed
annually and any increases are effective from 1 january
in light of current market conditions salaries for the 
chief executive ofﬁcer and chief financial ofﬁcer during
2010 will be unchanged from 2009 being £522750 and
£300000 respectively 
beneﬁts comprise a company car or allowance fuel private
medical insurance and a disturbance allowance the chief
executive’s living allowance having ceased in september 2009
annual bonus scheme
the committee believes ﬁrmly in the ﬁnancial effectiveness 
of short term incentives accordingly incentive schemes are
widely used across the business
the committee sets bonus targets and eligibility each year 
the maximum bonus potential for the executive directors 
for the year ending 31 december 2009 was 200 of salary
consisting of a standard bonus and a discretionary bonus for
exceptional performance
the committee has determined that due to current market
conditions neither the ﬁnancial measures and targets relating 
to the standard bonus nor the exceptional level of performance
required for the discretionary bonus were achieved as such 
no bonuses will be paid 
for the year ending 31 december 2010 in consideration of
current market conditions the committee has decided that the
standard bonus will remain at a maximum of 100 of salary
linked to the achievement of stretching short term ﬁnancial and
individual performance targets while the maximum discretional
element for exceptional outperformance will remain capped at
an additional 100 the discretionary bonus will be based on
a selfﬁnancing bonus “pool” system deﬁned by reference to a
percentage of operating proﬁts in excess of external forecasts
based on a consensus of analysts’ estimates it is the intention
that the discretionary element of the bonus if any will be paid
half in cash and half deferred for a period of up to three years
and paid in the form of ordinary shares in the company 
bonuses are nonpensionable 
nonexecutive directors do not receive a bonus 
pension beneﬁts
the executive directors participate in the company’s money
purchase personal pension scheme the company matches
contributions up to a maximum of 70 of basic salary the
committee considers that the pension beneﬁts of the executive
directors are low compared with comparative companies but
prefers to offer enhanced variable compensation rather than 
a ﬁxed additional pension contribution
the group does not operate a deﬁned beneﬁt pension
scheme and has no plans to introduce such a scheme
long term incentives
overview
the company operates three long term incentive plans the
regus plc coinvestment plan “cip” the regus plc share
option scheme and the regus plc 2008 value creation plan
the “vcp” 
coinvestment plan 
there are two elements to the cip
the ﬁrst element operates in conjunction with the annual
bonus whereby a gross bonus of up to 50 of salary will be
taken as a deferred amount of shares “investment shares”
to be released at the end of a deﬁned period of not less than
three years with the balance paid in cash 
awards of matching shares are linked to the number of
investment shares awarded and will vest depending on the
company’s future performance see overleaf matching
shares are awarded at no cost to the participants for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 200935
the maximum number of matching shares which can be
awarded to a participant in any calendar year under the cip 
is 200 of salary as such the maximum number of matching
shares which can be awarded based on investment shares
awarded is in the ratio of 41 
grants during the year ending 31 december 2009
mark stephen 
dixon gleadle
cip award face value 
age of salary 200 200
fair value of cip award £765688 £439419
fair value of cip award 
as a age of salary 146 146
 the fair value was calculated by taking the face value of the shares on the date 
of award and adjusting this value by the historic probability of performance
conditions being satisﬁed at this date in accordance with the principles of ifrs 2
as indicated in last year’s remuneration report the
committee felt it inappropriate to set speciﬁc performance
conditions for matching shares awarded in march 2008 and
march 2009 details of awards to executive directors are set
out on pages 71 and 72  but were committed to carrying out
a thorough review of the matter during 2009 following
external advice and discussions with the main institutional
shareholder committees it has been agreed that the following
conditions will apply to these awards
• the total number of matching shares under the awards
made to each participant in 2008 and 2009 will be divided
into three separate equal amounts and will be subject to
future performance periods of three four and ﬁve years
respectively thus conditional on meeting the performance
targets the ﬁrst amount will not vest until march 2013 the
second will not vest until march 2014 and the third will not
vest until march 2015 subject to scaled down provisions for
“good leavers” these vesting dates relate to the ﬁnancial
years ending on 31 december 2012 31 december 2013
and 31 december 2014 respectively
• the vesting of these awards will be subject to the
achievement of challenging corporate performance
conditions 75 of each of the three amounts will be
subject to deﬁned earnings per share “eps” targets over
the respective performance periods the remaining 25 
of each will be subject to relative total shareholder return
“tsr” targets over the respective performance periods
the eps and tsr targets will be measured independently 
of each other details of the targets are as follows
eps targets 75 of each award
vesting scale eps targets years ending
2012 2013 2014
25 15p 17p 18p
50 16p 20p 22p 
75 17p 23p 26p
100 18p 26p 30p
notes 
a these targets represent approximate growth in eps in the range of 270 –
550 compared to the eps of 55p for the 2009 base year
bnone of these shares will vest in the respective year shown above unless the
minimum eps target for that year is achieved
c as in previous years the adjusted eps is derived from basic eps adjusted 
to take into account factors such as
• a growth company such as regus costs are necessarily
incurred in one year to drive proﬁts in future years as
such it is important to ensure management is not
encouraged to cut back on these investments to meet 
eps targets in any one year accordingly any such costs
incurred in the potential vesting year will be excluded 
from the eps calculation
• any oneoff exceptional costs will also be excluded
the committee will retain the discretion to take into account
other factors in its determination of adjusted eps however
when exercising its discretion the committee will ensure that
any such adjustments are made to reﬂect the underlying real
earnings of the company and not for the beneﬁt of
participants in the cip including the executive directors
tsr targets 25 of each award
regus tsr  achieved relative to  of shares
ftse all share total return index vesting
100 nil
above 100 but below 101 25
for each complete 1 above 100  075
200 or above 100
 over three years’ performance 
note the all share index was considered the most appropriate relative 
measure there being no obvious comparator group or sector that relates 
to the company’s business
• the awards of matching shares made in march 2007
normal vesting date march 2010 failed to meet the 
related performance conditions and therefore lapse 
but the associated investment shares will be released 
to participants subject to any tax liabilities in accordance
with the rules of the cip details of awards to executive
directors are set out on pages 71 and 72
• no investment shares or matching shares are being
awarded in march 2010
the second element of the cip provides for the committee to
make stand alone long term incentive awards “ltips” without
reference to annual bonus up to a maximum of 100 of
salary per calendar year an ltip is a conditional right over a
speciﬁed number of shares with the release being dependent
on the extent to which if at all the challenging performance
conditions set by the committee at the time of the ltip award
are satisﬁed having taken external advice and discussed the
matter with the main institutional shareholder committees 
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information directors’ report corporate governance
remuneration report continued
36wwwreguscom
the committee against the background of the exceptionally
difﬁcult economic conditions during 2009 decided that it is
appropriate to make ltip awards to the executive directors 
of up to 100 of salary in march 2010 however the
performance conditions will mirror those set for the
outstanding 2008 and 2009 matching awards over a three
year performance period normal vesting date march 2013
therefore as follows
eps targets 75 of each award
vesting scale eps target for year ending 2012
25 15p
50 16p
75 17p
100 18p
notes 
a the target represents approximate growth in eps in the range of 270 – 330
compared to the eps of 55p for the 2009 base year
bno shares will vest unless the minimum eps target shown above is achieved
c as per note c on page 35
tsr targets 25 of each award
regus tsr  achieved relative  of shares 
to ftse all share total return index vesting
100 nil
above 100 but below 101 25
for each complete 1 above 100  075
200 or above 100
 over three years’ performance 
note the all share index was considered the most appropriate relative 
measure there being no obvious comparator group or sector that relates 
to the company’s business
share option scheme 
the options granted to executive directors prior to the
introduction of the cip are set out below the company
continues to grant options on an ad hoc basis to certain 
nonparticipants of the cip 
regus plc 2008 value creation plan the “vcp” 
the vcp was introduced in 2008 with the objective of
delivering exceptional rewards to participants provided
absolute returns to shareholders are exceptional 
the vcp operates over a 5 year period from may 2008 to
march 2013 participants in the vcp are granted entitlements
“vcp entitlements” to receive a maximum number of shares
which shall be earned by the conversion of the vcp
entitlements into an option or series of options the “vcp
options” which may be granted on certain dates the
“measurement dates” based on the company’s share price
performance the exercise price for vcp options will be the
closing share price on the date of the company’s 2008 agm
vcp entitlements granted in 2008
mark stephen 
dixon gleadle
number of shares subject 
to vcp entitlement 3500000 3000000
 vcp entitlements hold no value
the share price of the company will be calculated at each
measurement date the ﬁrst of which is 31st march 2010 and
compared against a matrix of extremely stretching ﬁxed share
price targets to determine the number of shares subject to 
the vcp entitlement which a vcp option will be granted over
if a lower share price target is achieved a vcp option shall be
granted over a lesser number of shares with the ability for the
balance to be received at a subsequent measurement date
subject to relevant share price targets being achieved
the share price targets for the vcp entitlements granted in
2008 are as set out in the following table
measurement date
310310 310311 310312 310313
shares awarded less shares already awarded
share price is less than £260 –– – –
share price is more than 
£260 but less than £350 25m 18m 12m 06m
share price is more than 
£350 but less than £450 35m 25m 18m 12m
share price is £450 or more – 35m 25m 18m
total shareholder return tsr
the above graph shows the company’s performance
measured by tsr for the group compared with the
performance of the ftse 250 index and the all share index
the committee consider the ftse 250 index relevant since 
it is an index of companies of similar size to the company as
detailed earlier in the report the company considers its tsr
performance for share awards under the cip in comparison 
to that of the all share index
external appointments
as at 31 december 2009 the executive directors did not hold
any external positions for which they received fees executive
directors are permitted to accept appointments on external
boards or committees so long as these are not deemed to
interfere with the business of the group any fees received 
in respect of these appointments would be retained directly
by the relevant executive director 
0
30
60
90
120
150
dec 09 dec 08 dec 07 dec 06 dec 05 dec 04 dec 00
regus ftse all share ftse 250 index for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 200937
directors’ emoluments
the aggregate emoluments excluding pensions of the directors were as follows
2009
compensation 
for loss 
salary fees beneﬁts of ofﬁce bonus total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
chairman
john matthews
a
1379 731 2110
executive
mark dixon 5228 – 682 – 5910
stephen gleadle 3000 – 264 – 3264
nonexecutive 
martin robinson
c
23 572 595
lance browne
d
475 475
ulrich ogiermann
e
400 400
douglas sutherland
f
460 460
8228 2737 946 1303 – 13214
2008
compensation
for loss 
salary fees beneﬁts of ofﬁce bonus total 
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
chairman
john matthews
a
2372 2372
executive
mark dixon 5228 – 1017 4495 10740
rudy lobo
g
2206 – 113 1897 4216
stephen gleadle
b
3000 – 190 2880 6070
nonexecutive 
martin robinson
c
476 476
lance browne
d
164 164
ulrich ogiermann 138 138
douglas sutherland
f
159 159
roger orf
g
410 410
stephen east
g
395 395
10434 4114 1320 9272 25140
a for 2009 john matthews agreed to serve on a reduced fee of £114000 for acting as the group’s chairman following his decision to retire as chairman announced 
on 14 december 2009 he received his full fee from that date together with the amount by which his fee had been reduced during 2009 this reﬂected a basic fee of
£190000 with an additional fee of £6000 in his capacity as chairman of the nomination committee and a disturbance allowance of £15000 in 2008 his fee included 
a fee of £36000 in relation to the additional work on the group reorganisation and scheme of arrangement and a disturbance allowance effective from 27 august 2008
of £5178 the fee relates to serving as chairman of both regus group plc until 14 october 2008 and regus plc société anonyme from 27 august 2008
bthe remuneration for stephen gleadle included in 2008 a bonus of £30000 in relation to the group reorganisation and scheme of arrangement and a disturbance
allowance effective from 27 august 2008 of £2589 was paid
c for 2009 martin robinson agreed to take no fees for acting as the group’s senior nonexecutive director and chairman of the remuneration committee following
his decision to retire from the board announced on 14 december 2009 he received his full fee from that date together with the amount by which his fee had been
reduced during 2009 this reﬂected a basic fee of £40000 with an additional fee of £12000 in his capacity as senior nonexecutive director and chairman of the
remuneration committee a disturbance allowance of £7500 was also paid in 2008 the remuneration included a basic fee of £40000 with an additional fee of
£4142 in his capacity as senior nonexecutive director and chairman of the remuneration committee effective from 27 august 2008 his fee also included a
disturbance allowance effective from 27 august 2008 of £2589 the fee relates to serving as a nonexecutive director of both regus group plc until 14 october
2008 and regus plc société anonyme from 27 august 2008
dthe remuneration for lance browne includes an annualised basic fee of £40000 and a disturbance allowance of £7500 the fee for 2008 relates to serving as 
a nonexecutive director of regus plc société anonyme for the period from 27 august 2008 on a pro rata basis
e the remuneration for ulrich ogiermann includes an annualised basic fee of £40000 the fee for 2008 relates to serving as a nonexecutive director of regus plc
société anonyme for the period from 27 august 2008 on a pro rata basis
f the remuneration for douglas sutherland includes a basic fee of £40000 with an additional fee of £6000 in his capacity as chairman of the audit committee 
the fee for 2008 relates to serving as a nonexecutive director of regus plc société anonyme for the period from 27 august 2008 on a pro rata basis
g the remuneration for 2008 only includes the remuneration paid during the year in the capacity as directors of regus group plc until 14 october 2008
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information directors’ report corporate governance
remuneration report continued
38wwwreguscom
mark dixon was the highest paid director in both 2009 and 2008 beneﬁts include car and fuel allowance medical insurance and life
assurance and for stephen gleadle a disturbance allowance up to 1 september 2009 mark dixon also received a living allowance
2009 £66667 2008 £100000
pension contributions
£’000 2009 2008
mark dixon 366 366
rudy lobo until 14 october 2008 – 154
stephen gleadle 210 210
576 730
directors’ share interests 
the following directors held beneﬁcial interests in the share capital of the company at 31 december 2008 31 december 2009
and 22 march 2010
22 march 2010 31 december 2009 31 december 2008
ordinary shares of 1p ordinary shares of 1p ordinary shares of 1p 
executive
mark dixon
a
320141288 320141288 359058783
rudy lobo
b
na na na
stephen gleadle 121500 121500 121500
nonexecutive
john matthews 1031082 961397
roger orf
b
na na na
martin robinson 215978 190509
stephen east
b
na na na
lance browne ––
ulrich ogiermann 17146 –
douglas sutherland 350000 150000
a the interests of mark dixon are held indirectly through estorn limited an entity in which mark dixon controls 100 of the share capital mark dixon’s maximum
potential controlling position as at 22 march 2010 assuming conversion or exercise of all options and subscription rights held by him and which are the subject of
rule 9 waivers granted by the panel on takeovers and mergers and approved by independent shareholders is 326325451 ordinary shares no issues of new regus
securities have been made to mr dixon since the company’s last annual general meeting held on 18 may 2009 mr dixon’s maximum potential controlling position is
lower than the ﬁgure disclosed in the circular relating to the company’s annual general meeting held on 18 may 2009 being 361325451 ordinary shares as a result
of the sale of 35000000 ordinary shares by estorn on behalf of mr dixon on 15 september 2009 
bresigned 14 october 2008
directors’ share options
as at 22 march 2010 the beneﬁcial interest of the directors in options granted under the regus plc share option plan are
shown below 
interest in 
options and date expiry date
awards over exercise from which of grant
director grant date ordinary shares price p exercisable or award 
mark dixon 080904 1708108 6475 080907 080914
all options were granted at the then prevailing market price there have been no movements in the year all the options vested
and became exercisable in september 2007 for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 200939
directors’ interests under the long term incentive plan “ltip”
details of awards over ordinary shares in the company granted to the directors under the ltip  as nil cost options are as follows
ltip
awards awards at 31 
at 1 january lapsed awards december 
2009 march 2009 march 2009 exercised 2009
mark dixon 337398 269918 67480 269918 –
stephen gleadle 325203 260162 65041 – 260162
 exercised 23 march 2009 – market price 6625 pence
80 of the ltip awards granted on 3 november 2005 vested in march 2009 and 20 lapsed as a result of the failure 
to fully attain the related performance conditions attaching to the awards the entitlement to the 2005 ltip awards was 
subject to the achievement of performance conditions over a three year period as detailed in the 2008 remuneration report
the performance period for the ltip awards was 3 november 2005 to 31 december 2008
no ltip awards were granted during the year 
directors’ interests under the cip
details of awards over ordinary shares in the company granted to the directors under the cip  all for nil consideration 
are as follows
cip
awards awards
released awards awards made at 31
at 1 january march lapsed exercised march december
2009 2009 2009 2009 2009
investment shares
mark dixon 689639 193473 – 193473 399045 895211
stephen gleadle 243111 –– – 229007 472118
matching shares
mark dixon 2758556 619114 872362 619114 1596180 2863260
stephen gleadle 972444 – 351328 – 916028 1537144
 exercised 23 march 2009 – market price 6625 pence
during the year the cip investment shares awarded in march 2006 were released in addition 80 of the cip matching
shares awarded in 2006 vested and 20 lapsed as a result of a failure to fully attain the related performance conditions
attaching to the awards this was detailed in the 2008 remuneration report all of the matching shares awarded in march
2007 normal vesting date march 2010 failed to meet the related performance conditions and therefore lapsed 
the performance period for the cip matching share awards granted in 2009 are set out in the cip section on page 35 
the entitlement to matching shares under the cip is subject to achieving the performance conditions referred to in the 
cip section on page 35
the market price of the company’s ordinary shares at 31 december 2009 was 915p and the range during the year was 
450p to 1193p
none of the directors had a beneﬁcial interest in any contract of any signiﬁcance in relation to the business of the company 
or its subsidiaries at any time during the ﬁnancial year
annual resolution
shareholders will be given the opportunity to approve the remuneration report at the agm on 18 may 2010
audit requirement 
under luxembourg law and regulations there is no requirement for the sections on directors’ remuneration shareholdings and
pension beneﬁts on pages 37 to 39 inclusive to be audited therefore all sections of the remuneration report are unaudited
on behalf of the board
martin robinson 
chairman
remuneration committee 
22 march 2010
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information directors’ report corporate governance
auditor’s report
40wwwreguscom
to the shareholders of 
regus plc sa
26 boulevard royal
l2449 luxembourg
report of the réviseurs d’entreprises on the consolidated
ﬁnancial statements
we have audited the consolidated ﬁnancial statements of
regus plc sa which comprise the consolidated balance
sheet as at december 31 2009 and the consolidated income
statement consolidated statement of changes in equity and
consolidated cash ﬂow statement for the year then ended
and a summary of signiﬁcant accounting policies and other
explanatory notes as set out on pages 41 to 84
board of directors’ responsibility for the consolidated 
ﬁnancial statements
the board of directors is responsible for the preparation and
fair presentation of these consolidated ﬁnancial statements in
accordance with international financial reporting standards
as adopted by the european union this responsibility
includes designing implementing and maintaining internal
control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of
consolidated ﬁnancial statements that are free from material
misstatement whether due to fraud or error selecting and
applying appropriate accounting policies and making
accounting estimates that are reasonable in the circumstances
responsibility of the réviseur d’entreprises
our responsibility is to express an opinion on these
consolidated ﬁnancial statements based on our audit 
we conducted our audit in accordance with international
standards on auditing as adopted by the institut des réviseurs
d’entreprises those standards require that we comply with
ethical requirements and plan and perform the audit to obtain
reasonable assurance whether the consolidated ﬁnancial
statements are free from material misstatement
an audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit
evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the
consolidated ﬁnancial statements the procedures selected
depend on the judgement of the réviseur d’entreprises
including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement
of the consolidated ﬁnancial statements whether due to 
fraud or error in making those risk assessments the réviseur
d’entreprises considers internal control relevant to the entity’s
preparation and fair presentation of the consolidated ﬁnancial
statements in order to design audit procedures that are
appropriate in the circumstances but not for the purpose 
of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s
internal control an audit also includes evaluating the
appropriateness of accounting policies used and the
reasonableness of accounting estimates made by the board 
of directors as well as evaluating the overall presentation 
of the consolidated ﬁnancial statements 
we believe that the audit evidence we have obtained 
is sufﬁcient and appropriate to provide a basis for our 
audit opinion
opinion
in our opinion the consolidated ﬁnancial statements 
set out on pages 41 to 84 give a true and fair view 
of the consolidated ﬁnancial position of regus plc sa 
as of december 31 2009 and of its consolidated ﬁnancial
performance and its consolidated cash ﬂows for the year 
then ended in accordance with international financial
reporting standards as adopted by the european union
report on other legal and regulatory requirements 
the consolidated directors’ report which is the responsibility
of the board of directors is consistent with the consolidated
ﬁnancial statements 
luxembourg 22 march 2010
kpmg audit sà rl
réviseurs d’entreprises
thierry ravasio consolidated income statement 
 
regus plc annual report and accounts 200941
financial statements 
financial statements shareholder information corporate governance business review 
 
 
year ended
31 dec 2009
year ended
31 dec 2008
 
notes 
total
£m
total
£m
revenue 3  10551 10772 
cost of sales  8195 7715
gross profit centre contribution  2356 3057 
administration expenses including exceptional restructuring  
and reorganisation costs of £26m 2008 £48m  1679 1583
operating profit before exceptional income 5  677 1474 
exceptional net income from legal settlement 6  183 – 
operating profit   860 1474 
share of posttax profit of joint ventures  20  20 23 
profit before financing costs  880 1497 
finance expense 8  44 68
finance income 8  33 63 
profit before tax for the year  869 1492 
tax charge 9  192 343
profit after tax for the year  677 1149 
attributable to  
equity shareholders of the parent  670 1139 
noncontrolling interests  07 10 
  677 1149 
 
earnings per ordinary share eps after exceptional  
basic p 10 71 120 
diluted p 10 70 118
 
 
 
consolidated statement of comprehensive income 
 
 
year ended
31 dec 2009
£m
year ended
31 dec 2008
£m
profit for the year  677 1149 
other comprehensive income  
foreign currency translation differences for foreign operations  299 871 
other comprehensive income for the year net of income tax  299 871 
total comprehensive income for the year  378 2020 
  
total comprehensive income attributable to  
equity shareholders of the parent  371 2010 
noncontrolling interests  07 10 
  378 2020
 
financial statements 
financial statements corporate governance business review  consolidated statement of changes in equity 
 
 
 
42wwwreguscom
financial statements 
 
attributable to equity holders of the parent
a
 
share 
capital
£m
treasury 
shares
£m
foreign 
currency 
translation 
reserve
£m
revaluation 
reserve
£m
other
£m
retained 
earnings 
£m 
total equity 
attributable 
to equity 
holders 
£m 
non
controlling 
interests
£m
total 
equity
£m
balance at 1 january 2008 492 134 201 100 226 3062  3093  05 3098 
total comprehensive income for the year   
profit for the year – – – – – 1139  1139  10 1149 
other comprehensive income   
currency translation differences – – 871 – – – 871  – 871 
total other comprehensive income – – 871 – – – 871  – 871 
total comprehensive income for the year – – 871 – – 1139  2010  10 2020 
transactions with owners recorded directly in equity   
share based payments – – – – – 48  48  – 48 
ordinary dividend paid – – – – – 152 152 – 152
dividend paid to noncontrolling interest –– – – – – – 1212
scheme of arrangement
b
 379–– – 379 – – ––
purchase of treasury shares in regus group plc – 185 – – – – 185 – 185
cancellation of treasury shares in regus group plc 18 319 – – – 301 –  – – 
purchase of treasury shares in regus plc – 14 – – – –  14 – 14
balance at 31 december 2008 95 14 670 100 153 3796  4800  03 4803 
 
total comprehensive income for the year   
profit for the year – – – – – 670  670  07 677 
other comprehensive income   
currency translation differences – – 299 – – –  299 – 299
total other comprehensive income – – 299 – – –  299 – 299
total comprehensive income for the year – – 299 – – 670  371  07 378 
transactions with owners recorded directly in equity   
revaluation of acquisition – – – 05 – –  05  – 05 
share based payments – – – – – 07  07  – 07 
deferred tax effect of share options – – – – – 06  06  – 06 
ordinary dividend paid – – – – – 190 190 – 190
dividend paid to noncontrolling interest – – – – – –  –  10 10
settlement of share awards – 10 – – – 14 04 – 04
balance at 31 december 2009 95 04 371 105 153 4275  4995  – 4995 
a total reserves attributable to equity holders of the parent 
• share capital represents the net proceeds the nominal value on the issue of the company’s equity share capital and prior to 14 october 2008 the equity share capital of 
regus group plc 
• at 31 december 2009 treasury shares represent 1576498 ordinary shares of the group that were acquired for the purposes of the group’s employee share option plans 
and the share buyback programme during the period 627258 shares were purchased in the open market and an additional 4373502 of treasury shares held by the 
group were utili ed to satisfy the exercise of share awards by employees as at 22 march 2010 1076498 treasury shares were held 
• the foreign currency translation reserve is used to record exchange differences arising from the translation of the financial statements of foreign subsidiaries and 
joint ventures  
• the revaluation reserve arose on the restatement of the assets and liabilities of the uk associate from historic cost to fair value at the time of the acquisition of the 
outstanding 58 interest on 19 april 2006 the increase of £05 million in the historic cost to fair value arises at the time of the acquisition of the remaining 50 interest  
in rebc on 31 december 2009 
• other reserves include £379 million arising from the scheme of arrangement undertaken on 14 october 2008 £65 million relating to merger reserves and £01 million  
to the redemption of preference shares partly offset by £292 million arising from the scheme of arrangement undertaken in 2003 
b on 14 october 2008 the group entered into a court approved scheme of arrangement as a result of the scheme of arrangement shares in regus group plc were cancelled 
and shares in the new group holding company regus plc were issued on the basis of one regus plc share nominal value one pence for one share previously held in regus 
group plc nominal value five pence as a result the shareholders of regus group plc became the shareholders of regus plc the transaction was accounted for as a reverse 
acquisition and consequently the aggregate of the group reserves have been attributed to regus plc 
s for more information visit
reguscom
consolidated balance sheet 
 
regus plc annual report and accounts 200943
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
 
notes 
as at
31 dec 2009
£m
as at
31 dec 2008
£m
noncurrent assets  
goodwill 12  2591 2745 
other intangible assets 13  483 558 
property plant and equipment 14  2409 2780 
deferred tax assets 9  651 790 
other long term receivables 15  330 383 
investments in joint ventures 20  44 40 
  6508 7296 
current assets  
trade and other receivables 16  2028 2318 
corporation tax receivable  101 83 
liquid investments 22 400 – 
cash and cash equivalents 22 2051 2195 
  4580 4596 
total assets  11088 11892 
current liabilities  
trade and other payables 17  1767 2148
customer deposits  1493 1748
deferred income  1147 1326
corporation tax payable  525 617
obligations under finance leases 18  14 13
bank and other loans 18  60 51
provisions  19  39 20
  5045 5923
net current liabilities  465 1327
total assets less current liabilities  6043 5969 
noncurrent liabilities  
other payables 17  941 998
obligations under finance leases 18  07 17
bank and other loans 18  – 02
deferred tax liability 9  07 54
provisions  19  82 85
provision for deficit on joint ventures  20  11 10
  1048 1166
total liabilities   6093 7089
total assets less liabilities  4995 4803 
total equity  
issued share capital 21  95 95 
treasury shares  04 14
foreign currency translation reserve  371 670 
revaluation reserve  105 100 
other reserves  153 153 
retained earnings  4275 3796 
total shareholders’ equity  4995 4800 
noncontrolling interests  – 03 
total equity  4995 4803 
total equity and liabilities  11088 11892 
approved by the board on 22 march 2010 
mark dixon  stephen gleadle 
chief executive officer chief financial officer consolidated cash flow statement 
 
44wwwreguscom
financial statements 
 
notes 
year ended
31 dec 2009
£m
year ended
31 dec 2008
£m
profit before tax for the year  869 1492 
adjustments for  
net finance costs  11 05 
net share of profit on joint ventures  20 23
depreciation charge  664 562 
loss on disposal of property plant and equipment  07 07 
amortisation of intangible assets  67 63 
increasedecrease in provisions  23 15
exceptional net income  183 – 
other noncash movements – share based payments  07 48
operating cash flows before movements in working capital  1445 2139 
decreasesincrease in trade and other receivables  186 62
decreaseincrease in trade and other payables  580 419 
cash generated from operations before exceptional net income  1051 2496 
cash inflow from exceptional item  183 –
cash generated from operations after exceptional net income  1234 2496 
interest paid on finance leases  01 02
interest paid on credit facilities  15 40
tax paid  243 313
net cash inflow from operating activities  975 2141 
investing activities  
purchase of subsidiary undertakings net of cash acquired 25 10 121
dividends received from joint ventures  10 10 
sale of property plant and equipment  02 09 
purchase of property plant and equipment  469 877
purchase of intangible assets  16 26
interest received  18 53 
increase in liquid investments  400 – 
net cash outflow from investing activities  845 952
financing activities  
net proceeds from issue of loans  15 –
repayment of loans  04 361
repayment of capital elements of finance leases  14 14
purchase of treasury shares  – 199
settlement of share awards  04 – 
payment of ordinary dividend  190 152
payment of dividend to noncontrolling interest  10 12
net cash outflow from financing activities  207 738
net decreaseincrease in cash and cash equivalents  77 451 
cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year  2195 1429 
effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash held  67 315 
cash and cash equivalents at end of year 22 2051 2195 
  for more information visit
reguscom
notes to the accounts 
  
 
regus plc annual report and accounts 200945
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
1 authorisation of financial statements 
the group and company financial statements for the year ended 
31 december 2009 were authorised for issue by the board of 
directors on 22 march 2010 and the balance sheets were signed on 
the board’s behalf by mark dixon and stephen gleadle regus plc 
sa is a public limited company incorporated in jersey and 
registered and domiciled in luxembourg the company’s ordinary 
shares are traded on the london stock exchange 
the group financial statements have been prepared and approved 
by the directors in accordance with international financial reporting 
standards as adopted by the eu “adopted ifrss” the company 
is required to prepare its parent company financial statements in 
accordance with luxembourg gaap extracts from these are 
presented on page 85 
2 accounting policies 
basis of preparation 
the group financial statements consolidate those of the parent 
company and its subsidiaries together referred to as the “group” 
and equity account the group’s interest in the associate and jointly 
controlled entities the extract from the parent company financial 
statements presents information about the company as a separate 
entity and not about its group 
the accounting policies set out below have unless otherwise 
stated been applied consistently to all periods presented in these 
group financial statements amendments to adopted ifrss issued 
by the international accounting standards board “iasb” and the 
international financial reporting interpretations committee “ifric” 
with an effective date from 1 january 2009 did not have a material 
effect on the group financial statements 
• ifrs 8 “operating segments” requires that operating segments 
are determined and presented based on the information that is 
presented internally to the board the chief operating decision 
maker of the group previously operating segments were 
determined and presented in accordance with ias 14 “segment 
reporting” details of the basis on which the operating segments 
have been determined and presented are included in note 3 to 
the notes to the accounts comparative information has been  
represented in line with the transitional requirements of ifrs 8 
the change in accounting policy only impacts the disclosure  
of segmental information and therefore has no impact on the 
financial results or position of the group 
• amendments to ias 1 “presentation of financial statements 
2007’’ requires that all owner changes in equity are presented  
in the consolidated statement of changes in equity and all non
owner changes in equity are presented in the consolidated 
statement of comprehensive income this presentation has  
been applied as at and for the year ended 31 december 2009 
comparative information has been represented in line with  
the requirements of the revised standard as the change in 
accounting policy only impacts disclosure aspects there is  
no impact on the financial results or position of the group 
• the adoption of other amendments that were effective for the year 
beginning 1 january 2009 including the amendment to ifrs 2 
“sharebased payment – vesting conditions and cancellations” 
amendment to ifrs 7 “financial instruments and disclosures – 
improving disclosures about financial instruments” and 
amendments to ias 39 “financial instruments recognition  
and measurement” did not have a material impact on the 
financial statements 
judgements made by the directors in the application of these 
accounting policies that have significant effect on the financial 
statements and estimates with a significant risk of material 
adjustment in the next year are discussed in note 31 
the financial statements are prepared on a historical cost basis 
with the exception of certain financial assets and liabilities that  
are measured at fair value  
the directors having made appropriate enquiries have a 
reasonable expectation that the group and the company have 
adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the 
foreseeable future for this reason they continue to adopt the going 
concern basis in preparing the accounts on pages 41 to 86 
in adopting the going concern basis for preparing the financial 
statements the directors have considered the further information 
included in the business activities commentary as set out on 
pages 12 to 15 as well as the group’s principal risks and 
uncertainties as set out on pages 28 to 30  
further details on the going concern basis of preparation can  
be found in note 23 to the notes to the accounts on page 66 
the group and company financial statements are presented in 
pounds sterling and all values are in million pounds rounded to  
one decimal place except where indicated otherwise 
the attributable results of those companies acquired or disposed  
of during the year are included for the periods of ownership 
associates are those entities in which the group has significant 
influence but not control over the financial and operating policies  
the consolidated financial statements include the group’s share of  
the total recognised income and expense of associates on an equity 
accounted basis from the date that significant influence commences 
until the date that significant influence ceases or the associate qualifies 
as a disposal group at which point the investment is carried at the lower 
of fair value less costs to sell and carrying value  
joint ventures include jointly controlled entities that are those 
entities over whose activities the group has joint control 
established by contractual agreement the consolidated financial 
statements include the group’s share of the total recognised gains 
and losses of jointly controlled entities on an equity accounted 
basis from the date that joint control commences until the date  
that joint control ceases or the jointly controlled entity qualifies as  
a disposal group at which point the investment is carried at the 
lower of fair value less costs to sell and carrying value  
when the group’s share of losses exceeds its interest in a joint 
venture the group’s carrying amount is reduced to nil and 
recognition of further losses is discontinued except to the extent 
that the group has incurred legal or constructive obligations or 
made payments on behalf of a joint venture  notes to the accounts continued 
 
46wwwreguscom
financial statements 
2 accounting policies continued 
on 19 april 2006 the group acquired the remaining 58 of the 
shares of the uk business that were not already owned by the 
group as a result the group fully consolidated the uk business 
from that date the acquisition was accounted for through the 
purchase method and as a consequence the entire assets and 
liabilities of the uk business were revalued to fair value the effect  
of these adjustments on the 42 of the uk business already 
owned was reflected in the revaluation reserve 
on 14 october 2008 regus plc acquired the entire share capital  
of regus group plc in exchange for the issue of new shares of 
regus plc on the basis of one share in regus plc for one share held 
previously in regus group plc at the date of the transaction regus 
plc had nominal assets and liabilities and therefore the transaction 
was accounted for as a reverse acquisition of regus plc by regus 
group plc consequently no fair value acquisition adjustments were 
required and the aggregate of the group reserves have been 
attributed to regus plc 
goodwill 
all business combinations are accounted for using the purchase 
method goodwill represents the difference between the cost of 
acquisition over the share of the fair value of identifiable assets  
including intangible assets liabilities and contingent liabilities of a 
subsidiary associate or jointly controlled entity at the date of acquisition 
business combinations that took place prior to the group’s transition 
date to ifrs on 1 january 2004 have not been restated under the 
requirements of ifrs 
positive goodwill is stated at cost less any provision for impairment 
in value an impairment test is carried out annually and in addition 
whenever indicators exist that the carrying amount may not be 
recoverable positive goodwill is allocated to cash generating units 
for the purpose of impairment testing  
adopted ifrss not yet applied 
the group did not adopt the following standards interpretations 
and amendments to standards which were available for optional 
early adoption and relevant to the group 
• ifrs 3 revised “business combinations” is applicable for 
accounting periods commencing on or after 1 january 2010  
the standard requires a number of changes to be made to the 
accounting for business combinations these includes changes  
in the way in which fair value adjustments are reflected in the 
financial statements for acquisitions that are completed in stages 
in addition acquisition costs paid to third parties other than the 
seller in the business acquisition must be expensed and can  
no longer be included within goodwill the impact of ifrs 3 
revised will depend on the number and nature of future 
business combinations although it is not expected to have  
a material impact on the group’s financial statements 
• improvements to ifrs 2009 contains 15 amendments that 
result in accounting changes for presentation recognition or 
measurement purposes 
the adoption of any of the above standards or amendments to 
standards is not expected to have a material impact on the group’s 
financial statements 
the group will be adopting the above standards or amendments  
at the year ended 31 december 2010 
basis of consolidation 
subsidiaries are entities controlled by the group control exists 
when the group has the power directly or indirectly to govern the 
financial and operating policies of an entity so as to obtain benefits 
from its activities in assessing control potential voting rights that 
are currently exercisable or convertible are taken into account the 
financial statements of subsidiaries are included in the consolidated 
financial statements from the date that control commences  
the results are consolidated until the date control ceases or the 
subsidiary qualifies as a disposal group at which point the assets 
and liabilities are carried at the lower of fair value less costs to sell 
and carrying value 
impairment 
the carrying amounts of the group’s assets other than deferred  
tax assets are reviewed at each balance sheet date to determine 
whether there is any indication of impairment if any such indication 
exists the asset’s recoverable amount is estimated 
for goodwill and intangible assets that have an indefinite useful  
life and intangible assets that are not yet available for use the 
recoverable amount was estimated at 31 october 2009 and 
updated in february 2010 
an impairment loss is recognised whenever the carrying amount  
of an asset or its cash generating unit exceeds its recoverable amount 
impairment losses are recognised in the income statement 
impairment losses recognised in respect of cash generating units 
are allocated first to reduce the carrying amount of any goodwill 
allocated to the cash generating unit and then to reduce the 
carrying amount of the other assets in the unit on a pro rata basis  
a cash generating unit is the smallest identifiable group of assets 
that generates cash inflows that are largely independent of the  
cash inflows from other assets or groups of assets 
calculation of recoverable amount 
the recoverable amount of relevant assets is the greater of their fair 
value less costs to sell and value in use in assessing value in use 
the estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present 
value using a pretax discount rate that reflects current market 
assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to 
the asset for an asset that does not generate largely independent 
cash inflows the recoverable amount is determined for the cash 
generating unit to which the asset belongs 
intangible assets 
intangible assets acquired separately from the business are capitalised 
at cost intangible assets acquired as part of an acquisition of a 
business are capitalised separately from goodwill if their fair value  
can be identified and measured reliably on initial recognition  for more information visit
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regus plc annual report and accounts 200947
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
intangible assets are amortised on a straightline basis over the 
estimated useful life of the assets as follows 
brand – regus brand indefinite life
brand – other acquired brands 20 years
computer software 3 – 5 years
customer lists 1 – 2 years
management agreements minimum duration of the contract
 customer lists recognised on the acquisition of the remaining 58 interest in the uk 
business are amortised over four years 
amortisation of intangible assets is expensed through administration 
expenses in the income statement 
leases 
plant and equipment leases for which the group assumes 
substantially all of the risks and rewards of ownership are classified 
as finance leases all other leases including all of the group’s 
property leases are categorised as operating leases 
finance leases 
plant and equipment acquired by way of a finance lease is 
capitalised at the commencement of the lease at the lower of its  
fair value and the present value of the minimum lease payments  
at inception future payments under finance leases are included  
in creditors net of any future finance charges minimum lease 
payments are apportioned between the finance charge and the 
reduction of the outstanding liability finance charges are 
recognised in the income statement over the lease term so as  
to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining 
balance of the liability 
operating leases 
minimum lease payments under operating leases are recognised  
in the income statement on a straightline basis over the lease  
term lease incentives and rent free periods are included in the 
calculation of minimum lease payments the commencement of the 
lease term is the date from which the group is entitled to use the 
leased asset the lease term is the noncancellable period of the 
lease together with any further periods for which the group has  
the option to continue to lease the asset and when at the inception 
of the lease it is reasonably certain that the group will exercise  
that option 
contingent rentals include rent increases based on future inflation 
indices or nonguaranteed rental payments based on centre 
turnover or profitability and are excluded from the calculation of 
minimum lease payments contingent rentals are recognised  
in the income statement as they are incurred 
onerous lease provisions are an estimate of the net amounts 
payable under the terms of the lease to the first break point 
discounted at an appropriate weighted average cost of capital 
exceptional items 
exceptional items are those significant items which are separately 
disclosed by virtue of their size or incidence to enable a full 
understanding of the group’s financial performance such items are 
included within the income statement caption to which they relate 
and are separately disclosed either in the notes to the consolidated 
financial statements or on the face of the consolidated income 
statement transactions which may give rise to exceptional items 
are principally restructuring and litigation settlements 
property plant and equipment 
property plant and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated 
depreciation and any impairment in value depreciation is calculated 
on a straightline basis over the estimated useful life of the assets  
as follows 
fixtures and fittings 
over the shorter of the 
lease term and 10 years
furniture 10 years
office equipment and telephones 5 – 10 years
motor vehicles 4 years
computer hardware 3 – 5 years
revenue 
revenue from the provision of services to customers is measured  
at the fair value of consideration received or receivable excluding 
sales taxes 
workstations 
workstation revenue is recognised when the provision of the  
service is rendered amounts invoiced in advance are deferred  
and recognised as revenue upon provision of the service 
customer service income 
service income including the rental of meeting rooms is recognised 
as services are rendered in circumstances where regus acts as an 
agent for the sale and purchase of goods to customers only the 
commission fee earned is recognised as revenue 
management and franchise fees 
fees received for the provision of initial and subsequent services are 
recognised as revenue as the services are rendered fees charged 
for the use of continuing rights granted by the agreement or for 
other services provided during the period of the agreement are 
recognised as revenue as the services are provided or the  
rights used 
membership card income 
revenue from the sale of membership cards is deferred and 
recognised over the period that the benefits of the membership 
card are expected to be provided 
these categories represent all material sources of revenue earned 
from the provision of global workplace solutions 
  notes to the accounts continued 
 
48wwwreguscom
financial statements 
2 accounting policies continued 
employee benefits 
the group’s contributions to defined contribution plans and other 
paid and unpaid benefits earned by employees are charged to the 
income statement as incurred  
share based payments 
the share option programme entitles certain employees and 
directors to acquire shares of the ultimate parent company  
these awards are granted by the ultimate parent 
the fair value of options granted is recognised as an employee expense 
with a corresponding increase in equity the fair value is measured at 
grant date and spread over the period during which the employees 
become unconditionally entitled to the options the fair value of the 
options granted is measured using the blackscholes valuation model 
or the monte carlo method taking into account the terms and 
conditions upon which the options were granted 
the amount recognised as an expense is adjusted to reflect the 
actual number of share options that vest except where forfeiture  
is due only to share prices not achieving the threshold for vesting 
share appreciation rights cip are also granted by the company  
to certain employees the fair value of the amount payable to the 
employee is recognised as an expense with a corresponding 
increase in equity the fair value is initially recognised at grant date 
and spread over the period during which the employees become 
unconditionally entitled to payment the fair value of the share 
appreciation rights is measured based on the monte carlo valuation 
model taking into account the terms and conditions upon which 
the instruments were granted  
the group also operates a value creation plan which awards 
entitlements to certain employees and directors of the group 
these entitlements are convertible into options over ordinary shares 
subject to the group’s share price reaching certain targets the fair 
value of the amount payable to the employee is recognised as an 
expense with a corresponding increase in equity the fair value is 
initially recognised at the date of the award of the entitlements and 
spread over the period during which the entitlements are convertible 
into ordinary shares the fair value of the entitlements is based on 
the monte carlo valuation model taking into account the terms and 
conditions upon which the instruments were granted 
taxation 
tax on the profit for the year comprises current and deferred tax 
tax is recognised in the income statement except to the extent that 
it relates to items recognised directly in equity in which case it is 
recognised in equity 
current tax is the expected tax payable on the taxable income for 
the year using tax rates enacted or substantively enacted at the 
balance sheet date and any adjustment to tax payable in respect  
of previous years 
deferred tax is provided on temporary differences between the carrying 
amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the 
amounts used for taxation purposes the following temporary 
differences are not provided for the initial recognition of goodwill the 
initial recognition of assets and liabilities that affect neither accounting 
nor taxable profit other than in a business combination and differences 
relating to investments in subsidiaries to the extent that they will 
probably not reverse in the foreseeable future the amount of deferred 
tax provided is based on the expected manner of realisation or 
settlement of the carrying amount of assets and liabilities using tax 
rates enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date 
a deferred tax asset is recognised only to the extent that it is 
probable that future taxable profits will be available against which 
the asset can be utilised 
deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a legally 
enforceable right to set off current tax assets against current tax 
liabilities and when they relate to income taxes levied by the same 
taxation authority and the group intends to settle its current tax 
assets and liabilities on a net basis 
provisions 
a provision is recognised in the balance sheet when the group has 
a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of a past event 
that can be estimated reliably and it is probable that an outflow of 
economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation 
restructuring provisions are made for direct expenditures of a 
business reorganisation where the plans are sufficiently detailed  
and well advanced and where the appropriate communication to 
those affected has been undertaken at the balance sheet date 
provision is made for onerous contracts to the extent that the 
unavoidable costs of meeting the obligations under a contract 
exceed the economic benefits expected to be delivered discounted 
using an appropriate weighted average cost of capital 
finance charges 
interest charges and income are accounted for in the income 
statement on an accruals basis financing transaction costs that 
relate to financial liabilities are charged to interest expense using the 
effective interest rate method and are recognised within the carrying 
value of the related financial liability on the balance sheet fees  
paid for the arrangement of credit facilities are recognised as a 
prepayment and recognised through the finance expense over the 
term of the facility in the event of a facility being drawn the relevant 
unamortised portion of the fee is recognised within the carrying 
value of the financial liability and charged to the interest expense 
using the effective interest rate method 
where assets or liabilities on the group balance sheet are carried at 
net present value the increase in the amount due to unwinding the 
discount is recognised as a finance expense or finance income  
as appropriate 
interest bearing borrowings and other financial liabilities  
financial liabilities including interest bearing borrowings are 
recognised initially at fair value less attributable transaction costs 
subsequent to initial recognition financial liabilities are stated at 
amortised cost with any difference between cost and redemption 
value being recognised in the income statement over the period  
of the borrowings on an effective interest basis  for more information visit
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regus plc annual report and accounts 200949
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
the group derecognises financial liabilities when the group’s 
obligations are discharged cancelled or expire 
financial liabilities are classified as financial liabilities at fair value through 
profit or loss where the liability is either held for trading or is designated 
as held at fair value through profit or loss on initial recognition financial 
liabilities at fair value through profit or loss are stated at fair value with 
any resultant gain or loss recognised in the income statement 
financial assets 
financial assets are classified as either at fair value through profit or 
loss held to maturity investments available for sale financial assets or 
loans and receivables the classification depends on the nature and 
purpose of the financial assets and is determined on initial recognition 
trade and other receivables that have fixed or determinable 
payments that are not quoted in an active market are classified as 
loans and receivables loans and receivables are measured at 
amortised cost using the effective interest rate method less any 
impairment interest income is recognised by applying the effective 
interest rate except for short term receivables when recognition 
would be immaterial 
liquid investments compose held to maturity bonds and deposits 
foreign currencies 
transactions in foreign currencies are recorded using the rate of 
exchange ruling at the date of the transaction monetary assets and 
liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated using the 
closing rate of exchange at the balance sheet date and the gains or 
losses on translation are taken to the income statement nonmonetary 
assets and liabilities that are measured in terms of historical cost in a 
foreign currency are translated using the exchange rate at the date of 
the transaction the results and cash flows of overseas operations are 
translated using the average rate for the period assets and liabilities 
including goodwill and fair value adjustments of overseas operations 
are translated using the closing rate with all exchange differences arising 
on consolidation being recognised in the foreign currency translation 
reserve exchange differences are released to the income statement  
on disposal under the transition requirements of ifrs cumulative 
translation differences for all foreign operations have been set to  
zero at 1 january 2004 
cash and cash equivalents 
cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at bank and in hand  
and are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value 
derivative financial instruments 
the group’s policy on the use of derivative financial instruments can 
be found in note 23 derivative financial instruments are measured 
initially at fair value and changes in the fair value are recognised 
through profit or loss unless the derivative financial instrument has 
been designated as a cash flow hedge whereby the effective 
portion of changes in the fair value are deferred in equity 
foreign currency translation rates 
 
at 31 december annual average
 
2009 2008 2009 2008
us dollar 161  145  157 184 
euro 112  103  112 125 
japanese yen 149  131  147 190 
3 segmental analysis – statutory basis 
the group has implemented ifrs 8 “operating segments” with 
effect from 1 january 2009 there are no changes in the operating 
segments presented however this has resulted in a change to the 
segmental information reported comparative information has been 
presented on a consistent basis 
an operating segment is a component of the group that engages  
in business activities from which it may earn revenues and incur 
expenses including those that relate to transactions with other 
operating segments an operating segment’s results are reviewed 
regularly by the chief operating decision maker the board of 
directors of the group to make decisions about resources to  
be allocated to the segment and assess its performance and  
for which discrete financial information is available 
the business is run on a worldwide basis but managed through 
four principal geographical segments americas europe middle 
east and africa emea asia pacific and the united kingdom the 
united kingdom segment does not include the group’s nontrading 
holding and corporate management companies that are based  
in the uk and the emea segment does not include the group’s 
nontrading head office and holding companies that are based  
in luxembourg the results of business centres in each of these 
regions form the basis for reporting geographical results to the chief 
operating decision maker all reportable segments are involved in 
the provision of global workplace solutions 
the group’s reportable segments operate in different markets  
and are managed separately because of the different economic 
characteristics that exist in each of those markets each reportable 
segment has its own discrete senior management team responsible 
for the performance of the segment 
the accounting policies of the operating segments are the same as 
those described in the annual report and accounts for regus plc 
for the year ended 31 december 2009 the performance of each 
segment is assessed on the basis of the segment operating profit 
which excludes certain nonrecurring items including provisions for 
onerous contracts and asset writedowns exceptional gains and 
losses internal management charges and foreign exchange gains 
and losses arising on transactions with other operating segments 
  notes to the accounts continued 
 
50wwwreguscom
financial statements 
3 segmental analysis – statutory basis continued 
 americas  emea asia pacific united kingdom
all other operating 
segments  total
 
2009 
£m 
2008 
restated 
£m  
2009 
£m 
2008
restated
£m
2009
£m
2008
restated
£m
2009
£m
2008
restated
£m
2009 
£m 
2008 
restated 
£m  
2009
£m
2008
restated
£m
revenues from external 
customers 4238  4149   3062  3190 1323 1209 1914 2208 14  16   10551 10772 
revenues from internal 
customers –  –  11  09 – 02 09 10 – –  20 21 
segment revenues 4238  4149   3073  3199 1323 1211 1923 2218 14  16   10571 10793 
gross profit  
centre contribution 929  1161   841  1101 403 376 194 425 10  14   2377 3077 
reportable segment profit 350  680   387  708 253 242 29 184 04  06   965 1820 
share of profit of  
joint ventures 09  13   10  09 – – 01 01 – –  20 23 
finance expense 01 01  01 01 08 06 20 24 – –  30 32
finance income 01  06   04  09 03 02 07 12 – –  15 29 
depreciation and 
amortisation 325  268   146  123 100 79 156 155 – 01   727 626 
assets 4695  5351   2588  2978 1294 1456 2922 2788 14  14   11513 12587 
liabilities 2028 2451  2306 2524 1134 1342 2314 1717 11 14  7793 8048
net assetsliabilities 2667 2900   282  454 160 114 608 1071 03  –  3720 4539 
noncurrent asset additions 215  420   114  201 50 137 89 172 – 01   468 931 
revenue in the other segmental category is generated from services related to the provision of outsourced workplace solutions including 
fees earned from franchise agreements and commissions earned from the sale of outsourced workplace solution products revenue from 
internal customers is determined by reference to current market prices 
  2009
£m revenue
gross 
profit centre 
contribution
operating 
profit
finance 
expense
finance 
income 
depreciation 
and 
amortisation
profit before 
tax
reportable segment results 10571 2377 965 30 15  727 970 
exclude internal revenue 20 20 – – – – –
corporate overheads – 01 252 14 18  04 248
central costs – – 18 – – – 18
foreign exchange gains and losses – – 08 – – – 08 
exceptional items – – – – – – –
2010 restructuring plan – – 26 – – – 26
exceptional net income from legal settlement – – 183 – – – 183 
published group total 10551 2356 860 44 33  731 869 
 
  2008 restated
£m revenue
gross 
profit centre 
contribution
operating 
profit
finance 
expense
finance 
income 
depreciation 
and 
amortisation
profit before 
tax
reportable segment results 10793 3077 1820 32 29  626 1840 
exclude internal revenue 21 21 – – – – –
corporate overheads – – 317 36 34  01 319
central costs – 01 63 – – – 63
foreign exchange gains and losses – – 34 – – – 34 
exceptional items –––– – ––
2010 restructuring plan –––– – ––
exceptional net income from legal settlement –––– – ––
published group total 10772 3057 1474 68 63  625 1492 
  for more information visit
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regus plc annual report and accounts 200951
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
in the prior year the group had nonrecurring items of £72 million including the exceptional item of £48 million set out in note 6 on review 
the group no longer considers £24 million of these costs to be nonrecurring given the nature of the onerous lease and severance charges 
to which they pertain the 2009 exceptional charge of £26 million is split between the reportable segments and central costs as set out in 
note 6 it constitutes part of a formal restructuring plan and therefore in the group’s view is differentiated from other ongoing charges 
within the operations of the business  
 2009
£m assets liabilities
net assets 
liabilities
reportable segment results 11513  7793 3720 
exclude segmental intercompany amounts 2552 2186 366
corporate overheads assets and liabilities 
excluding amounts due tofrom reportable segments 2127  486 1641 
published group total 11088  6093 4995 
    
 2008 restated
£m assets liabilities
net assets 
liabilities
reportable segment results 12587  8048 4539 
exclude segmental intercompany amounts 2184 1477 707
corporate overheads assets and liabilities 
 excluding amounts due tofrom reportable segments 1489  518 971 
published group total 11892  7089 4803
4 segmental analysis – entitywide disclosures 
the group’s primary activity and only business segment is the provision of global workplace solutions and therefore all revenue is attributed 
to a single group of similar products and services it is not meaningful to separate this group into further categories of products 
the group has a diversified customer base and no single customer contributes a material percentage of the group’s revenue 
the group’s revenue from external customers and noncurrent assets analysed by foreign country is as follows 
2009  2008
£m 
external 
revenue
noncurrent 
assets  
external 
revenue
noncurrent 
assets
country of domicile – luxembourg 45 07   44 06 
united states of america 3536 2766   3503 3137 
united kingdom 1914 1453   2208 1518 
all other countries 5056 1631   5017 1845 
 10551 5857  10772 6506  notes to the accounts continued 
 
52wwwreguscom
financial statements 
5  operating profit 
operating profit has been arrived at after charging 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
depreciation on property plant and equipment 
owned assets 652 554 
finance leases 12 08 
provision for bad debts 141 55 
amortisation of intangibles 67 63 
loss on disposal of fixed assets 07 07 
exchange differences recognised in the income statement – gainloss 28 82
movement in fair value of derivative financial instruments 22 –
rents payable in respect of operating leases 
property 3806 3356 
equipment 21 33 
contingent rents paid 144 152 
amortisation of uk acquisition fair value adjustments 33 52
staff costs note 7 1898 1964
 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
fees payable to the group’s auditor for the audit of the group accounts 02 02 
fees payable to the group’s auditor and its associates for other services 
the audit of the company’s subsidiaries pursuant to legislation 12 10 
other services pursuant to legislation – 04 
tax services 01 – 
other services 01 02 
6  exceptional items 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
revenue 
exceptional net income from legal settlement 183 –
 
administration expenses 
2010 restructuring plan charges 
severance provisions and staff redundancy payments 26 – 
costs related to the group reorganisation and scheme of arrangement – 48
 157 48
during the year ended 31 december 2009 the group received a net amount of £183 million in relation to the settlement of a dispute with  
a supplier the amount represents the cash received in settlement of the dispute less the directly attributable costs associated with the 
successful outcome of the negotiations  
in december 2009 the group initiated a new restructuring plan to develop and accelerate the actions which had commenced in 2009 
focused on the simplification and rationalisation of the sales and back office processes and to address the parts of the regus network not 
generating a sufficient level of profitability in the year ended 31 december 2009 charges of £26 million were recognised in relation to the 
delivery of phase 1 and phase 2 of the restructuring plan  
the above items have been reported as exceptional items and are disclosed separately as they are relevant to the understanding of the 
group’s financial performance   for more information visit
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regus plc annual report and accounts 200953
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
7  staff costs and numbers 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
the aggregate payroll costs were as follows 
wages and salaries 1583 1627 
social security 291 271 
pension costs 17 18 
share based payments 07 48 
 1898 1964
 
 
2009
average full time 
equivalents
2008
average full time 
equivalents
the average number of persons employed by the group including executive directors  
analysed by category and geography was as follows 
centre staff 3656 4109 
sales staff 668 406 
finance staff 514 351 
other staff 549 576 
 5387 5442 
 
americas 2207 2307 
emea 1396 1403 
united kingdom 865 802 
asia pacific 782 798 
corporate functions 137 132 
 5387 5442
details of directors’ emoluments and interests are given in the remuneration report on pages 33 to 39 
8  net finance expense 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
interest payable and similar charges on bank loans  16 35
interest payable and similar charges of finance leases 01 02
total interest expense 17 37
deferred financing fees 05 06
unwinding of discount rates 22 25
total finance expense 44 68
total interest income 26 53 
unwinding of discount rates 07 10 
total finance income 33 63 
net finance expense 11 05
deferred financing fees relate to facility fees on the £150 million senior credit facilities signed in march and april 2006 and voluntarily 
surrendered in part in november 2008 and early in april 2009  notes to the accounts continued 
 
54wwwreguscom
financial statements 
9  taxation 
a analysis of charge in the year 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
current taxation 
corporate income tax 127 666
previously unrecognised tax losses and temporary differences 07 112 
under provision in respect of prior years 05 19
total current taxation 125 573
deferred taxation 
origination and reversal of temporary differences 102 199 
previously unrecognised tax losses and temporary differences 19 44 
underover provision in respect of prior years 16 13
total deferred taxation 67 230 
tax charge on profit 192 343
b reconciliation of taxation chargecredit 
2009  2008
£m   £m 
profit before tax 869   1492 
tax on profit at 286 2008 285 249 286  425 285
tax effects of   
expenses not deductible for tax purposes 45 52  330 221
items not chargeable for tax purposes 162 187   37 25 
recognition and utilisation of previously unrecognised deferred tax assets  26 30   156 104 
movements in temporary differences in the year not recognised  
in deferred tax 190 219  12 08
other movements in temporary differences 79 91   254 170 
adjustment to tax charge in respect of previous years 11 13   32 21
differences in tax rates on overseas earnings 14 16   09 06 
 192 220  343 230
the applicable tax rate is determined based on the tax rate in luxembourg which was the effective tax rate applicable in the country of 
domicile of the parent company of the group for the financial year 
the tax rate in the uk reduced from 300 to 280 on 1 april 2008 and the reconciliation for 2008 has been included at the effective uk 
rate for the year of 285 from 14 october 2008 when the parent company of the group became regus plc the country of domicile 
became luxembourg and the reconciliation has therefore been prepared using the rate applicable to that country for more information visit
reguscom
  
 
regus plc annual report and accounts 200955
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
c factors that may affect the future tax charge 
unrecognised tax losses to carry forward against certain future overseas corporation tax liabilities have the following expiration dates 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
2009 01 03 
2010 19 02 
2011 20 10 
2012 49 46 
2013 11 12 
2014 37 11 
2015 – – 
2016 – 05 
2017 and later 493 273 
 630 362 
available indefinitely 821 564 
tax losses available to carry forward 1451 926 
amount of tax losses recognised in the deferred tax asset 244 431 
total tax losses available to carry forward 1695 1357
the following deferred tax assets have not been recognised due to uncertainties over recoverability 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
intangibles 3248 3256 
accelerated capital allowances 06 06 
tax losses 431 272 
short term timing differences 09 49 
 3694 3583 
d corporation tax 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
corporation tax payable 525 617
corporation tax receivable 101 83  notes to the accounts continued 
 
56wwwreguscom
financial statements 
9  taxation continued 
e deferred taxation 
the movement in deferred tax is analysed below 
 
intangibles
£m
property
 plant and 
equipment
£m
tax losses
£m
rent 
£m 
short term 
temporary 
differences
£m
total
£m
deferred tax asset  
at 1 january 2008 200 168 281 134  85 468 
current year movement 214 12 148 139  38 231 
prior year movement 10 44 13 81 44 16
transfers 03 02 – 01  01 05 
exchange movement 68 48 77 29  16 102 
at 1 january 2009 61 250 197 222  182 790 
current year movement 52 22 10 03 50 93
prior year movement 05 36 33 –  19 17 
direct reserves movement –––– 08 08 
acquisitions 04––– – 04
transfers 46 01 02 – 09 34
exchange movement 33 21 17 17 11 33
at 31 december 2009 135 288 139 202  157 651 
deferred tax liability  
at 1 january 2008 44 03 – 06 11 64
current year movement 05 02 01 01  03 12 
prior year movement – 10 – 06  08 04 
transfers 0402–01 01 06
at 1 january 2009 43 13 01 – 01 54
current year movement – 02 05 – 01 08 
prior year movement –––– 01 01
direct reserves movement –––– – –
acquisitions –––– – –
transfers 42 01 02 – 01 40 
exchange movement –––– – –
at 31 december 2009 01 10 04 – – 07
deferred tax assets recognised on short term temporary differences consist predominantly of provisions deductible when paid and share 
based payments deferred tax assets have been recognised in excess of deferred tax liabilities on the basis that there are forecast taxable 
profits in the entities concerned 
at the balance sheet date the temporary difference arising from unremitted earnings of overseas subsidiaries was £466 million 2008 
£502 million the only tax that would arise on these reserves would be noncreditable withholding tax  for more information visit
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regus plc annual report and accounts 200957
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
10  earnings per ordinary share basic and diluted 
 2009 2008
profit attributable to equity shareholders of the parent £m 670 1139 
weighted average number of shares outstanding during the year 948203737 950319978 
average market price of one share during the year 768p 741p
weighted average number of shares under option during the year 6356625 6356625 
exercise price for shares under option during the year 6064p 6064p
 
profit  earnings per share
2009
£m
2008 
£m  
2009 
pence
2008 
pence
basic and diluted profit for the year attributable to shareholders  
and basic earnings per share 
670 1139  71 120 
diluted earnings per share   70 118 
weighted average number of shares for basic eps number   948203737 950319978 
weighted average number of shares under option during the year   6356625 6356625 
weighted average number of shares that would have been issued at 
average market price   5016457 5203468
weighted average number of awards under the cip and ltip   6833211 12362709 
weighted average number of shares for diluted eps number   956377116 963835844
options are considered dilutive when they would result in the issue of ordinary shares for less than the market price of ordinary shares  
in the period the amount of the dilution is taken to be the average market price of shares during the period minus the issue price  
the number of awards granted under the 2008 cip are an indicative number based on the yearend share price 
11  dividends 
 2009 2008
dividends per ordinary share proposed  16p 12p
interim dividends per ordinary share declared and paid during the year  
2008 interim dividend per regus group plc ordinary share declared and paid 08p 06p
dividends of £190 million were paid during the year 2008 £152 million the company has proposed to shareholders that a final dividend 
of 16p per share will be paid 2008 12p subject to shareholder approval it is expected that the dividend will be paid on 28 may 2010 
12  goodwill 
 
£m
cost 
at 1 january 2008 2230 
recognised on acquisition of subsidiaries 37 
exchange differences 478 
at 31 december 2008 2745 
at 1 january 2009 2745 
recognised on acquisition of subsidiaries 08 
exchange differences 162
at 31 december 2009 2591 
net book value 
at 1 january 2009 2745 
at 31 december 2009 2591  notes to the accounts continued 
 
58wwwreguscom
financial statements 
12  goodwill continued 
cash generating units “cgus” comprising individual business centres are grouped by country of operation for the purpose of carrying 
out impairment reviews of noncurrent assets as this is the lowest level at which goodwill can be assessed goodwill acquired through 
business combinations is held at a country level and is subject to impairment reviews based on the cash flows of these cgus 
the goodwill attributable to the reportable business segments is as follows 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
carrying amount of goodwill included within the americas business segment 1532 1686 
carrying amount of goodwill included within the emea business segment 54 50 
carrying amount of goodwill included within the asia pacific business segment 102 106 
carrying amount of goodwill included within the uk business segment 903 903 
 2591 2745 
the carrying value of goodwill and indefinite life intangibles allocated to two cgus the usa and uk is material relative to the total carrying 
value comprising 90 of the total the remaining 10 of the carrying value is allocated to a further 23 countries 23 cash generating units 
the goodwill and indefinite life intangibles allocated to the usa and the uk cash generating units is set out below 
goodwill
£m
intangible assets 
£m 
2009
£m
2008
£m
usa 1409 –  1409 1561 
uk 903 112  1015 1015 
other cash generating units 279 –  279 281 
 2591 112  2703 2857 
the indefinite lived intangible asset relates to the brand value arising from the acquisition of the remaining 58 of the uk business in the 
year ended 31 december 2006 see note 13 
the recoverable amount of each of the cgus above has been determined based on their value in use calculated as the present value of 
future cash flows attributable to the unit 
the value in use for each cgu has been determined using a model which derives the individual value in use for each unit from the value in 
use of the group as a whole although the model includes budgets and forecasts prepared by management it also reflects external factors 
such as capital market risk pricing as reflected in the market capitalisation of the group and prevailing tax rates which have been used to 
determine the riskadjusted discount rate for the group while management believe that the projected cash flows are a reasonable 
reflection of the likely outcomes over the medium to long term in the event that trading conditions deteriorate beyond the assumptions 
used in the projected cashflows it is also possible that impairment charges could arise in future periods 
the following key assumptions have been used in calculating value in use for each group of cgus  
• future cash flows are based on budgets for 2010 approved by the board and identified for each cgu the model excludes cost savings 
and restructurings that are anticipated but had not been committed to at the date of the determination of the value in use thereafter 
forecasts have been prepared by management for a further four years from 2011 that reflect an annual growth rate of 3  55 and a 
modest increase in gross margins driven by improving global economic conditions from 2011 this compared to forecasts used in the 
evaluation in the year ended 31 december 2008 that projected 3 growth but reflected a higher level of baseline cash flows  
• these forecasts exclude the impact of both organic and acquisitive growth expected to take place in future periods as a result gross 
margins and real operating profits at the end of the five year period remain either at or below the levels achieved in the year ended  
31 december 2008 management consider these projections to be a reasonable projection of margins expected at the midcycle 
position reflecting the current uncertain global economic conditions cash flows beyond 2014 have been extrapolated using a 2 
growth rate which management believe is a reasonable long term growth rate for any of the markets in which the relevant cgus operate 
a terminal value is included in the assessment reflecting the group’s expectation that it will continue to operate in these markets and the 
long term nature of the businesses 
  for more information visit
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regus plc annual report and accounts 200959
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
• the group conducts a market risk assessment of cgus in each country with a country specific pretax discount rate being applied  
to the future pretax cash flows for each cgu based on the underlying weighted average cost of capital for the group this was 
unchanged from 2008 at 9 the underlying pretax rate therefore reflects current market assessments of the group as a whole and  
is adjusted for risks specific to such businesses in each country giving a risk adjusted range of 12 to 17 2008 13 to 20 for  
the underlying cgus the high discount rate in the prior year reflected a significant market risk adjustment which was in part a reflection 
of the group’s significantly depressed market capitalisation a detailed review has been performed of the “value in use” models and the 
appropriate rate at which its cash flows are discounted for impairment test purposes whilst the market risk adjustments have been 
added to the underlying cgu discount rates given the revised cash flows used and consistently stronger market sentiment during 2009 
as compared to the end of 2008 with respect to regus’ valuation these adjustments are significantly below those used in 2008  
the trading conditions in which the group operates are subject to competitive and economic pressures that can have a material effect on 
the operating performance of the business current market conditions are more challenging for the group and the current global conditions 
makes forecasting medium term cash flows more difficult than is traditionally the case the forecast cash flows used to derive the value  
in use are sensitive to changes in revenues driven by changes in prices occupancy or a combination of both costs and discount rates 
including the market assessment of the risks of the group reflected in the group’s market capitalisation actual conditions could result in 
either better or worse cash flows than included in the value in use calculation should current economic conditions prove to be more severe 
or more prolonged than currently expected this would adversely impact the forecast cash flows and could result in impairments to goodwill 
and indefinite life intangible assets in future periods  
the amount by which the value in use exceeds the carrying amount of the us cgu is sufficiently large to enable the directors to conclude 
that a reasonably possible change in the key assumptions would not result in an impairment charge for this cgu the key assumptions 
used in the us model are that in 2010 the forecast centre contribution falls from 21 to 18 resulting in an operating profit of 105m 
2009 384m revenue and costs grow at 3 per annum from 2011 giving a terminal 2014 centre contribution of 23 and operating 
profit of 446m thereafter a 2 long term growth rate is assumed on revenue and cost into perpetuity 
foreseeable events are unlikely to result in a change in the projections of such a significant nature so as to result in most cash generating 
units carrying amount exceeding its recoverable amount for the uk cgus however a reasonably possible change in the key 
assumptions used to determine the cash generating unit’s recoverable amount could cause the unit’s carrying amount to exceed its  
value in use 
for the uk the goodwill and the indefinite life intangible brand in this cgu arose on acquisitions completed in 2006 – principally the 
acquisition of the remaining 58 of the uk business the value in use exceeded its carrying amount by £20 million 2008 £18 million  
and therefore no impairment was necessary at 31 december 2009 the main assumptions on which the forecast cash flows were based 
include the impact of the economic downturn in the short term on revenues and margins the midcycle revenue achieved in 2014 prior to 
the application of the long run growth rate and the discount rate used revenue is forecast to grow at approximately 53 pa from 2011 
a reduction in the growth rate of 06 would result in the carrying amount being equal to the value in use the model assumes no increase 
in gross margin in 2010 a modest increase in 2011 from 10 in 2009 to 12 in 2011 and an increase in operating profits from a loss of 
£29 million in 2009 to a breakeven result in 2011 a further fall in gross margins in 2010 and 2011 by 1 point to 9 and 10 respectively 
equating to an operating loss of £53 million with recovery to a gross margin of 12 in 2012 would result in the recoverable amount  
being equal to the carrying amount the model assumes a midcycle gross margin in 2014 of 17 and an operating profit of £142 million  
a reduction to 16 and £128 million would result in the value in use being equal to the carrying amount the cash flows have been 
discounted using a pretax discount rate of 14 200819 the discount rate used is based on a risk adjusted group wacc reflecting 
the specific risk profile of the uk business such as the greater degree of competition in the uk market an increase in the pretax discount 
rate used from 14 to 15 would result in its value in use being equal to its carrying amount 
there is no goodwill relating to the group’s joint ventures 
  notes to the accounts continued 
 
60wwwreguscom
financial statements 
13  other intangible assets 
brand 
£m
customer  
lists 
£m 
software 
£m
total 
£m
cost  
at 1 january 2008 441 140  79 660 
additions at cost – – 26 26 
acquisition of subsidiaries – 22  – 22 
disposals – – 05 05
exchange rate movements 128 17  23 168 
at 31 december 2008 569 179  123 871 
  
at 1 january 2009 569 179  123 871 
additions at cost – – 16 16 
acquisition of subsidiaries – 19  – 19 
disposals – – 02 02
exchange rate movements 47 06 01 54
at 31 december 2009 522 192  136 850 
  
amortisation  
at 1 january 2008 55 77  59 191 
charge for the year 19 30  14 63 
disposals – – 05 05
exchange rate movements 28 15  21 64 
at 31 december 2008 102 122  89 313 
  
at 1 january 2009 102 122  89 313 
charge for year 21 29  17 67 
disposals – – 02 02
exchange rate movements 11 05 05 11
at 31 december 2009 112 146  109 367 
  
net book value  
at 31 december 2009 410 46  27 483 
at 31 december 2008 467 57  34 558 
included with the brand value is £112 million relating to the acquisition of the remaining 58 of the uk business in the year ended  
31 december 2006 the regus brand acquired in this transaction is assumed to have an indefinite useful life due to the fact that the value 
of the brand is intrinsically linked to the continuing operation of the group 
as a result of the regus brand acquired with the uk business having an indefinite useful life no amortisation is charged but the carrying 
value is assessed for impairment on an annual basis the brand was tested at the balance sheet date against the recoverable amount of 
the uk business segment at the same time as the goodwill arising on the acquisition of the uk business see note 12  for more information visit
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regus plc annual report and accounts 200961
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
14  property plant and equipment  
furniture  
fittings and  
motor vehicles 
£m 
computers
£m
total
£m
cost  
at 1 january 2008 3854  229 4083 
additions 820  75 895 
acquisition of subsidiaries 54  – 54 
disposals 106 16 122
reclassifications 04 04 – 
exchange rate movements 1260  87 1347 
at 31 december 2008 5878  379 6257 
  
at 1 january 2009 5878  379 6257 
additions 443  35 478 
acquisition of subsidiaries 06  – 06 
disposals 112 15 127
reclassifications –  – – 
exchange rate movements 444 23 467
at 31 december 2009 5771  376 6147 
  
accumulated depreciation  
at 1 january 2008 2082  154 2236 
charge for the year 507  55 562 
disposals 91 15 106
exchange rate movements 729  56 785 
at 31 december 2008 3227  250 3477 
  
at 1 january 2009 3227  250 3477 
charge for the year 598  66 664 
disposals 103 15 118
exchange rate movements 267 18 285
at 31 december 2009 3455  283 3738 
  
net book value  
at 31 december 2009 2316  93 2409 
at 31 december 2008 2651  129 2780
additions include £09 million in respect of assets acquired under finance leases 2008 £18 million  
the net book value of furniture fittings and motor vehicles include amounts held under finance leases as follows 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
cost 157 175 
accumulated depreciation 112 121
net book value 45 54 
15  other long term receivables 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
deposits held by landlords against rent obligations 290 293 
amounts owed by joint ventures 07 37 
prepayments and accrued income 33 53 
 330 383 notes to the accounts continued 
 
62wwwreguscom
financial statements 
16  trade and other receivables 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
trade receivables 973 1155 
amounts owed by joint ventures  32 22 
other receivables 135 131 
deposits held by landlords against rent obligations 114 180 
prepayments and accrued income 641 680 
vat recoverable 133 150 
 2028 2318 
17  trade and other payables 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
trade payables 360 471 
other tax and social security 188 201 
deferred landlord contributions 116 113 
amounts owed to joint ventures 10 10 
rent accruals 319 316 
other accruals 635 912 
other creditors 139 125 
total current 1767 2148
 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
accruals and deferred income 386 398 
rent accruals 526 580 
other creditors 29 20 
total noncurrent 941 998
18 borrowings 
the group’s total loan and borrowing position at 31 december 2009 and at 31 december 2008 had the following maturity profiles 
bank and other loans 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
repayments falling due as follows  
amounts falling due after more than one year 
in more than one year but not more than two years – 02 
in more than two years but not more than five years – – 
in more than five years  – – 
total noncurrent – 02 
total current 60 51 
total bank and other loans 60 53 for more information visit
reguscom
  
 
regus plc annual report and accounts 200963
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
obligations under finance leases 
the maturity of the group’s finance obligations is as follows 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
amounts payable 
within one year or on demand 14 15 
in more than one year but not more than two years 07 12 
in more than two years but not more than five years 01 06 
 22 33 
less finance charges allocated to future periods 01 03
present value of future minimum lease payments 21 30 
total current 14 13 
total noncurrent 07 17 
 21 30 
19  provisions for liabilities and charges 
 2009   2008
 
onerous 
leases and 
closures
£m
restructuring
£m
other
£m
total
£m
onerous 
leases and 
closures 
£m  
restructuring 
£m 
other
£m
total
£m
at 1 january 90 – 15 105 69   – 39 108 
provided in the period 21 21 – 42 46   – – 46 
utilised in the period 18 – – 18 27  – 29 56
provisions released – – 01 01 05  – – 05
exchange differences 05 – 02 07 07   – 05 12 
at 31 december 88 21 12 121 90   – 15 105 
analysed between    
current 17 21 01 39 20   – – 20 
noncurrent 71 – 11 82 70   – 15 85 
 88 21 12 121 90   – 15 105 
provisions for onerous leases and closure costs relate to the estimated future costs on centre closures and onerous property leases  
the maximum period over which the provisions are expected to be utilised expires by 31 december 2016 the restructuring provision of 
£21 million is expected to be utilised during the next financial year other provisions include the estimated costs of claims against the 
group outstanding at the year end which due to their nature the maximum period over which they are expected to be utilised is uncertain  
20  investments in joint ventures  
 
provision for  
deficit in joint 
ventures 
£m 
investments 
in joint ventures
£m
total
£m
at 1 january 2008 21 16 05
dividends paid  –  10 10
share of profitlosses 16  07 23 
amounts written off on loans to joint ventures – 20 20
exchange rate movements 05 07 02 
at 31 december 2008 10 40 30 
at 1 january 2009 10 40 30 
dividends paid  –  10 10
share of profitlosses 01 21 20 
acquisition of the remaining 50 of regus equity business centres –  06 06
exchange rate movements –  01 01
at 31 december 2009 11 44 33  notes to the accounts continued 
 
64wwwreguscom
financial statements 
20  investments in joint ventures continued  
 ownership
entity country 
2009

2008

joint ventures  
regus algerie sarl algeria 60 60 
park business centres limited england 50 50 
regus jordan psc jordan 50 50 
regus lebanon sarl lebanon 30 30 
skyport international ing vastgoed beleggingen wtc1 netherlands 50 50 
skyport international ing vastgoed beleggingen wtc2 netherlands 50 50 
regus herengracht netherlands 50 50 
regus al jaidah business centres llc qatar 25 25 
qatar westbay qatar 25 – 
regus senegal sarl senegal 50 –
regus istanbul is merkezi isletmeciligi as turkey 30 30 
asya kozyatagi is merkezi isletmeciligi as turkey 50 50
regus abu dhabi business centres llc uae 49 49 
regus equity business centers llc usa 100 50 
as at 31 december 2009 the group acquired the remaining 50 membership interest in regus equity business centers llc from  
eop llc and the entity was reclassified from a joint venture to a subsidiary undertaking effective from that date  
the results of the joint ventures below are the full results of the joint ventures and do not represent the effective share 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
income statement  
revenue 397 367 
expenses 347 279
profit before tax 50 88 
tax – 01
profit after tax 50 87 
net assetsliabilities 
fixed assets 78 103 
current assets 142 227 
current liabilities 152 253
noncurrent liabilities 27 49
net assetsliabilities 41 28 
21  share capital 
ordinary equity share capital 
2009   2008
number
nominal value 
£m  number ‘000 
nominal value
£m
authorised    
ordinary 1p shares at 31 december 8000000000 800   8000000000  800 
issued and fully paid up    
ordinary 5p shares in regus group plc at 1 january 2008    984791524  492 
ordinary 1p shares in regus plc société anonyme  
at 1 january 2009 950969822 95    
cancellation of ordinary 5p shares in regus group plc held  
in treasury   36571702 18
ordinary shares in regus group plc exchanged for ordinary  
shares in regus plc under the group reorganisation   948219822 379
ordinary 1p shares in regus plc société anonyme at 31 december 950969822 95   950969822  95  for more information visit
reguscom
  
 
regus plc annual report and accounts 200965
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
on the 14 october 2008 the group completed the establishment of regus plc as the new holding company of regus group plc by means 
of a scheme of arrangement under sections 895 to 899 of the companies act 2006 as a result regus plc acquired all of the issued  
share capital of regus group plc in exchange for the issue of shares in regus plc in the ratio of one regus plc share for one  
regus group plc share 
treasury share transactions involving regus group plc shares between 1 january 2008 and 14 october 2008 
in the period ended 14 october 2008 regus group plc repurchased 24624000 of its own shares in the open market and held these 
shares as treasury shares during the period none were utilised for the purposes of employee share option exercises at 14 october 2008 
36571702 shares were held as treasury shares these shares were cancelled as part of the group reorganisation and scheme of 
arrangement the holders of ordinary shares in regus group plc were entitled to receive dividends as were declared by the company and 
were entitled to one vote per share at meetings of the company treasury shares did not carry such rights until reissued 
treasury share transactions involving regus plc shares between 14 october 2008 and 31 december 2009 
in the period from 14 october 2008 to 31 december 2008 regus plc repurchased 3200000 of its own shares in the open market and 
held these shares as treasury shares in addition regus plc acquired 2750000 shares that were issued on the foundation of regus plc  
on 20 august 2008 and held these as treasury shares as at 20 march 2009 5950000 shares were held as treasury shares 
in the year ended 31 december 2009 regus plc repurchased 627258 of its own shares in the open market and utilised an additional 4373502 
of treasury shares held by the group to satisfy the exercise of share awards by employees as at 22 march 2010 1076498 shares were held as 
treasury shares the holders of ordinary shares in regus group plc were entitled to receive dividends as were declared by the company and were 
entitled to one vote per share at meetings of the company treasury shares did not carry such rights until reissued 
22  analysis of financial resources 
at 1 jan 2009
£m
cash flow
£m
noncash  
changes 
£m 
exchange 
movements
£m
at 31 dec 2009
£m
cash and cash equivalents 2195 77 –  67 2051 
liquid investments – 400 –  – 400
gross cash 2195 323 –  67 2451 
debt due within one year 51 13 – 04 60
debt due after one year 02 02 –  – – 
finance leases due within one year 13 – 02 01 14
finance leases due after one year 17 14 06 02 07
 83 03 08 07 81
net financial assets 2112 326 08 60 2370 
cash cash equivalents and liquid investment balances held by the group that are not available for use amounted to £643 million at  
31 december 2009 december 2008 £141 million  
of this balance £470 million is pledged as security against outstanding bank guarantees and a further £173 million is pledged against 
various other commitments of the group these amounts are blocked and not available for use by the business 
liquid investments represent corporate bonds and cash placed on deposit by the group with a maturity over three months noncash 
changes comprise the amortisation of debt issue costs new finance leases entered into and movements in debt maturity 
23  financial instruments and financial risk management 
the objectives policies and strategies applied by the group with respect to financial instruments and the management of capital are 
determined at group level the group’s board maintains responsibility for the risk management strategy of the group and the chief 
financial officer is responsible for policy on a day to day basis the chief financial officer and group treasurer review the group’s risk 
management strategy and policies on an ongoing basis the board has delegated to the group audit committee the responsibility for 
applying an effective system of internal control and compliance with the group’s risk management policies the audit committee is 
supported by the head of risk management in performing this role 
exposure to credit interest rate and currency risks arise in the normal course of business the principal financial instruments used by the 
group to finance its operations are cash and loans  notes to the accounts continued 
 
66wwwreguscom
financial statements 
23  financial instruments and financial risk management continued 
going concern 
the business review on pages 12 to 15 of the report and accounts sets out the group’s strategy and the factors that are likely to affect 
the future performance and position of the business the financial review on pages 16 to 18 within the business review reviews the trading 
performance financial position and cash flows of the group a feature of the group has been its strong cash flows and during the year 
ended 31 december 2009 despite the difficult trading conditions the group has maintained its cash levels at comparable levels to the 
position at the start of the financial year although many countries that the group operates in continue to experience difficult economic 
conditions the directors believe that the group is taking the necessary actions and expect to strengthen the current market leading 
position of the group  
after making enquiries the directors have a reasonable expectation that the group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence  
for the foreseeable future and accordingly continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the annual report and accounts 
following an internal review of the group’s facility arrangements in march 2009 and given the strength of the group’s cash position the 
board approved the early surrender of the £100 million revolving credit facility this decision does not impact the judgement of the directors 
that it is appropriate for the group to adopt the going concern basis in preparing these accounts 
credit risk 
credit risk could occur where a customer or counterparty defaults under the contractual terms of a financial instrument and arises 
principally in relation to customer contracts and the group’s cash deposits 
a diversified customer base and requirement for customer deposits and payments in advance on workstation contracts which contribute 
the majority of the group’s revenue minimises the group’s exposure to customer credit risk no single customer contributes a material 
percentage of the group’s revenue the group’s policy is to provide against trade receivables when specific debts are judged to be 
irrecoverable or where formal recovery procedures have commenced a provision is created where debts are more than three months 
overdue which reflects the group’s historical experience of the likelihood of recoverability of these trade receivables these provisions  
are reviewed on an ongoing basis to assess changes in the likelihood of recoverability 
cash assets and derivative financial instruments are only transacted with counterparties of sound credit ratings and management does  
not expect any counterparty to fail to meet its obligations  
the maximum exposure to credit risk for trade receivables at the reporting date analysed by geographic region is summarised below 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
americas 210 284 
emea 387 513 
uk 234 216 
asia pacific 142 142 
 973 1155 
all of the group’s trade receivables relate to customers purchasing workplace solutions and no individual customer has a material balance 
owing as a trade receivable  
the ageing of trade receivables at 31 december was 
gross
2009
£m
provision 
2009 
£m 
gross
2008
£m
provision
2008
£m
not overdue 865 02 1010 08
past due 0 – 30 days 88 07 104 01
past due 31 – 60 days 33 08 43 05
more than 60 days 128 124 74 62
 1114 141 1231 76
  for more information visit
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regus plc annual report and accounts 200967
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
during the year ended 31 december 2009 the group provided for an additional £141 million against potential bad debts  
2008 £55 million and utilised £71 million directly against the balance of trade receivables 2008 £26 million  
the group believes no provision is generally required for trade receivables that are not overdue as the group collects the majority  
of its revenue in advance of the provision of office services and requires deposits from its customers  
liquidity risk 
the group manages liquidity risk by reviewing its global cash position on a weekly basis and expects to have sufficient liquidity to  
meet its financial obligations as they fall due the group has free cash and liquid investments excluding blocked cash of £1808 million 
2008 £2054 million which the directors consider adequate to meet the group’s day to day requirements 
the group’s undrawn senior committed facility of £100 million was scheduled to expire on 19 march 2011 subject to the group continuing 
to comply with the covenants of the facility agreement the covenants included the ratio of net debt to ebitda the ratio of cash flow to net 
debt service including net interest expense and scheduled debt repayments and the ratio of ebitdar to net interest and rental charges  
in march 2009 the board approved the early surrender of the £100 million revolving credit facility following an internal review of the group’s 
facility arrangements of the facility approximately £50 million had been set aside to support bank guarantees provided against obligations 
of the group in order to continue to support these the group deposited sufficient funds with the guaranteeing banks which reduced free 
cash available for use by an equivalent amount in so doing the directors considered the group’s forecast and sensitised cash flow 
projections and do not believe that this will have an adverse impact on the group’s liquidity given the strength of the group’s cash position 
although the group has net current liabilities the group does not consider that this gives rise to a liquidity risk a large proportion of the 
net current liabilities comprise noncash liabilities such as deferred income that will be recognised in future periods through the income 
statement although the group holds customer deposits of £1493 million these are spread across a large number of customers and no 
deposit held for an individual customer is material therefore the group does not believe the balance represents a liquidity risk 
the net current assets liabilities of the group excluding deferred income were £682 million at 31 december 2009 2008 £01 million  
it is considered appropriate to exclude deferred income in assessing the liquidity of the group as it reflects the future nonrefundable 
contractual revenue of the group to be recognised as revenue in future periods 
market risk 
interest rate risk 
surplus cash balances are invested to achieve maximum interest returns on a day to day basis in order to maximise interest returns 
surplus cash is also invested in aaarated corporate bonds and deposits with a maturity in excess of three months at the balance  
sheet date no corporate bond or deposit had a maturity in excess of four months whenever possible and subject to the operational 
requirements of the group cash is repatriated to the head office and managed by the group treasury department  
foreign currency risk 
the group’s exposure to currency risk at a transactional level is minimal as the majority of day to day transactions of overseas subsidiaries 
are carried out in local currency working capital balances are generally held in the functional currency of the overseas subsidiary and 
therefore the impact of the retranslation of monetary assets and liabilities in the income statement of overseas subsidiaries is not 
considered to have a material impact on the group 
the majority of the group’s net assets are in pounds sterling us dollars and euros during the year ended 31 december 2009 the group 
adopted a policy of partially hedging the translation effect of certain profits incurred in foreign currencies including the us dollar euro 
japanese yen and certain east european currencies the policy aimed to reduce the impact on the reported profits of the group from 
changes in the value of pounds sterling against the hedged currencies as at 31 december 2009 all foreign exchange derivative financial 
instruments had matured and no open positions were held 2008 £nil 
historically the group has occasionally used derivative financial instruments to manage its exposure to foreign currency fluctuations 
although natural hedges limit the exposure to these risks in the year ended 31 december 2009 the group used derivative financial 
instruments to manage the translation risk of certain foreign currencies on the reported profits of the group 
no transactions of a speculative nature are undertaken 
other market risks 
the group does not hold any availableforsale equity securities and is therefore not subject to risks of changes in equity prices  notes to the accounts continued 
 
68wwwreguscom
financial statements 
23  financial instruments and financial risk management continued 
capital management 
the group’s parent company is listed on the uk stock exchange and the board’s policy is to maintain a strong capital base the chief 
financial officer monitors the diversity of the group’s major shareholders and further details on the group’s communication with key 
investors can be found in the corporate governance report on pages 26 to 31 in 2006 the board approved the commencement of a 
progressive dividend policy to enhance the total return to shareholders 
the group’s chief executive officer mark dixon is the major shareholder of the company and all executive members of the board hold 
shares in the company details of the directors’ shareholdings can be found in the report of the remuneration committee on pages 33  
to 39 in addition the group operates various share option plans for key management and other senior employees 
at the 2008 annual general meeting shareholders approved a resolution for the group to repurchase up to 10 of its issued share capital 
in the market in june 2007 the group commenced a share buyback programme to meet both  the need to issue shares under the 
group’s share option programme and more generally as a means of returning cash to shareholders 
in the year ended 31 december 2009 regus plc purchased 627258 of its own shares in the open market and utilised these to satisfy 
employee share awards in 2008 regus plc repurchased 3200000 of its own shares in the open market and held these shares as 
treasury shares as at 22 march 2010 1076498 shares were held as treasury shares 
neither the company nor any of its subsidiaries are subject to externally imposed capital requirements 
the company declared an interim dividend of 08p per share 2008 06p during the year ended 31 december 2009 and proposed a final 
dividend of 16p per share 2008 12p per share a 33 increase on the 2008 dividend  
there were no other changes to the group’s approach to capital management during the year 
the group’s objective when managing capital equity and borrowings is to safeguard the group’s ability to continue as a going concern 
and to maintain an optimal capital structure to reduce the cost of capital the group holds minimal debt and is in a strong cash position 
therefore it is majority equity funded the board balances the higher returns possible with higher levels of borrowings with the stability and 
security afforded by a sound capital position the group’s return on capital employed for the year ended 31 december 2009 defined as 
operating profit divided by total shareholders’ equity was 172 2008 307  
effective interest rates  
in respect of financial assets and financial liabilities the following table indicates their effective interest rates at the balance sheet date and 
the periods in which they mature interest payments are excluded from the table 
the undiscounted cash flow of these instruments is not materially different from the carrying value 
as at 31 december 2009 
 
effective  
interest rate 
 
carrying value
£m
contractual 
cash flow
£m
less than 
1 year
£m
12 years 
£m 
25 years
£m
more than 
5 years
£m
cash and cash equivalents 09 2051 2051 2051 – – –
liquid investments  
– corporate bonds 37 100 100 100 – – –
other liquid investments 15 300 300 300 – – –
trade and other receivables – 1682 1824 1532 146 146 –
finance lease liabilities 39 21 21 14 06 01 –
secured bank loans – 07 07 07 – – –
other loans  121 53 53 53 – – –
customer deposits – 1493 1493 1493 – – –
trade and other payables  – 1381 1381 1352 29 – –
net financial assets  1178 1320 1064 111 145 –
  for more information visit
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regus plc annual report and accounts 200969
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
effective interest rates continued 
as at 31 december 2008 
 
effective  
interest rate 
 
carrying 
value
£m
contractual 
cash flow
£m
less than 
1 year
£m
12 years 
£m 
25 years
£m
more than 
5 years
£m
cash and cash equivalents 35  2195 2195 2195 – – –
trade and other receivables –  1984 2060 1743 163  154 –
finance lease liabilities 78  30 30 13 10 07 –
secured bank loans – 10 10 08 02 – –
other loans  132  43 43 43 – – –
customer deposits – 1748 1748 1748 – – –
trade and other payables  – 1748 1748 1728 20 – –
net financial assets  600 676 398 131  147 –
sensitivity analysis 
at 31 december 2009 it is estimated that a general increase of one percentage point in interest rates would increase the group’s profit 
before tax by approximately £17 million 2008 £15 million with a corresponding increase in total equity 
it is estimated that a five percentage point weakening in the value of the us dollar against pounds sterling would have decreased the 
group’s profit before tax by approximately £09 million for the year ended 31 december 2009 2008 £34 million it is estimated that a five 
percentage point weakening in the value of the euro against pounds sterling would have decreased the group’s profit before tax by 
approximately £11 million for the year ended 31 december 2009 2008 £11 million 
it is estimated that a five percentage point weakening in the value of the us dollar against pounds sterling would have decreased the 
group’s total equity by approximately £91 million for the year ended 31 december 2009 2008 £122 million it is estimated that a five 
percentage point weakening in the value of the euro against pounds sterling would have increased the group’s total equity by 
approximately £07 million for the year ended 31 december 2009 2008 £03 million 
fair value disclosures 
the fair values together with the carrying amounts show in the balance sheet are as follows 
2009  2008
carrying 
amount
£m
fair value 
£m  
carrying 
amount
£m
fair value
£m
cash and cash equivalents 2051 2051   2195 2195 
liquid investments – corporate bonds 100 100   ––
other liquid investments 300 300   ––
trade and other receivables 1682 1682   1984 1984 
finance lease liabilities 21 18  30 26
secured bank loans 07 07  10 10
other loans  53 53  43 43
customer deposits 1493 1493  1748 1748
trade and other payables 1381 1381  1748 1748
 1178 1181   600 604 
unrecognised gain 03   04 
summary of methods and assumptions 
trade and other receivablespayables and customer deposits 
for receivablespayables with a remaining life of less than one year the notional amount is deemed to reflect the fair value 
finance lease liabilities 
the fair value of finance leases has been calculated by discounting future cash flows at an appropriate discount rate which reflects current 
market assessments and the risks specific to such liabilities 
loans and overdrafts 
the fair value of bank loans overdrafts and other loans approximates to the carrying value because interest rates are at floating rates where 
payments are reset to market rates at intervals of less than one year  notes to the accounts continued 
 
70wwwreguscom
financial statements 
23  financial instruments and financial risk management continued 
derivative financial instruments 
the group held several foreign currency swaps in the year all of which matured during the year the aggregate gain in the movement of 
the fair value of these instruments was £22m the instruments were not designated as hedges and the gain has been recognised in the 
income statement no derivative financial instruments were held at the year end 2008 £nil  
committed borrowing facilities 
 
principal 
£m 
available
£m
at 31 december 2009 – – 
at 31 december 2008 1001 503 
principal committed facilities in 2008 included £1001 million of senior credit facilities which the group entered into in 2006 of which £503 
million was available 
in march 2009 the board approved the early surrender of the £100 million revolving credit facility following an internal review of the group’s 
facility arrangements of the facility approximately £50 million had been set aside to support bank guarantees provided against obligations 
of the group in order to continue to support these the group deposited sufficient funds with the guaranteeing banks which reduced the 
cash available for use by an equivalent amount the directors do not believe that this decision had an adverse impact on the group’s 
liquidity given the strength of the group’s cash position 
24  share based payment 
regus group share option plan 
during 2004 the group established the regus group share option plan which entitles executive directors and certain employees to share 
options in regus plc previously regus group plc 
the table below presents the options outstanding and their exercise price together with an analysis of the movements in the number of 
options during the year  
2009  2008
number of 
share options
weighted 
average exercise 
price per share  
number of 
share options
weighted 
average exercise 
price per share
at 1 january 12394287 7875   8625287 8003 
granted during the year – –  4331641 8050 
lapsed during the year 2334587 12530   562641 11197 
exercised during the year – –  ––
outstanding at 31 december 10059700 6795   12394287 7875 
exercisable at 31 december 6356625 6064   6356625 6064 
 
date of grant numbers granted 
weighted 
average exercise 
price per share lapsed excercised at 31 dec 2009 exercisable from expiry date
23072004 4106981  5700 – 736842 3370139  23072007 23072014
08092004 3884170  6475 729227 168457 2986486  08092007 08092014
21032007 2148258  13150 2148258 – – 2103201021032017
20042007 707506  14650 707506 – – 2004201020042017
18032008 4331641  8050 628566 – 3703075   see below 18032018
total 15178556  8041 4213557 905299 10059700  
 as indicated in the remuneration report in the annual report for the year ended 31 december 2008 the remuneration committee felt it inappropriate to set specific 
performance conditions for matching shares under the cip and options awards under the share option plan awarded in march 2008 and march 2009 further details of the 
release dates and performance conditions set for 2010 can be found below 
the regus group also operates the regus group share option plan france which is included within the numbers for the regus share 
option plan disclosed above the terms of the regus share option plan france are materially the same as the regus group share 
option plan with the exception that they are only exercisable from the fourth anniversary of the date of grant assuming the performance 
conditions have been met 416146 options awarded under the regus group share option plan france are included in the above table 
2008 648081 231935 lapsed during the year 2008 £nil and £nil were exercised during the year 2008 £nil 
no options were exercised during the year ended 31 december 2009  for more information visit
reguscom
  
 
regus plc annual report and accounts 200971
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
regus group share option plan continued 
performance conditions for share options 
the options awarded in 2004 included certain performance criteria that needed to be met in order for the share options to vest the share 
options vested based on the basic earnings per share adjusted for nonrecurring items and goodwill and intangible amortisation that 
exceeded the targets linked to the retail price index the basic earnings per share for performance purposes was 1p 100 of the options 
awarded in july and september 2004 vested during 2007 
the options awarded in march 2007 april 2007 and march 2008 have the same performance conditions as the cip matching awards 
granted in the same year as described further below 
the awards of options made in march 2007 and april 2007 normal vesting date march 2010 and april 2010 failed to meet the related 
performance conditions based on the financial performance of the group in the year ended 31 december 2009 and therefore lapsed 
the share options awarded in 2004 were valued using the blackscholes model the share options awarded in 2007 and 2008 are valued 
using a monte carlo method the inputs to the model are as follows 
 grant date
march 2008 april 2007 march 2007
share price on grant date 8050  1465p 1315p
exercise price 8050  1465p 1315p
expected volatility 3505 3508 3527
number of simulations 200000  200000 200000 
number of companies 36  35 35 
option life 3 years 3 years 3 years
expected dividend 119 040 044
fair value of option at time of grant 296p 554p 538p
risk free interest rate 407 536 516
the expected volatility is based on the historic volatility adjusted for any abnormal movement in share prices 
regus plc coinvestment plan cip and long term incentive plan ltip 
 2009 2008
 
number of 
awards
number of 
awards
at 1 january 18346549 11379224 
cip awards granted during the year 10827018 7480307 
lapsed during the year 4448165 512982
exercised during the year 5000760 – 
outstanding at 31 december 19724642 18346549 
exercisable at 31 december 872879 –
5000760 options or conditional share awards were exercised during the year ended 31 december 2009 2008 nil the weighted average 
share price at the date of exercise for share awards and options exercised during the year ended 31 december 2009 was 6974p  notes to the accounts continued 
 
72wwwreguscom
financial statements 
24  share based payment continued 
plan date of grant
numbers 
granted lapsed exercised at 31 dec 2009 release date
ltip 031120053723235 10928192019952 610464 03112008
ltip 28092006140184 140184–  – 28092009
 3863419 12330032019952 610464 
  
plan date of grant
numbers 
granted lapsed exercised at 31 dec 2009 release date
cip investment shares 21032006 772196 – 709716 62480 21032009
cip matching shares 21032006 3088784 617757 2271092 199935 21032009
cip investment shares 21032007 833823 28517 –  805306 21032010
cip matching shares 21032007 3240144 3240144 – – 21032010
cip investment shares 18032008 1557391 86956 – 1470435 18032011
cip matching shares 18032008 5922916 173912 – 5749004  see below
cip investment shares 23032009 2212734 – – 2212734 23032012
cip matching shares 23032009 8614284 – – 8614284  see below
 26242272 41472862980808 19114178 
 as indicated in the remuneration report in the annual report for the year ended 31 december 2008 the remuneration committee felt it inappropriate to set specific 
performance conditions for matching shares under the cip and options awards under the share option plan awarded in march 2008 and march 2009 further details of the 
release dates and performance conditions set for 2010 can be found below 
the fair value of services received in return for share based payments are measured by reference to the fair value of the equity  
instruments granted  
of the awards of investment and matching shares under the cip on 23 march 2009 3652623 2008 2082024 were conditional share 
awards and 7174395 2008 5398283 were nil cost options  
the ltipcip awards are valued using the monte carlo method  
the inputs to the model are as follows 
 23032009 18032008 21032007 28092006 21032006 03112005
 cip 
c
cip 
c
cip 
b
ltip 
a
 cip 
b
ltip 
a
share price on grant date 6550p 8050p 13150p 10700p 10725p 9225p
exercise price nil nil nil nil nil nil
number of simulations 200000 200000 200000 60000  60000 60000 
number of companies 32 36 35 29  29 29 
award life 3 years 3 years 3 years 3 years 3 years 3 years
expected dividend 272 119 044 nil nil nil
fair value of award at time of grant 4797p 6121p 10305p 790p 7994p 6500p
risk free interest rate 192 386 534 438 416 447
a the ltip awards had a release date of 3 november 2008 and 28 september 2009 there was no expiry date and therefore remaining contractual life on the basis that  
the awards release immediately the ltip nil cost options had a vesting date of 3 november 2008 and 28 september 2009 and an expiry date of 3 november 2015 and  
28 september 2016 respectively the performance conditions for the ltip awards made on 3 november 2005 were based on the financial results for the year ended  
31 december 2008 and based on the financial performance of the group 80 of the awards and options vested on 20 march 2009 the remainder of the awards and  
options made on 3 november 2005 and all the awards made on 28 september 2006 lapsed 
b the cip awards have a release date of 21 march 2009 and 21 march 2010 there is no expiry date and therefore remaining contractual life on the basis that the awards release 
immediately the cip nil cost options have a vesting date of 21 march 2009 and 21 march 2010 and an expiry date of 21 march 2016 and 21 march 2017 the performance 
conditions for the cip matching awards made on 21 march 2006 were based on the financial results for the year ended 31 december 2008 and based on the financial 
performance of the group 80 of the awards vested on 20 march 2009 the remainder of the matching awards made on 21 march 2006 lapsed the proportion of the  
cip awards that represented the deferred bonus for the year ended 31 december 2005 were released on 20 march 2009 
c the cip matching shares and share option plan awards made in 2008 and 2009 did not have performance conditions set by the remuneration committee at the date of  
the award a valuation was performed for those awards based on the terms that applied to similar awards made in previous years the remuneration committee set the 
performance conditions for the awards made in 2008 and 2009 effective from 22 march 2010 and the valuation of these awards will be updated in the year ended  
31 december 2010  for more information visit
reguscom
  
 
regus plc annual report and accounts 200973
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
regus plc coinvestment plan cip and long term incentive plan ltip continued 
the performance conditions for the grant of awards under the ltip are set out in the following table 
for november 2005 and march 2006 awards adjusted eps p for the year ended 31 dec 2008 
11p 12p 13p 14p
for september 2006 awards  increase in adjusted eps for year ended 30 june 2009 compared to eps of prior year 
15 20 25 30
growth in free cash flow per share   
10 6 13 19 25
15 13 25 38 50
20 19 38 56 75
25 25 50 75 100
 adjusted eps 
it is recognised by the remuneration committee that the additional eps targets represent a highly challenging goal and consequently in 
determining whether they have been met the committee will exercise its discretion the overall aim is that the relevant eps targets must 
have been met on a run rate or underlying basis as such an adjusted measure of eps will be calculated designed to assess the underlying 
performance of the business 
while the remuneration committee reserves the right to adjust eps as it sees fit at the time by way of example the following adjustments 
are currently anticipated 
• in a growth company such as regus costs are necessarily incurred in one year to drive profits in future years as such it is important to 
ensure management is not incentivised to cut back on these investments to meet eps targets in any one year accordingly those costs 
incurred in the vesting year which it considers necessary to drive future growth will be excluded from the eps calculation these would 
include inter alia the costs of the business development departments excess marketing expenditures and current year losses from 
investing in new locations 
• any oneoff or nonrecurring costs will be excluded 
• it is expected that in the period between 2006 and 2008 the cash tax rate will rise as cumulative tax losses are utilised thereby increasing 
progressively the challenge of achieving a 14p eps target this will then be further complicated by the need to recognise deferred tax 
assets as the business strengthens reducing the accounting rate of tax in one year and increasing it in the next to provide greater clarity 
and incentive to management eps will be calculated based upon the cash tax rate up to a maximum of 30 
• the remuneration committee is of the opinion that the eps and free cash flow performance targets are a transparent and accurate 
measure of the company’s performance at this time and are the key corporate metrics for driving long term shareholder value in 
addition the total shareholder return “tsr” condition will ensure that executives are encouraged to focus on ensuring that the 
company’s return to shareholders is competitive compared to comparable companies 
  notes to the accounts continued 
 
74wwwreguscom
financial statements 
24  share based payment continued 
the performance conditions for awards under the matching share element of the cip made in march 2007 are set out below 
 increase in published eps for the year ended 31 december 2009 compared to the published eps for the prior year 
15 20 25 30
growth in free cash flow per share over 3 years   
10 6 13 19 25
15 13 25 38 50
20 19 38 56 75
25 25 50 75 100
 denotes the  of the award which will be released at the end of the performance period  
in addition no awards will be released unless the company’s tsr is at least at the median when compared against that of the companies 
comprising the ftse 350 support services sector at the date of the grant subject to the discretion of the remuneration committee 
the awards of matching shares made in march 2007 normal vesting date march 2010 failed to meet the related performance conditions 
based on the financial performance of the group in the year ended 31 december 2009 and therefore lapsed the associated investment 
share awards will be released to participants subject to any tax liabilities in accordance with the rules of the cip 
as indicated in the remuneration report in the annual report for the year ended 31 december 2008 the remuneration committee felt it 
inappropriate to set specific performance conditions for matching shares under the cip and options awards under the share option plan 
awarded in march 2008 and march 2009 but were committed to carrying out a thorough review of the matter during 2009 the 
remuneration committee has agreed that the following modifications will be made to the awards made in 2008 and 2009 and that the 
following performance conditions will apply to these awards effective from 22 march 2010 
the total number of awards made in 2008 and 2009 to each participant will be divided into three separate equal amounts and will be 
subject to future performance periods of three four and five years respectively thus conditional on meeting the performance targets the 
first amount will not vest until march 2013 the second will not vest until march 2014 and the third will not vest until march 2015 these 
vesting dates relate to the financial years ending 31 december 2012 31 december 2013 and 31 december 2014 respectively the vesting 
of these awards will be subject to the achievement of challenging corporate performance targets 75 of each of the three amounts will be 
subject to defined earnings per share eps targets over the respective performance periods the remaining 25 of each will be subject to 
relative total shareholder return tsr targets over the respective periods the targets will be as follows 
eps targets for the financial years ending
 of awards eligible for vesting 2012 2013 2014
25 15p 17p 18p
50 16p 20p 22p
75 17p 23p 26p
100 18p 26p 30p
no shares will vest in each respective year unless the minimum eps target for that year is achieved 
 of awards eligible for vesting regus tsr  achieved relative to ftse all share total return index
nil 100
25 above 100 but below 101
increments of 075 for each complete 1 above 100
100 200 or above
 over three four or five year performance period 
the remuneration committee has determined that no awards of investment shares or matching shares will be made in march 2010 
however the committee can make standalone long term incentive awards under the cip without reference to annual bonus up to a 
maximum of 100 of salary per calendar year the committee has determined that it is appropriate to make ltip awards during 2010  
of up to 100 of salary the performance conditions will be the same as those set out above over a three year performance period but 
with a single vesting date in march 2013 the determination of the share awards will be made subsequent to the publication of this report 
however the maximum number of awards will be based on the price of an ordinary share at the time of grant and the monetary value  
will not exceed 100 of basic salary full details will be disclosed in the remuneration committee report for the year ending  
31 december 2011  for more information visit
reguscom
  
 
regus plc annual report and accounts 200975
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
regus plc value creation plan 
 2009 2008
 
number of 
entitlements
number of 
entitlements
at 1 january 21000000 – 
vcp entitlements awarded during the year – 22500000 
lapsed during the year – 1500000
outstanding at 31 december 21000000 21000000
 
plan 
date of 
award
numbers 
awarded lapsed exercised at 31 dec 2009
measurement 
date
vcp tier 1 awards 20052008 3500000 – – 3500000 –
vcp tier 2 awards 20052008 6000000 – – 6000000 –
vcp tier 3 awards 20052008 10000000 – – 10000000 –
vcp tier 4 awards 20052008 3000000 1500000 – 1500000 –
 22500000 1500000– 21000000 
31032010 – 
31032013
the fair value of services received in return for share based payments are measured by reference to the fair value of the equity instruments 
granted no awards were exercisable at the yearend 
the vcp awards are valued using the monte carlo method 
the inputs to the model are as follows 
21052008
vcp
share price on award date 10700p 
exercise price 10700p 
number of simulations 200000 
number of companies 36 
award life 186 – 486 yrs
expected dividend 093
total fair value of awards at time of grant £13m
risk free interest rate 471
the vcp awards have measurement dates of 31 march 2010 31 march 2011 31 march 2012 and 31 march 2013 if at the measurement 
dates the share price targets have been met the eligible vcp entitlements will be converted into options over ordinary shares the options 
are not subject to further performance conditions but are exercisable on the following basis 
 
in year ended 
31122010
in year ended 
31122011 
in year ended 
31122012
in year ended 
31122013
percentage of entitlements converted to options at the 31032010 
measurement date that can be exercised 40 20 20 20
percentage of entitlements converted to options at the 31032011 
measurement date that can be exercised – 40 30 30
percentage of entitlements converted to options at the 31032012 
measurement date that can be exercised – – 40 60
percentage of entitlements converted to options at the 31032013 
measurement date that can be exercised – – – 100
  notes to the accounts continued 
 
76wwwreguscom
financial statements 
24  share based payment continued 
the performance conditions of the vcp entitlements are as follows 
 number of shares earned less those earned at any prior measurement date
 tier 1 awards tier 2 awards tier 3 awards tier 4 awards
first measurement  
date 31032010 share price less than £260 – – – –
 share price is £260 or more but less than £350 2500000 4285714  7142857 2142857 
 share price is £350 or more 3500000 6000000  10000000 3000000 
   
second measurement 
date 31032011 share price less than £260 – – – –
 share price is £260 or more but less than £350 1800000 3085714  5142857 1542857 
 share price is £350 or more but less than £450 2500000 4285714  7142857 2142857 
 share price is £450 or more 3500000 6000000  10000000 3000000 
   
third measurement 
date 31032012 share price less than £260 – – – –
 share price is £260 or more but less than £350 1200000 2057143  3428571 1028571 
 share price is £350 or more but less than £450 1800000 3085714  5142857 1542857 
 share price is £450 or more 2500000 4285714  7142857 2142857 
   
fourth measurement 
date 31032013 share price less than £260 – – – –
 share price is £260 or more but less than £350 600000 1028571  1714286 514285 
 share price is £350 or more but less than £450 1200000 2057143  3428571 1028571 
 share price is £450 or more 1800000 3085714  5142857 1542857 
where the share price targets have not been met by 31 march 2013 then the vcp entitlement will not convert no ordinary shares will be 
earned and no vcp options granted under the vcp 
25  acquisitions 
during the year ended 31 december 2009 the group made no significant acquisitions  
adjustments to acquisitions and the payment of contingent consideration in relation to acquisitions completed prior to  
1 january 2009 
additional consideration of £03 million was accrued in december 2009 due to improved financial performance of acquisitions under 
contractual earnout provisions in addition amendments to provisional purchase price allocations on acquisitions completed in previous 
years resulted in an increase in goodwill of £05 million 
details of all acquisitions completed in the year ended 31 december 2008 
details of all acquisitions made during 2008 are set out below all of the acquired operations are providers of outsourced workplace 
solutions where no equity was acquired the group acquired all the operating assets and liabilities of the related business excluding cash 
all acquisitions made in the year have been aggregated as no single acquisition is material these transactions have been accounted for 
using the purchase method of accounting  for more information visit
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regus plc annual report and accounts 200977
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
name region 
purchase 
consideration 
including costs  
£m 
percentage of 
equity and voting 
rights acquired
date of 
acquisition
equity acquisitions   
stonemartin corporate centres limited uk 29  100 30112008
business and net asset acquisitions   
stonemartin uk 62  na02042008
 91  
in addition to the above a further £46 million of purchase consideration including costs was paid to complete a further one equity 
acquisitions and twelve business and net asset acquisitions 
book value 
£m 
fair value 
adjustments
£m
fair value
£m
net assets acquired  
intangible assets –  22 22 
property plant and equipment 46  08 54 
other noncurrent assets 03  01 04 
cash 16  – 16 
other current assets 09  08 17 
current liabilities 15 01 16
noncurrent liabilities – – –
 59  38 97 
total consideration  
cash  133 
deferred consideration  –
directly attributable costs  04 
  137 
goodwill  40 
 intangible assets comprise the fair value of customer contracts or in the case of managed centres the fair value of the management contract acquired 
there was no contingent consideration arising on the above acquisitions 
if the above acquisitions had occurred on 1 january 2008 the revenue and net retained profit arising from these acquisitions would have 
been £198 million and £34 million respectively in the year these acquisitions contributed revenue of £124 million and a net retained profit 
of £14 million 
the goodwill arising on the above acquisitions reflects the anticipated future benefits regus can obtain from operating the businesses more 
efficiently primarily through increasing occupancy and the addition of value adding services 
acquisitions completed after the balance sheet date 
there were no significant acquisitions completed after 31 december 2009 
26  capital commitments 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
contracts placed for future capital expenditure not provided in the financial statements 25 116 
these commitments are principally in respect of fit out obligations on new centres opening in 2010 in addition our share of the capital 
commitments of joint ventures amounted to £nil at 31 december 2009 2008 £nil  notes to the accounts continued 
 
78wwwreguscom
financial statements 
27  noncancellable operating lease commitments 
at 31 december 2009 the group was committed to make the following payments in respect of operating leases 
 2009 2008
 
property
£m
motor vehicles 
plant and 
equipment
£m
total
£m
property 
£m 
motor vehicles 
plant and 
equipment
£m
total
£m
lease obligations falling due  
within one year 3750 22 3772 4140  28 4168 
between two and five years 9837 59 9896 10587  36 10623 
after five years 3714 24 3738 4887  01 4888 
 17301 105 17406 19614  65 19679 
noncancellable operating lease commitments exclude future contingent rental amounts such as the variable amounts payable under 
performance based leases where the rents vary in line with a centre’s performance 
28  contingent assets and liabilities 
the group has bank guarantees and letters of credit held with certain banks amounting to £470 million december 2008 £497 million  
a number of lawsuits are pending against the group the outcome of which in the aggregate is not expected to have a material effect on 
the group  
29  related parties 
joint ventures 
during the year ended 31 december 2009 the group received management fees of £35 million 2008 £31 million from its joint venture 
entities at 31 december 2009 £29 million 2008 £49 million was due to the group from joint ventures of which £nil of this debt has  
been provided for at 31 december 2009 2008 £nil during the year no loan receivable from a joint venture was waived by the group 
2008 £20 million 
key management personnel 
no loans or credit transactions were outstanding with directors or officers of the company at the end of the year or arose during the  
year that need to be disclosed  
during the year ended 31 december 2009 the group acquired goods and services from a company indirectly controlled by a director of 
the company amounting to £30118 2008 £18746 the goods and services were acquired in arms length transactions there was a £nil 
balance outstanding at year end 2008 £nil 
compensation of key management personnel including directors  
key management personnel include those personnel including directors that have responsibility and authority for planning directing and 
controlling the activities of the group 
 
2009
£m
2008
£m
short term employee benefits 28 48 
share based payments 10 37 
 38 85 
share based payments included in the table above reflect the accounting charge in the year the full fair value of awards granted in the year 
was £49 million 2008 £56 million these awards are subject to performance conditions and vest three years from the award date 
  for more information visit
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regus plc annual report and accounts 200979
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
30  principal group companies 
the group’s principal subsidiary undertakings at 31 december 2009 their principal activities and countries of incorporation are set out below
name of undertaking 
country of 
incorporation
 of ordinary 
share and
votes held
principal activity – trading    
regus management de argentina sa argentina 100
regus 267 st georges terrace pty limited australia 100
regus 303 collins street pty limited australia 100
regus adelaide pty ltd australia 100
regus alfred street pty ltd australia 100
regus bondi junction pty ltd australia 100
regus bridge street pty ltd australia 100
regus business centre melbourne pty ltd australia 100
regus centres pty ltd australia 100
regus chatswood pty ltd australia 100
regus clarence street pty ltd australia 100
regus como pty ltd australia 100
regus council house pty ltd australia 100
regus macquarie house pty ltd australia 100
regus north sydney pty ltd australia 100
regus northbank plaza pty ltd australia 100
regus queens road pty ltd australia 100
regus riverside pty ltd australia 100
regus borsengebaude gmbh austria 100
regus business centre gmbh austria 100
regus karnter ring gmbh austria 100
regus mariahilferstrasse gmbh austria 100
regus parkring gmbh austria 100
regus twin tower netspace gmbh austria 100
regus business centre spc bahrain 100
regus management bahrain spc bahrain 100
regus astrid plaza bvba belgium 100
regus belgium nv belgium 100
regus braine l’alleud bvba belgium 100
regus business centre sa belgium 100
regus leopold square de meeus bvba belgium 100
regus parc atrium bvba belgium 100
regus pegasus bvba belgium 100
regus rubens bvba belgium 100
regus schuman bvba belgium 100
regus stephanie square bvba belgium 100
skyport bruxelles nv belgium 100
regus bulgaria eood bulgaria 100
guardian financial corp inc canada 100
oceanic business centre inc canada 100
pacific business centre inc canada 100
regus business centre canada lp canada 60
rgn – alberta limited partnership canada 100
rgn – ontario limited partnership canada 100
richmond executive centre inc canada 100
willingdon park business centre inc canada 100
regus business centre de chile sa chile 100
regus business centre de chile ii sa chile 100
regus business centre de chile iii sa chile 100
regus business centre de chile iv sa chile 100
 
 
name of undertaking 
country of 
incorporation
 of ordinary 
share and 
votes held
regus business centre de chile v sa chile 100
huanya shang wu fu wu lid china 100
regus business  conference centre beijing limited china 100
regus business  conference centre  
shanghai limited china 100
regus business centre hangzhou limited  china 100
regus business centre shanghai limited china 100
regus business consultancy beijing limited china 100
regus business consulting  
guangzhou limited china 100
regus business consulting shanghai limited china 100
regus business consulting tianjin limited china 100
regus business service hangzhou limited china 100
regus business services beijing limited china 100
regus business services dalian limited china 100
regus business services shanghai limited china 100
regus business services shenzhen limited china 100
regus centres services co limited china 80
regus executive service chengdu limited china 100
regus executive serviced office beijing limited china 100
regus executive serviced office shanghai china 100
regus managed centre shanghai limited china 100
regus strategic consulting shanghai limited china 100
union plaza consulting co ltd limited china 100
regus colombia ltda columbia 100
regus costa rican centres ltda costa rica 100
regus brno spielberk sro czech republic 100
regus burzovni palac sro czech republic 100
regus business centre sro czech republic 100
regus empiria sro czech republic 100
regus kobenhavn aps denmark 100
regus sydhavn aps denmark 100
regus tuborg aps denmark 100
regus fzco dubai 100
regus business centre trading fzco dubai 100
regus business centre city stars 
a
  egypt 100
regus business centre llc egypt egypt 100
regus el salvador ltda el salvador 100
danebury capita limited 
a
 england100
mos ltd limited england 100
nuclei limited 
b
 england49
regus barking limited england 100
regus bolton bark street limited england 100
regus chelmsford limited england 100
regus gb limited england 100
regus hemel hempstead limited england 100
regus hertfordshire limited 
a
 england100
regus jersey limited 
a
 england100
regus lbc limited england 100
regus leicester grove park limited england 100
regus london 1 broadgate limited 
a
 england 100 notes to the accounts continued 
 
80wwwreguscom
financial statements 
30  principal group companies continued 
 
name of undertaking 
country of 
incorporation 
 of ordinary 
share and 
votes held
regus maxim limited england 100
regus newbury oxford street limited england 100
regus nottingham citygate limited 
a
 england 100
regus orchard lea limited 
a
 england 100
regus peterborough limited england 100
regus solent limited england 100
regus thames court limited 
a
 england 100
regus uk limited england 100
regus business centres uk limited england 100
regus business services limited england 100
regus caledonia limited england 100
regus city limited england 100
regus estates uk limited 
a
 england 100
regus g limited england 100
regus luton limited england 100
regus manchester limited england 100
regus mayfair limited england 100
regus plp uk limited england 100
regus south ltd england 100
stonemartin corporate centres limited england 100
business centres management estonia ou 
a
 estonia 100
regus estonia ou 
a
 estonia 100
regus finland oy finland 100
regus la defense sas france 100
regus lyon plaza sarl france 100
regus montpellier sas france 100
regus opera sas france 100
regus paris sas france 100
regus portes de paris sas france 100
regus provence sas france 100
regus roissy sarl france 100
regus sophie sas france 100
regus vendôme sas france 100
regus berlin checkpoint gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus berlin lindencorso gp gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus bremen airport gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus düsseldorf medienhafen gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus düsseldorf prinzenpark gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus düsseldorf airport gmbh germany 100
regus frankfurt herriot’s gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus frankfurt kastor  pollux gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus frankfurt trianon gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus hamburg chilehaus gp gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus hamburg fleethof gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus hamburg valentinskamo gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus hannover podbielski gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus netspace germany gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus münchen laim gmbh germany 100
regus hamburg spitalerhof gmbh germany 100
regus köln kaiserwilhelmring gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus köln neumarktgalerie gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus münchen airport gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus münchen artemis gp gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus münchen laim gmbh germany 100
 
name of undertaking 
country of 
incorporation
 of ordinary 
share and 
votes held
regus münchen maximilianstrasse gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus münchen maxvorstadt gmbh germany 100
regus münchen schwabing gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus netspace germany gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus stuttgart konigsstrasse gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus stuttgart zeppelinkarree gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus unterfohring gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus waldorf gmbh co kg germany 100
regus hellas sa  greece 100
regus guatemala srl guatemala 100
regus guatemala ii srl  guatemala 100
regus business centre ltd hong kong 100
regus business services hong kong ltd hong kong 100
regus centre hk ltd hong kong 100
regus centre limited hong kong 100
regus hong kong ltd hong kong 100
regus services limited hong kong 100
regus arpad kft hungary 100
regus business centres hungary kft hungary 100
regus emke kft hungary 100
regus kalman kft hungary 100
regus kft hungary 100
east india business centre pvt ltd india 100
kasturba road business centre pvt ltd india 100
murphy road bc pvt ltd india 100
regus business centre chennai pvt ltd india 100
regus business centre delhi pvt ltd india 100
regus business centre nagpur pvt ltd india 100
regus business centre pune pvt ltd india 100
regus business centre bangalore pvt ltd india 100
regus business centre gurgaon pvt ltd india 100
regus business centre hyderabad pvt ltd india 100
regus business centre plaza pvt ltd india 100
regus business centre pvt ltd india 100
regus centre saket pvt ltd india 100
regus centre midtown hyderabad pvt ltd india 100
regus centre services bangalore pvt ltd india 100
regus gurgaon metro bc pvt ltd india 100
regus midtown business centre pvt ltd india 100
regus mumbai metropoliton bc pvt ltd india 100
regus office centre gurgaon pvt ltd india 100
regus office centre mumbai pvt ltd india 100
regus office centre services chennaii pvt ltd india 100
regus office centre services pvt ltd india 100
regus pune office centre services pvt ltd india 100
regus suburb centres pvt ltd india 100
pt regus centre indonesia indonesia 100
pt regus business centre satrio indonesia 100
pt regus grand indonesia indonesia 100
europa business centre ltd ireland 100
regus franchise international ltd ireland 100
regus ireland ltd ireland 100
regus business centres ireland ltd ireland 100
regus business centres ltd israel 100
regus business centre srl  italy 100 for more information visit
reguscom
  
 
regus plc annual report and accounts 200981
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
 
name of undertaking 
country of 
incorporation
 of ordinary 
share and 
votes held
regus business centres italia srl 
a
 italy100
regus japan kk  japan 100
regus business centre nagoya kk japan 100
regus business center luxembourg sa luxembourg 100
regus luxembourg sa luxembourg 100
regus macau business centre co ltd macau 100
regus centres sdn bhd malaysia 100
regus malaysia sdn malaysia 100
regus sentral sdn bhd malaysia 100
regus malta management limited malta 100
regus business centres mauritius ltd mauritius 100
centro regus el sur de mexico sa de cv mexico 100
centros coporativo regus sa de cv mexico 100
centros de negocios regus sa de cv mexico 100
centros regus de mexico sa de cv mexico 100
regus business centre sa de cv mexico 100
regus business centre ii sa de cv mexico 100
regus management de mexico sa de cv mexico 100
regus services sa de cv mexico 100
regus tres picos sa de cv mexico 100
regus monaco sarl monaco 100
regus maroc sarl morocco 100
regus almere centraal station bv netherlands 100
regus amersfoort bv netherlands 100
regus amstel business park bv netherlands 100
regus amstelveen bv netherlands 100
regus arnhem bv netherlands 100
regus atlas bv netherlands 100
regus atrium bv netherlands 100
regus brainpark bv netherlands 100
regus breda business park bv netherlands 100
regus breda bv netherlands 100
regus den bosch central station bv netherlands 100
regus eindhoven bv netherlands 100
regus equinox i bv netherlands 100
regus equinox ii bv netherlands 100
regus herengracht central station bv netherlands 100
regus hilversum bv netherlands 100
regus hojel bv netherlands 100
regus leeuwarden crystalic bv netherlands 100
regus maastricht bv netherlands 100
regus nijmegen bv netherlands 100
regus parkstraat bv netherlands 100
regus rijswijk bv netherlands 100
regus rotterdam world port bv netherlands 100
regus schiphol rijk bv netherlands 100
regus teleport tower bv netherlands 100
regus tetra bv netherlands 100
regus tilburg bv netherlands 100
regus utrecht papendorp bv netherlands 100
regus weena bv netherlands 100
regus zeist bv netherlands 100
regus zen bv netherlands 100
regus zurich tower bv netherlands 100
regus zwolle city centre bv netherlands 100
 
name of undertaking 
country of 
incorporation
 of ordinary 
share and 
votes held
satelite business centre schipol bv netherlands 100
skyport amsterdam bv netherlands 100
skyport international bv netherlands 100
wtc zuiplien bv netherlands 100
regus shortland street ltd new zealand 100
regus business centre ibsen as norway 100
regus business centre nydalen as norway 100
regus business centre skogen as norway 100
regus business centre karachi pvt ltd pakistan 100
regus business centre sa panama 100
regus paraguay srl paraguay 100
regus business centre sa peru 100
regus business centre inc  philipinnes 100
regus net cube inc philipinnes 100
regus business centre sp z oo poland 100
regus metropolitan sp z oo poland 100
regus mokotow sp z oo poland 100
regus plaza sp z oo poland 100
regus wisniowy sp z oo poland 100
regus zoliborz sp zoo poland 100
regus business centre lda portugal 100
regus floreasca international srl romania 100
regus international srl romania 100
regus rosetti international srl romania 100
llc regus business centre russia 100
regus business centre atrium llc russia 100
regus business centre avrora llc russia 100
regus business centre citydel llc russia 100
regus capital plaza llc russia 100
regus moscow city llc russia 100
st petersburg austrian business centre llc russia 100
regus centres pte ltd singapore 100
regus nac pte ltd singapore 100
regus singapore business centre pte ltd singapore 100
regus business services marina pte ltd singapore 100
regus singapore raffles place pte ltd singapore 100
regus business centre bratislava sro slovakia 100
habitaz business center bryanston pty ltd south africa 100
habitaz business center foreshore pty ltd south africa 100
habitaz business center pty ltd south africa 100
rbc century city pty ltd south africa 100
rbc fourways pty ltd south africa 100
regus business centre pty ltd south africa 100
regus business centre durban pty ltd south africa 100
regus business centre foreshore pty ltd south africa 100
regus business centre midrand pty ltd south africa 100
regus business centre mowbray pty ltd south africa 100
regus business centre sandton pty ltd south africa 100
regus business centre woodmead pty ltd south africa 100
regus southern africa pty south africa 100
regus jongro ltd south korea 100
regus korea ltd south korea 100
regus samsungdong limited south korea 100
regus business centre sa spain 100
regus miraflores sl spain 100 notes to the accounts continued 
 
82wwwreguscom
financial statements 
30  principal group companies continued 
name of undertaking 
country of 
incorporation 
 of ordinary 
share and 
votes held
regus pinar sl spain 100
regus valencia sl spain 100
business centre lilla bommen ab sweden 100
regus frosundavik ab sweden 100
regus garda ab sweden 100
regus solna strand ab sweden 100
regus stockholm central ab sweden 100
regus stureplan ab sweden 100
regus acacias gmbh switzerland 100
regus business centre ag switzerland 100
regus geneva airport sarl switzerland 100
regus rue du rhône sarl switzerland 100
regus seefeld gmbh switzerland 100
regus stockerhof gmbh switzerland 100
regus wtc zürich gmbh switzerland 100
taipei regus business centre co ltd taiwan 100
office advantage ltd thailand 100
regus centres ltd thailand 100
regus tunisie sarl tunisia 100
regus is merkezi isletmeciligi ltd turkey 100
regus yonetim ve danismanlik ltd sti turkey 100
regus business centre ukraine llc ukraine 100
regus podil llc ukraine 100
buffalo acquisitions sub llc united states 100
delval acquisition sub llc united states 100
florida business center acquisition sub llc united states 100
hq global workspaces llc united states100
regus business center llc united states 100
regus dc llc united states 100
regus equity business centers llc united states 100
regus group – north dallas llc united states 100
regus southeast investments llc united states 100
rgn – chicago llc united states 100
rgn – houston i llc united states 100
rgn – houston ii llc united states 100
rgn – houston iii llc united states 100
rgn – houston iv llc united states 100
rgn – memphis llc united states 100
rgn – midwest llc united states 100
rgn – midwest i llc united states100
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
name of undertaking 
country of 
incorporation
 of ordinary 
share and 
votes held
rgn – midwest ii llc united states100
rgn – midwest iii llc united states100
rgn – midwest iv llc united states100
rgn – midwest v llc united states100
rgn – midwest vi llc united states100
rgn – midwest vii llc united states100
rgn – mission valley llc united states 100
rgn – new jersey llc united states 100
rgn – northeast llc united states 100
rgn – peachtree llc united states 100
rgn – south east llc united states 100
rgn – south florida llc united states 100
rgn – winderely llc united states 100
rgn northwest llc united states 100
rgnll llc united states 100
stratis business centers llc united states 100
regus venezuela ca venezuela 100
regus centre vietnam ltd vietnam 100
 
principal activity – management companies 
regus australia management pty ltd australia 100
regus do brasil ltda brazil 100
regus management sro czech republic 100
regus emea fsc sro czech republic 100
regus management as denmark 100
regus management ltd 
a
 england100
regus management uk ltd 
a
 england100
regus business centre sas france 100
regus businessworld limited 
a
 jersey 100
regus asia pacific management limited hong kong 100
regus centre management limited hong kong 100
regus amsterdam bv netherlands 100
regus service centre philippines bv 
a
 netherlands 100
rmg south africa pty ltd south africa 100
regus business ventures pty ltd south africa 100
regus business world pty ltd south africa 100
regus management españa sl spain 100
regus management group llc united states 100
regus international services llc uruguay 100 for more information visit
reguscom
  
 
regus plc annual report and accounts 200983
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
 
name of undertaking 
country of 
incorporation
 of ordinary 
share and 
votes held
principal activity – holding companies 
regus h holdings inc british virgin islands 100
rgn services limited canada 100
rgn general partner holdings corp canada 100
rgn limited partner holdings corp canada 100
insignia partnership canada 100
regus management de chile ltda chile 100
regus denmark holding as denmark 100
regus group limited 
a
 england100
regus ltd sarl 
a
 englandluxembourg100
regus centres ltd england 100
regus investments ltd england 100
regus business centres holding england 100
regus business centres trading ltd england 100
regus h holdings england 100
regus h uk  england 100
regus centres uk ltd england 100
regus holdings uk ltd england 100
regus holdings sas france 100
regus deutschland gmbh germany 100
regus germany holding gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus management gmbh germany 100
regus europe ltd jersey 100
regus no1 sarl 
a
 luxembourg100
regus no2 sarl 
a
 luxembourg100
regus businessworld luxembourg sarl 
a
 luxembourg 100
regus middle east sarl a luxembourg 100
regus india holdings limited mauritius 100
regus pakistan holdings ltd mauritius 100
regus mexico s de rl de cv mexico 100
regus netherlands bv netherlands 100
regus business centres bv netherlands 100
regus business centre norge as norway 100
regus holding gmbh switzerland 100
regus corporation llc united states 100
regus holdings llc united states 100
regus h holdings llc united states 100
regus international services sa uruguay 100
a shares held directly by regus plc  
b under the term of the articles of association regus effectively controls this entity 
c investments in group subsidiaries are held at cost all of which are included within the 
consolidated results the principal activity of all trading companies is the provision of 
global workplace solutions 
  notes to the accounts continued 
 
84wwwreguscom
financial statements 
31  key judgmental areas adopted in preparing these accounts 
the preparation of financial statements in accordance with ifrs requires management to make certain judgements and assumptions that 
affect reported amounts and related disclosures
fair value accounting for business combinations 
for each business combination we assess the fair values of assets 
and liabilities acquired where there is not an active market in the 
category of the noncurrent assets typically acquired with a 
business centre or where the books and records of the acquired 
company do not provide sufficient information to derive an accurate 
valuation management calculate an estimated fair value based on 
available information and experience  
the main categories of acquired noncurrent assets where 
management’s judgement has an impact on the amounts recorded 
include tangible fixed assets customer list intangibles and the fair 
market value of leasehold assets and liabilities for significant 
business combinations management also obtain third party 
valuations to provide additional guidance over the appropriate 
valuation to be included in the financial statements  
valuation of intangibles and goodwill 
we evaluate the fair value of goodwill and intangibles to assess 
potential impairments on an annual basis or during the year if an 
event or other circumstance indicates that we may not be able to 
recover the carrying amount of the asset we evaluate the carrying 
value of goodwill at the appropriate cash generating unit level and 
make that determination based upon future cash flow projections 
which assume certain growth projections which may or may not 
occur we record an impairment loss for goodwill when the carrying 
value of the intangible asset is less than its estimated recoverable 
amount further details of the methodology and assumptions 
applied to the impairment review in the year ended 31 december 
2008 including the sensitivity to changes in those assumptions  
can be found in note 12 
tax assets and liabilities 
we base our estimate of deferred tax assets and liabilities on 
current tax laws and rates and in certain cases business plans  
and other expectations about future outcomes changes in existing 
laws and rates and their related interpretations and future business 
results may affect the amount of deferred tax liabilities or the 
valuation of deferred tax assets over time our accounting for 
deferred tax consequences represents management’s best 
estimate of future events that can be appropriately reflected in  
the accounting estimates it is current group policy to recognise  
a deferred tax asset when it is probable that future taxable profits 
will be available against which the assets can be used the group 
considers it probable if the entity has made a taxable profit in the 
previous year and is forecast to continue to make a profit in the 
foreseeable future where appropriate the group assesses the 
potential risk of future tax liabilities arising from the operation of its 
business in multiple tax jurisdictions and includes provisions within 
tax liabilities for those risks that can be estimated reliably changes 
in existing tax laws can affect large international groups similar to 
regus and could result in significant additional tax liabilities over  
and above those already provided for 
onerous lease provisions 
we have identified certain poor performing centres where the lease 
is considered onerous ie the group does not expect to recover 
the unavoidable lease costs up to the first break point the 
accounts include a provision for our estimate of the net amounts 
payable under the terms of the lease to the first break point 
discounted at the group weighted average cost of capital where 
appropriate 
dilapidations 
certain of our leases with landlords include a clause obliging the 
group to hand the property back in the condition as at the date  
of signing the lease the costs to bring the property back to that 
condition are not known until the group exit the property so the 
group estimates the costs at each balance sheet date however 
given that landlords often regard the nature of changes made to 
properties as improvements the group estimates that it is unlikely 
that any material dilapidation payments will be necessary 
consequently provision has been made only for those potential 
dilapidation payments when it is probable that an outflow will occur 
and can be reliably estimated  for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc s a 
parent company accounts  
 
regus plc annual report and accounts 200985
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
summarised extract of company balance sheet prepared under luxembourg gaap 
 
as at
31 dec 2009
luxembourg 
gaap
£m
as at
31 dec 2008
luxembourg 
gaap
£m
assets 
b formation expenses – 
c fixed assets 
ii tangible assets 
3 other fixtures and fittings tools and equipment – 
iii financial assets 
1 shares in affiliated undertakings 2874 2952 
2 loans to affiliated undertakings 5631 5522 
d current assets 
ii debtors 
4 amount owed by affiliated undertakings becoming due and payable within one year 39 – 
iii transferable securities 
2 own shares or corporate units 1576498 shares of £001 per share 04 14 
iv cash at bank and in hand 01 02 
e prepayments and accrued income 06 – 
total assets 8555 8490 
liabilities 
a capital and reserves 
i subscribed capital 95 95 
ii share premium account 537 537 
iv reserves 
1 legal reserve 09 – 
2 reserve for own shares 04 14 
4 other distributable reserve 5196 5186
v profit or loss brought forward 2519 – 
vi profit or loss for the financial year 134 2615 
b provisions for liabilities and charges 
3 other provisions 02 02 
c creditors 
4 trade creditors becoming due and payable within one year 01 01 
6 amounts owed to affiliated undertakings  
becoming due and payable within one year  58 34 
becoming due and payable after more than one year – 05 
9 other creditors becoming due and payable within one year – 01
total liabilities 8555 8490
approved by the board on 22 march 2010 
 
mark dixon   stephen gleadle  
chief executive officer  chief financial officer  regus plc s a parent company accounts continued 
 
 
86wwwreguscom
financial statements 
accounting policies 
basis of preparation 
the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with applicable luxembourg accounting standards and under the historical 
cost accounting rules which differ in material respects from ifrs in both the measurement and presentation of certain transactions 
the company is included in the consolidated accounts of regus plc 
the balance sheet has been extracted from the full accounts of regus plc for the period ended 31 december 2009 which are available 
from the company’s registered office boulevard royal luxembourg and which will be filed with both the luxembourg chamber of 
commerce and the jersey register of companies 
segmental analysis – management basis unaudited 
 americas emea asia pacific united kingdom  other total
 2009 2009 2009 2009  2009 2009
mature   
workstations 65530 30014 17448 28542   – 141534 
occupancy  793 812 781 798  – 797
revenue £m 4002 2806 1134 1738  14 9694
contribution £m 946 822 388 191   10 2357 
 
2008 expansions   
workstations 4882 3364 3657 4326   – 16229 
occupancy  736 635 636 637  – 666
revenue £m 167 208 172 149   – 696 
contribution £m 03 18 05 02  – 24 
 
2009 expansions   
workstations 707 657 260 439   – 2063 
occupancy  460 413 349 311  – 399
revenue £m 21 20 15 06   – 62 
contribution £m 12 08 10 08  – 18
 
closures   
workstations 1158 225 25 221   – 1629 
occupancy  669 632 910 791  – 684
revenue £m 48 28 02 21   – 99 
contribution £m 08 02 – 04   – 06
 
total   
workstations 72277 34260 21390 33528   – 161455 
occupancy  784 786 751 771  – 777
revenue £m 4238 3062 1323 1914   14 10551 
contribution £m 929 830 403 185   10 2357 
unallocated contribution £m – – – –  – 01
 
revpaw £ 5864 8938 6185 5709   – 6535 
 
  for more information visit
reguscom
 
 
regus plc annual report and accounts 200987
shareholder information financial statements corporate governance business review 
segmental analysis – management basis unaudited continued 
  americas emea asia pacific united kingdom  other total
 2008 2008 2008 2008  2008 2008
mature   
workstations 64807 30133 17350 28029   – 140319 
occupancy  854 877 790 834   – 847 
revenue £m 3970 3008 1098 2069   16 10161 
contribution £m 1180 1074 393 419   14 3080 
2008 expansions   
 
workstations 3064 1717 2047 2477   – 9305 
occupancy  602 558 481 610   – 569 
revenue £m 67 101 68 92   – 328 
contribution £m 27 13 26 21  – 87
 
2008 closures   
workstations 593 –314 82   –989 
occupancy  792 – 946 903   – 850 
revenue £m 29 14 30 09   – 82 
contribution £m 01 08 03 01   – 11 
 
2009 closures   
workstations 1709 502 125 311   – 2647 
occupancy  727 888 935 872   – 784 
revenue £m 83 67 13 38   – 201 
contribution £m 09 23 04 16   – 52 
 
total   
workstations 70173 32352 19836 30899   – 153260 
occupancy  839 860 761 817   – 829 
revenue £m 4149 3190 1209 2208   16 10772 
contribution £m 1161 1092 374 415   14 3056
unallocated contribution £m – –––  – 01
revpaw £ 5913 9860 6095 7146   – 7029 
 
• the mature business is defined as those centres owned and operated at least 12 months prior to 1 january 2008 and therefore have a 
full 12 month comparative 
• expansions include new centres opened and acquired businesses 
• a 2009 closure is defined as a centre closed during the 12 months ended 31 december 2009 for which there is a 12 month comparative 
in 2009 a 2008 closure is defined as a centre closed during the 12 months ended 31 december 2009 
• workstation numbers are calculated as the weighted average for the year  
• emea represents europe excluding uk middle east and africa 
• contribution in 2009 is £2 million less when compared to note 3 owing to the exclusion of internal revenue  five year summary  
 
 
88wwwreguscom
financial statements 
 
full year ended
31 dec 2009
£m
full year ended
31 dec 2008
£m
full year ended 
31 dec 2007 
£m 
full year ended
31 dec 2006
£m
full year ended
31 dec 2005
£m
revenue 10551 10772 8624  6800 4633 
cost of sales before nonrecurring costs 8195 7715 6105 4959 3462
nonrecurring cost of sales  01 
cost of sales 8195 7715 6105 4959 3461
gross profit centre contribution 2356 3057 2519  1841 1172 
administration expenses before nonrecurring expenses 1679 1583 1293 1019 649
nonrecurring administration expenses  50
administration expenses 1679 1583 1293 1019 699
operating profit before exceptional 677 1474 1226  822 473 
exceptional net income from legal settlement 183 – –  – – 
operating profit after exceptional 860 1474 1226  822 473 
share of posttax profitloss of joint ventures  20 23 08  01 02
share of posttax profit of associate – – –  12 02 
profitloss before financing costs 880 1497 1234  833 473 
finance expense 44 68 81 80 108
finance income 33 63 41  22 22 
profitloss before tax for the year 869 1492 1194  775 387 
tax chargecredit 192 343 158 48 61 
profitloss after tax for the year 677 1149 1036  823 448 
 
attributable to  
equity shareholders of the parent 670 1139 1031  823 445 
minority interests 07 10 05  – 03 
 677 1149 1036  823 448 
earningsloss per ordinary share eps  
basic p 71p 120p 105p  84p 45p 
diluted p 70p 118p 104p  83p 45p 
weighted average number of shares outstanding ‘000’s 948204 950320 980962  984792 984792 
balance sheet data as at 31 december  
intangible assets 3074 3303 2699  2631 1610 
property plant and equipment 2409 2780 1847  1272 766 
deferred tax assets 651 790 468  361 219 
trade and other receivables 2503 2824 2172  1727 1003 
cash cash equivalents and liquid investments 2451 2195 1429  809 741 
total assets 11088 11892 8615  6800 4339 
current liabilities 5045 5923 4482  3408 2299 
noncurrent liabilities 966 1081 961  1030 433 
provisions 82 85 74  117 79 
equity minority interests – 03 05  – – 
equity shareholders funds’ 4995 4800 3093  2245 1528 
total liabilities and shareholders’ funds 11088 11892 8615  6800 4339
  corporate directory
secretary and registered ofﬁce
tim regan company secretary
regus plc société anonyme
registered ofﬁce registered head ofﬁce
22 grenville street 26 boulevard royal
st helier l2449 luxembourg
jersey
je4 8px
registered number
jersey luxembourg
101523 rcs b 141 159
registrars
equiniti jersey limited
po box 63
11 – 12 esplanade
st helier
jersey
je4 8ph
auditor
kpmg audit sàrl
9 allée scheffer
l2520 luxembourg
legal advisers to the 
company as to english law
slaughter and may
one bunhill row
london ec1y 8yy
legal advisers to the 
company as to luxembourg law
noble  scheidecker 
avocats à la cour
398 route d’esch
l1471 luxembourg
corporate stockbrokers
investec bank plc 
2 gresham street
london ec2v 7qp
credit suisse first boston
one cabot square
london e14 4qj
reservations
uk telephone 0870 880 8484
us telephone 1877regus87 or
001 954 331 1647
websites
wwwreguscom
wwwhqcom
glossary
available workstations
the total number of workstations in the group also termed
inventory during the year this is expressed as a weighted
average at period ends the absolute number is used
bric economies
bric economies include brazil russia india and china
centre contribution
gross proﬁt comprising centre revenues less direct 
operating expenses but before administrative expenses
ebitda
earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation
enquiries
client enquiries about regus products or services
expansions
a general term which includes new business centres 
established by regus and acquired centres in the year
forward order book
the future workstation revenue already contracted with 
clients at a point in time
like for like
the ﬁnancial performance from centres owned and operated 
for a full 12 months prior to the start of the ﬁnancial year which
therefore have a full year comparative
mature business
operations owned for a full 12 month period prior to the start of
the ﬁnancial year which therefore have a full year comparative
“n11” economies
“n11” economies include egypt indonesia south korea 
mexico nigeria philippines turkey and vietnam
occupancy
occupied workstations divided by available workstation 
expressed as a percentage
occupied workstations
workstations which are in use by clients this is expressed 
as a weighted average for the year
organic growth
growth attributable to the mature portfolio and from new 
business centres established by regus
revpaw
total revenue per available workstations revenue  
available workstations
revpow
total revenue per occupied workstation
wipow
workstation income per occupied workstation
20
years on…
2009 was the 20th anniversary of the opening of our ﬁrst centre in brussels in one way it seems like
only yesterday but it truly was another age europe was still divided by an iron curtain a mobile phone
was something you carried on your back or in a car and if you’d said ‘internet’ to anyone they would
probably have thought you were talking about ﬁshing
throughout the dramatic upheavals of the 1990’s and technological innovations of the dotcom boom
we have stayed true to our core value of helping organisations and the people that make them work
whenever wherever and however they want working smarter is as true today as it was when we
opened that ﬁrst centre
we know this because irrespective of the internal and external challenges we have faced we have a
successful business which provides a much in demand service whose time i ﬁrmly believe has ﬁnally
come we are in the throes of a working revolution that is changing the way organisations function the
way people live and the way we relate to our environment increasingly people aren’t going to work
work is coming to them
it is now exactly a decade since daniel pink former speech writer to al gore wrote his book free
agent nation in which he contrasted the emerging lifestyle of the ﬂexible worker with that of the
traditional ‘organisation man’ of the late 20th century pink was one of the ﬁrst to consider the ways
that such lone wolves would have to be supported in order to link up with business and society –
meetingplaces and networks both physical and virtual
but whereas pink was concentrating on selfemployed people today’s ﬂexible worker is just as likely 
to be employed albeit in a way that is very different from the traditional employeremployee
relationship the difference today is that the power belongs not with the organisation or employer but
with the ﬂexible workers themselves as these and other factors such as the scarceness of capital
and mainstreaming of environmental concerns begin to converge i become ever more conﬁdent and
excited about our future than i have ever been in any of the last 20 years
where will we be in 2029 who can honestly know with any accuracy personally i’ve always found
that the easiest way to predict the future is to invent it what i can be sure of is that over the next 20
years there will be more dramatic upheavals to come and events will continue to blindside us all but
however much the world changes and technologies develop people and the organisations for which
they work will always need the places to congregate and collaborate to share thoughts and ideas to
work wherever whenever and however and i know that regus will be at the very forefront of providing
these services
dear shareholder
mark
design and production by black sun plc
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information
shareholder information regus plc annual report and accounts 2009
regus plc
26 boulevard royal
l2449 luxembourg
wwwreguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 2009
thefutureofwork
20
years on…


Summary:
 directors’ report business review
chief executive’s review
4wwwreguscom
over the course of 2009 we have delivered a robust
performance which underscores the resilience of our
business model despite this once in a generation recession
and the extremely challenging and unpredictable trading
conditions which have resulted the geographic and product
diversiﬁcation we have established – and continue to
develop – has beneﬁted us and reﬂects the success of our
long term strategy in creating a balanced business mix
strategy
our consistent long term strategy is that of measured sustainable profitable
growth to maximise benefits for our stakeholders
business model
companies of all sizes are able to leverage our diverse product range and
infrastructure to work in a more efficient manner
future prospects market moving to regus
we believe there has been a fundamental structural shift toward flexible 
working driven in part by the challenging economic environment which plays 
to our strengths 
the nature of our business will ensure that we continue to drive
sustainable growth
1
2
3
proven resilience
mark dixon
read our priorities for 2010 on page 9 for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 20095
operational review 
on a regional basis revenues and centre contribution can be analysed as follows
revenue contribution mature margin mature occupancy
£ million 2009 2008 2009 2008 2009 2008 2009 2008
americas 4238 4149 929 1161 24 30 793 854
emea 3062 3190 830 1092 29 36 812 877
asia paciﬁc 1323 1209 403 374 34 36 781 790
uk 1914 2208 185 415 11 20 798 834
other 14 16 09 15
10551 10772 2356 3057 24 30 797 847
 the mature business is deﬁned as the performance from centres owned and operated at 1 january 2008
restated to reﬂect the implementation of ifrs 8 see note 3 to the ﬁnancial results
overall
the group’s strategy of controlled and
disciplined growth has resulted in an
increase in total capacity including non
consolidated workstations of 10 to
173004 workstations in the year and the
number of actual workstations by 29 to
163740 workstations as at 31 december
2009 the group has opened 45 new
centres this year with the total number of
centres now standing at 983 the new
centres reﬂect the group’s strategy of
focusing on diverse growth opportunities
with 870 of new centres opened on
variable or ﬂexible lease deals reﬂecting
the focus on low risk opportunities new
locations included brasilia in brazil doha
in qatar dakar in senegal talinn in
estonia and platina in india
strategy and objectives 
despite the severity of the current
downturn our strategic approach
remains fundamentally unchanged – that
of continued proﬁt and cash generation
through controlled and disciplined
capacity growth 
after 20 years in business we have
barely scratched the surface of 
accommodating the way people work 
by updating their workplace strategy
companies will reduce overall facilities
expenses and will be in a stronger
position for success furthermore with
forecast changes over the next decade
which could see the property market
fundamentally altered by huge increases
in energy and transport costs and
employee demand for a better worklife
balance we feel uniquely positioned in
the market to support our current and
future customers 
against this backdrop of constant
economic and social change we will
continue to seek to manage our business
in a sustainable way which will have
positive impacts on the environment and
on the communities in which we operate
we do not consider these goals mutually
exclusive to achieving our wider strategic
and ﬁnancial objectives which continue
to be to pursue continued proﬁt and 
cash generation 
we have taken aggressive action to
reduce our cost base and have remained
proﬁtable throughout the year we
continue to reevaluate our costs on an
ongoing basis and in particular look to
continue improving the efﬁciency of the
business model in addition we will take
additional cost savings measures as
necessary and without delay including
centre closures where continued
underperformance is anticipated 
with continued cash generation producing
a free cash ﬂow of £803 million we can
be conﬁdent that we enter 2010 with a
stronger balance sheet than was the case
twelve months ago 
our brand awareness continues to grow
and whilst we are now present in 78
countries we are conﬁdent that we can
continue to gain market share and expand
our global footprint further we remain
ready to take advantage of sustainable
and proﬁtable opportunities for developing
our portfolio and for ensuring we are
appropriately positioned to take
advantage of a recovery when it arrives 
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information directors’ report business review
chief executive’s review continued
6wwwreguscom
the fundamental drivers of our ability to
maximise what we see to be signiﬁcant
future opportunities for growth remain 
• needs of our customers
• systems and technology
• people and processes
needs of our customers
it has been two decades since we
commenced trading from our ﬁrst centre
in belgium and our current portfolio of
nearly 1000 centres in 78 countries is 
a testament to the growth and solidity 
of our brand now recognised globally 
as the market leader
late in 2009 we undertook an extensive
survey of global business leaders to
assess what they felt the workplace of
the future could look like the following
key trends were identiﬁed
• two thirds of business leaders were
implementing extensive innovations to
their workplace models over the next
three years primarily through
implementing ‘sociallynetworked’
workplaces and ‘trustbased’ practices
these initiatives actively encourage
employees to engage and collaborate
with likeminded people far beyond the
traditional workplace boundaries with 
a view to signiﬁcantly increasing
innovation and strengthening
competitive and creative developments
• more than 40 of business leaders are
changing their workplace models to
become more collaborative in nature 
• technology continues to revolutionise
how individuals work and how
companies employ people – the
workforce is increasingly working from
home some of the time with beneﬁts to
companies in terms of reduced ﬁxed
ofﬁce space and beneﬁts to employees
in reducing commute times and in
having an environmental upside 
these ﬁndings also continue to be
supported by independent third party
studies which indicate that
• it will be even more important in the
future to choose the best location for 
a business centre avoiding locations
where workers have to commute long
distances by car and 
• business centre operators will themselves
have to be ﬂexible in terms of what they
offer to their customers and ready to
adapt to changes in both what clients
want and who the clients are
in light of this we continue to feel
strongly that the regus product and
service offerings available accommodate
all businesses – regardless of size – and
are uniquely placed to accommodate
1
a leading strategy for growth
developing our 
team members
expanding 
our network
operational 
excellence
innovative products
and services
investments in 
systems and 
technology
developing our brand
generating 
proﬁtable 
growth for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 20097
anticipated changes to the future
workplace on a global scale within the
current severe trading environment the
regus proposition also continues to offer
businesses immediate and effective cost
saving options with the added liquidity
advantage of no capital investment 
systems and technology 
our global scope requires a constant
need for technological development 
and innovation and 2009 has been no
different during the year 
• we have launched our online service
agreement initiative which involves
prospective clients being given online
visibility of their proposed speciﬁc
agreement in an easy to use way
enabling them to conveniently signup 
to the agreement online on their pc
without the need for printing signing 
and faxing
• booking of meeting rooms and
dayofﬁces online via our realtime
reservation sites has been implemented
some 11 of all bookings now go
through this route and we are growing
this number every month – with the
added beneﬁt of an increase in average
booking value via this route the service
gives both a more convenient
experience for our clients as well as
reducing our cost of sale
• there has been a further advanced
development of our centre frontdesk
point of sale software we now have 
a feature rich solution enabling full
support of our clients and centre teams
in this highly intuitive software
• we have implemented our new
business data warehouse which now
sends out a daily actiontargeted report
to every centre and salesperson in
regus who receive them at the start of
their day wherever they are around the
globe these reports are used to focus
effort for the day plan the coming days
and to improve overall performance
we also continue to develop our internal
global inventory and reservation system
to meet the changing global demands of
our business 
people and processes
after one of the most challenging years
for business that any of us can remember
the efforts of all of our 5500 team
members have been critical to weathering
the storm and to continuing to provide
the best level of service possible for our
customers our business relies upon 
our people and from a strong platform
for growth in 2010 their continued
dedication and delivery will be critical 
to our maximising our potential i would
therefore like to take this opportunity to
2
business model – a globally diversiﬁed business
regus – the global brand of choice
global trend – flexible working
centres
• 2010 planned growth
• low risk low cost
• emerging economies
• multiple brands and
price entry points
mobile workers
• enabling work from 
inbetween spaces
• lounges meeting rooms
and vc enhance
productivity and
effectiveness whilst on
the move
home workers
• business world is low
cost entry point
• focussed professional
products tailored to their
needs such as meeting
rooms and vc 
corporate
• global offering
leveraging regus scale
• low risk 
• easily scalable
• utilise all regus
products
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information culture
workstyle 
and ﬂexible 
working
real estate
buildings cities 
and work space
sustainability
transport
ict
information 
communication 
web
people
demographics 
expectations and 
behaviour
directors’ report business review
chief executive’s review continued
8wwwreguscom
thank all of them throughout the group
for their signiﬁcant efforts in the year 
during 2009 we launched
“reguscareerscom” on a global basis
and have seen this positively received 
by both employees and prospective
candidates alike this interactive website
tailored for our key global markets allows
us to
• highlight the wide variety of career
options available globally with regus
• give a clear “dayinthelifeof”
overview for a number of roles
throughout the company 
• provide career building guidance for
existing employees 
we have also considerably updated 
core elements of our learning and
development programmes to identify and
train the next generation of leaders as
well as to ensure talented people within
our business are given the appropriate
training and encouragement to develop
speciﬁc examples in 2009 have included 
• creation of new sales content to reﬂect
changes to the sales process and newly
deﬁned roles
• introduction of ﬁeldbased sales and
operations drills to reinforce critical
skills on a monthly basis
• development of leadership skills
training for area directors area
operations and commercial directors
• introduction of new ﬁeld manuals 
and a complete training suite to support
“smartworking” for centre and area
staff driving forward consistency 
of approach and best practice in
customer service 
• creation of additional online learning
modules and assessments to reinforce
key knowledge and skill
responding to market conditions
throughout 2009 and in line with our
previously communicated intentions the
group has continued to move decisively
to adapt its cost base to the increasingly
challenging trading conditions which
prevailed in the majority of its markets
we have delivered full year cost savings
of £546 million when compared to 2008
which exceeded our expectations but
which have not left us complacent 
costs continue to be monitored closely
and will be managed at a level which
ensures that they remain appropriate for
forecast activity levels in addition capital
spending is being carefully controlled to
ensure that we maximise as quickly as
possible the value of any investment 
we make and that we focus on growth
opportunities in the most resilient and
proﬁtable sectors of the global economy
working capital management also
• in the throes of a working 
revolution  changing the way
organisations function
• increasingly people aren’t going 
to work work is coming to them 
• technology  the catalyst no 
longer the same need to gather 
in one place 
• increasingly people choosing to work
away from the traditional office 
• proven increases in productivity 
via flexible working
• environmental benefits clear 
3
future prospects – market moving to regus for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 20099
remains a key focus for the business and
we have continued to manage our cash
ﬂow tightly
at the same time the group has
continued to drive forward with a number
of initiatives to increase commercial and
operational efﬁciencies within its regions
and we anticipate completion of the
migration of certain administrative
functions into our regional service centres
during 2010 we have already started 
to beneﬁt from certain cost savings
associated with these centralised
locations and would expect to garner
operational efﬁciencies shortly 
in december 2009 we implemented 
a restructuring plan to further develop
and accelerate our activities relating to
the development of our regional service
centres this plan includes reductions in
our worldwide workforce the closure of
certain underperforming facilities and
reductions in other related asset values
we incurred an exceptional charge of
£26 million in 2009 relating to the
delivery of the initial phases of this
restructuring plan 
board changes
i would like to take this opportunity 
to thank john matthews and martin
robinson for their signiﬁcant contribution
to the business over the years their
leadership within regus has been
considerable during their tenure and they
have proven real assets to the business
douglas sutherland is an excellent
candidate to succeed john as chairman
of regus and we are delighted that he
has accepted the role 
outlook
while the outlook remains unclear
particularly for the uk we are cautiously
optimistic across our other three
geographies we remain focused on
increasing revenues ﬂexing our cost
base and further improving efﬁciency 
in order to restore our margin we are
experiencing an increased level of growth
opportunities as the trend toward ﬂexible
working accelerates this combined 
with our strong cash position will allow
us to step up our new centre opening
programme in 2010
mark dixon 
chief executive 
22 march 2010
grow our revenue
the augmentation of our diverse product range and widening our
partnerships will enable us to increase our customer base and cross 
sell additional new services to the customer
control our costs 
we will continue to identify and realise signiﬁcant cost savings through 
a combination of operational simpliﬁcation and leveraging the beneﬁts 
of scale 
grow our capacity 
the current economic situation is presenting us with excellent
opportunities to grow in a focussed and controlled way both organically
and through acquisition
our priorities for 2010
1
2
3
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information the population of earth
exceeds six billion for 
the ﬁrst time
the wall came tumbling down the standard  poor 500
index closes above 1000 for
the ﬁrst time
the north american free trade
area is established
apple launch the ipod
directors’ report business review
10wwwreguscom
1994
enters latin america
and china opening
another 36 centres
across the world
1998
opens ﬁrst ofﬁce
in united states
2001
purchases us
based stratis
business centres
2000
goes public with
ipo on the
london stock
exchange
1989
mark dixon launches
regus and opens the
ﬁrst location in brussels
belgium
since 1989 regus has consistently developed its portfolio of
products and services to meet the needs of our customers to
work however whenever wherever
we will continue to invent our future and remain at the forefront 
of providing quality products and services
“the easiest way to predict the future is to invent it…”
20
years on… face book is founded
in cambridge
massachusetts
the european union
expands to 27
countries
the kyoto protocol
goes into effect
google buys youtube the global economy faces
its greatest challenge in
more than 60 years
the price of a barrel of 
oil hits an all time high of
us148
for more information visit
reguscom
regus plc annual report and accounts 200911
2004
acquires major
competitor hq to 
become world’s
largest provider of 
ﬂexible
workspace
2007
breaks the
£100 million
of earnings for
the ﬁrst time
2005
new business centre
openings in 35
capital cities expands
footprint to more than
50 countries
throughout asia
north america and
europe and support
regus’ international
growth strategy 
launches the
innovative
businessworld
membership card
enabling users to
access any regus
centre for a ﬁxed
annual cost
2006
exceeds 200000
customers
2009
in its 20th year
passes 500000
customers in
response to the
economic crisis
launches more new
products than 
in previous 15 years
2008
400000
customers in 950
locations across
70 countries two
thirds of which no
longer have a ﬁxed
serviced ofﬁce
business review corporate governance financial statements shareholder information