regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
view more online at wwwreguscom
growth
driving  driving growth
regus is the major player in the fast developing 
industry of ﬂexible work provision – the platform  
of choice from which businesses of all sizes operate 
over a million customers a day beneﬁt from our 
locations spread across almost 100 countries with 
our ever expanding range of innovative products 
and services we enable people to work their way 
whether it’s from home on the road or from  
an ofﬁce
contents
directors’ report business review
financial highlights 1
regus today 2
chairman’s statement 4
chief executive’s review 5
driving growth  
– building our third place business 12
– developing our mature centres 14
financial review 16
corporate responsibility 20
 
financial statements
consolidated income statement  40
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 88
shareholder and other information
segmental analysis 90
five year summary 92
shareholder information 93
directors’ report corporate governance
board of directors 21
other statutory information 22
corporate governance 24
directors’ statements 31
remuneration report 32
auditors’ report 39  wwwreguscominvestors 1
business review
financial highlights
mature operating proﬁt
£1077m
1077
646
972
1678
09 08 10 11
mature free cash ﬂow 
£1171m
1171
703
551
1376
09 08 10 11
net investment in growth
£864m
09 08 10 11
864
714
182
262
mature operating margin
104
104
66
103
192
09 08 10 11
mature earnings per share 
87p
87
54
81
141
09 08 10 11
no of centres split mature and new
1203
09 08 10 11
255 948
mature
new
  
920
855
758
164
128
220
  these ﬁgures are prepared on a consistent basis ie 2010 mature centres  
are those that were open on or before 31 december 2008 2 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
regus today
a clear market leader
we do this on a global basis with some 1200 locations across  
550 cities in 94 countries serving more than a million customers
the distinctive features of our business can be identiﬁed as follows
 a wellestablished and consistently strong performing mature centres 
business cash generation is strong and continues to demonstrate 
robust yearonyear improvements this part of our business is 
actively managed to deliver high occupancy and usage and support 
stronger pricing which when coupled with lower overheads results  
in improved margins
 an exciting and fast growing new centres business the larger our 
network globally and nationally the more compelling a proposition we 
become to our customers – from the very largest corporates to lone 
entrepreneurs we remain committed to achieving a global network of 
2000 locations by 2014 we expect these new centres to eventually 
achieve similar levels of revenue and earnings as the mature estate 
and we tightly manage them to ensure that this happens 
 third place locations creating new avenues for growth third place work 
locations are deﬁned as not the ofﬁce ﬁrst place and not the home 
second place so a third place could be the library or a railway station 
a cafe or the park bench what these places share is an increased use 
by mobile workers the group is currently working with a number of 
large organisations including shell and sncf  to develop their third 
place work locations as well as exploring a wide variety of other 
opportunities whilst early in its development this opening is exciting 
and has signiﬁcant potential we anticipate that the investment required 
and returns generated will be comparable with our existing business
 our network is truly global its scale breadth and depth are 
compelling to organisations of all sizes and in all market sectors
 we make a signiﬁcant investment in new product development which 
enables us to continually develop innovative services for our customers 
 our industry knowledge is unique – we live and breathe our subject 
conducting signiﬁcant levels of inhouse research partly to ensure 
innovation is customer need driven but also through commissioning 
respected academics and industry thoughtleaders
 our income streams are highly diversiﬁed our end user base is 
diverse with all sectors represented from the very largest to the  
very smallest companies with more than a million members
 we are able to address any type of requirement from a startup 
entrepreneur requiring a place to meet new customers for an hour  
or a mobile worker downloading emails inbetween meetings to 
supporting fortune 500 companies across multiple geographies
in developing these features regus has become the preeminent leader 
in the provision of ﬂexible work space we have earned a formidable 
reputation and built a strong wellknown brand the quality of our 
people is outstanding and customer relationships are strong as we 
continue to grow these attributes will only be enhanced as will our ability 
to leverage the beneﬁts of increased scale the outcome of this will be 
improved shareholder returns through the provision of the best service 
and value creation for our customers
regus helps businesses work by providing them and their people 
with a wide range of physical and virtual work locations and 
associated products and services

1 for ﬂexible work
the 

1 choice for businesses 
 

1in ﬂexible ofﬁces 
 
 

1for business lounges 
 

1provider of public vc 
 
 

1for business meetings  wwwreguscominvestors 3
uganda
since the late 1980s  
uganda has become  
relatively peaceful stable  
and prosperous with solid 
economic growth and falls  
in inﬂation gdp growth is 
forecast to be 64 and 
whilst coffee and tea remain 
key to the economy recent oil 
discoveries have signiﬁcantly 
boosted prospects
madagascar
the world’s fourth largest 
island madagascar has 
strong economic and 
cultural links with france 
and frenchspeaking west 
africa whilst still a relatively 
underdeveloped country 
several major projects are 
underway in the mining  
and oil and gas sectors  
that are anticipated to give  
a signiﬁcant boost to the 
malagasy economy 
uruguay
uruguay has traditionally 
been more prosperous 
than many other 
countries in south 
america and is  
known for its advanced 
education and social 
security systems and 
liberal laws major 
industries include food 
processing and electrical 
machinery and gdp 
growth is forecast to  
be 6 in 2012
croatia
with its eu accession treaty signed  
in december 2011 croatia is set  
to enjoy the beneﬁts which full 
membership provides the service 
sector dominates the economy and 
tourism is a signiﬁcant source of 
revenue in the last few years the 
country has invested heavily in 
infrastructure especially along 
paneuropean routes
kuwait
one of the world’s leading  
oil producers and per capita the ﬁfth 
richest country in the world kuwait  
is expected to enjoy growth in the 
region of 556 in 2012 according  
to the index of economic freedom it 
has the second most free economy in 
the middle east aside from oil other 
major industries include shipping 
construction and ﬁnancial services 
with the country having a well
developed banking system
business review
1203
locations 
 
550
cities
94
countries 
 
1 million
customers 4 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
chairman’s statement
i am pleased to report that regus has 
produced a strong set of results in line  
with the board’s expectations 
group sales grew 118 to £11626m 2010 £10404m 
operating proﬁts more than doubled to £506m 2010 
£239m excluding exceptional items and on the same basis 
earnings per share increased from 19p to 40p largely as a 
result of the increased ebit in the year it was also pleasing 
to witness our 2010 openings move into proﬁtability in the 
second half of the year 
on a likeforlike basis our mature business increased 
its operating proﬁt by 657 to £1077m 2010 £650m  
gross margins to 266 2010 223 and sales increased 
by 38 to £10351m 2010 £997m additionally it remains 
highly cash generative with a free cash ﬂow after notional 
tax ﬁnance costs and maintenance capital expenditure of 
£1171m 2010 £765m 
over the year we invested £864m in growth 2010 £790m 
opening 139 new locations and entering nine new markets 
this assured progress gives the board the conﬁdence to 
increase the ﬁnal dividend by 14 to 20p making a total 
increase for the year of 12 to 29p 2010 26p
our business
there are three parts to our business – mature new and 
third place they are closely interlinked contribute to each 
other’s success and can be accessed by every one of our 
million strong members 
 mature – our ﬁrst thousand locations 
a well established and consistently high performing 
business cash generation is strong and continues to 
demonstrate robust yearonyear improvement it is 
actively managed to deliver high occupancy and usage 
and support stronger pricing which when coupled with 
lower overheads results in improved margins
 new – the next thousand locations 
the larger our network globally and nationally the more 
compelling a proposition we become to our customers 
– from the very largest corporates to lone entrepreneurs 
we remain committed to achieving a global network of 
2000 locations by 2014 and by end of february 2012 
had already opened a further 19 locations since the year 
end our new centres are performing well and achieving 
their target returnoninvestment hurdles we remain 
conﬁdent in our growth strategy however we are mindful 
of the continued global economic uncertainty and the 
management team carefully monitors key metrics 
remaining ready to adapt our growth plans accordingly
 third place – new avenues for growth 
the business has been exploring a number of new 
growth opportunities especially related to expanding our 
network into third places these are locations from which 
people are increasingly likely to work when on the move 
railway stations and motorway service stations are 
examples and the group is also exploring a wide variety 
of other potential third place locations whilst early in its 
development this is an exciting opportunity and has 
signiﬁcant potential we anticipate that the investment 
required and returns generated will be comparable with 
our existing businesses
a strong management team focussed on delivery
our management team is strong and many of our leaders 
have more than 20 years’ industry experience including 
managing through challenging macroeconomic conditions 
they have directed our business during the current economic 
challenges with vigour increasing returns from our mature 
business whilst executing controlled yet aggressive growth 
and exploring exciting new opportunities during 2011 strong 
progress was made in key business areas including the 
strengthening of our management team both centrally and  
at the country level business development and product 
innovation improving our revenue mix and diversiﬁcation 
operational efﬁciencies and people management  
delivery in these areas contributed signiﬁcantly to our 
improved performance 
strategy
following the execution of a range of strategic initiatives 
regus’ strategy is clear to serve and proﬁt from the move 
toward ﬂexible work by being the platform of choice from 
which business operates 
to deliver this we will
 continue to broaden our appeal through accelerated 
product and service innovation  wwwreguscominvestors 5
business review
 grow mature revenues through improved sophistication 
and diversity
 be in as many new and different locations as we can 
expanding our footprint according to opportunity risk 
and return
 maximise the strengths of our growing network  
brand position and awareness
 strengthen and decentralise management
 control overheads through operational excellence  
scale and innovation
board changes
on 1 september 2011 dominique yates joined the board  
as chief financial ofﬁcer he replaced stephen gleadle who 
in august 2011 announced that after six years with the 
business he was stepping down from his position i would 
like to thank stephen for the contribution he made to the 
establishment of our business as the clear leader in its ﬁeld
the board notes the publication of the davies review on 
women on boards the board aims to be reﬂective of a 
broad range of skills backgrounds and experience while  
we follow a policy of ensuring that we appoint the best 
people for the relevant roles we recognise the beneﬁts  
of diversity including gender and will continue to take this 
into account when considering any new appointment
dividend
it remains the intention of the board to pay dividends at a 
level which it believes is sustainable throughout the economic 
cycle and is in line with its progressive payment policy 
reﬂecting the group’s improved trading performance strong 
cash generation healthy cash position and optimism about 
the group’s longterm prospects the board is recommending 
a ﬁnal dividend for 2011 of 20p 2010 175p this will be 
paid on friday 25 may 2012 to shareholders on the register 
at the close of business on thursday 26 april 2012 this 
represents an increase in the full year dividend of 12 to  
29p 2010 26p
douglas sutherland
chairman
20 march 2012
chief executive’s review
the business has delivered a robust  
set of numbers and i am pleased with  
our performance 
at a time of great economic uncertainty and low growth  
we have made excellent progress and grown both our 
mature and new centre businesses 
in our mature business operating proﬁts rose by 66 to 
£1077m with free cashﬂow after notional tax ﬁnance 
costs and maintenance capital expenditure improving by 
53 to £1171m on the back of revenues up 38 to 
£10351m we also had a very encouraging year of growth 
customer numbers up 87 new locations up 109 and 
new countries on the network up by nine to 94 this is 
testimony to the strength of our business and attractiveness 
of our offer to companies of all sizes in all sectors regardless 
of the economic cycle
the year saw the group make important progress across a 
number of key business areas including but not limited to 
further strengthening and decentralisation of our senior 
management team business development and product 
innovation cost control operational efﬁciencies and people 
management and development delivery in these areas 
played a key role in our improved performance the business 
also began to accelerate changes to its revenue mix a 
process which began a number of years ago as we continue 
to widen and deepen our network develop new and 
innovative products and services and forge more strategic 
alliances so this trend is expected to continue
whilst 2011 saw an extended period of macroeconomic 
uncertainty particularly in the second half we continued to 
extend our global reach and strengthen incountry networks 
on the back of the mega trend of ﬂexible mobile work  
partly as a result of the strong interest from other large 
organisations looking to regus to help them develop their 
third place work locations for their customers but also from 
the experience gained from businessworld and our million 
strong membership we have established a third place 
business blue chip organisations we are currently working  6 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
with include shell sncf and since the year end ns trains 
the dutch railway operator interest has also come from 
areas as diverse as retailers and local government whilst still 
very early days this fast growing opportunity which has been 
thoroughly market tested plays to our skills and unrivalled 
industry knowledge
in a world of some one billion mobile workers and growing 
the opportunity available to our business remains signiﬁcant 
the advances in mobile technology worker demand to 
satisfy ever more complex worklife balance needs and 
organisations of all sizes looking to reduce cost and increase 
corporate ﬂexibility mean that this target market will only 
increase the larger our network both globally and nationally 
within countries and the more innovative our product offering 
so the more attractive and compelling we become this is 
especially relevant as regus is the only truly global company 
in this sector
our mature centres business
our mature centres business is well established with many 
locations in existence for more than 20 years we have seen 
years of consistent performance and again in 2011 the same 
can be said cash generation was strong and despite the 
challenging macro economy has shown robust yearonyear 
improvement our mature centres are well maintained 
through a planned and rigorous series of maintenance capital 
expenditure improvements this means we always look our 
best and provide customers with excellent facilities and 
services there is also a degree of network modiﬁcation as 
demand may change over time this natural process ensures 
that our mature estate is always in an optimal condition in 
optimal locations – city centre suburban transport 
interchanges amongst others the absolute aim is to ensure 
that the business achieves its targeted returns regardless of 
the state of the global economy we then endeavour to 
enhance these through a comprehensive programme of 
product and business development 
the four key facets of our mature centres business are 
decreasing cyclicality maximising yield and diversifying 
revenue reducing cost and network optimisation
 decreasing cyclicality 
we are constantly increasing the number of users across 
all sizes of companies in all sectors this is driven by the 
general trend toward mobile work especially as more 
companies look to outsource workplace provision and 
become more ﬂexible but also by our offering a wider 
range of products and services over time we will steadily 
increase the revenue that we generate from our million 
plus members especially as we drive more global use in 
part through increased use by large global corporates but 
also into better serving those workers whose permanent 
base is the home 
 maximising yield and diversifying revenue 
our mature centres are constantly refreshed and 
reconﬁgured changing to meet demand be that in the 
short medium or long term this may lead to a shortterm 
chief executive’s review continued
“the great benefit of being with regus is it’s so easy to 
expand they increased the size of our workspace by 
giving us another room and taking down a wall – doing 
everything over a weekend every day they evolve their 
service as they learn more about how we do things 
differently in google”
dr paul barreto country manager google portugal
google uses regus worldwide for convenience it provides everything 
needed to set up a business from scratch with centres that are the  
same quality anywhere in the world
“we founded the new heinz office in regus because the 
services from reception to facilities management allow 
us to concentrate on the business and on growth we 
also like the atmosphere in the town centre offices and 
the friendly regus staff who help us with smallscale 
administrative services”
matthias wilberg commercial director of heinz in switzerland
regus offered heinz an established infrastructure that included facilities 
management and was by far the best quality solution in the right location
“regus is very flexible to our needs – as well as the 
attraction of being able to grow or get smaller it provides 
us with a lowcost and fast setup in spain i toured 
three centres and moved into one that afternoon”
dave mccarthy chief commercial ofﬁcer – europe molson coors
in six months the molson coors european team has grown to 16 people 
and they continue to hire and expand the business with staff based in a 
regus centre in kiev recently coming on board as well
why companies use regus
“the regus solution allows us to enter new markets 
quickly without taking on the costs and risk of 
establishing our own infrastructure it also makes  
our real estate operation more efficient since we  
only have to deal with one company to get set up”
fred franz senior director of worldwide real estate  
and facilities polycom inc
polycom currently relies on regus for ﬂexible fulltime ofﬁces in ﬁve 
countries mexico peru spain canada and the united states
6 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011  wwwreguscominvestors 7
business review
increase in mature maintenance capital expenditure  
in 2011 we installed or refreshed some 500 lounges at a 
cost of approximately £4 million but contributes to the 
generation of improved returns developing and diversifying 
new sources of revenue is also a key priority within the 
mature business for example in the uk we provide a 
location package to avis at more than 37 regus locations 
this enables them to cost effectively increase their reach 
with more dropoff and pickup points in return we are 
able to offer our customers preferential rates and an avis 
service on their doorstep 
 reducing cost 
just as we can reconﬁgure the physical layout so we can 
actively manage our leases paying the fair market rate  
for our leases is critical for the success of the business  
and over the year we continued to make great strides in 
increasing the ﬂexibility of our lease portfolio and improving 
terms our aim is where practicable to have all leases 
either ﬂexible but with built in breaks or structural ﬂexibility 
or variable where the rent is linked to the proﬁtability of the 
centre these combined equate to 80 of our mature 
group estate consequently the business is able to ensure 
that over the economic cycle our rents track current market 
rates the business also remains mindful of the need to 
control costs in the wider sense and that the current 
economic environment presents good opportunities  
to identify savings 
 network optimisation 
our mature network locations are broadly ﬁxed but we 
maintain the ﬂexibility to adapt where required on rare 
occasions centres become uneconomical the rent 
becomes too high the location is no longer as attractive 
as it once was or the building becomes tired and requires 
signiﬁcant investment our response to these and other 
factors is usually one of the following
 – consolidate the centre into another one nearby
 –  stay in the location and refurbish the centre working 
jointly with the building owner
 – move to a better location in the immediate vicinity or
 –  renegotiate – either lower the rent or reduce the size  
of the centre
the focus for our mature estate is therefore constant and 
active management to deliver continued high occupancy 
and usage this will achieve stronger pricing which coupled 
with lower relative overheads and input costs will lead to 
margin improvement 
“we’ve been working with regus for more than  
10 yearsflexibility is at the heart of regus which 
means we can enter a new country or region without 
significant cost and risk to our business”
craig youst senior director global facilities  real estate red hat
regus provides red hat with a stepping stone approach into new markets 
and territories at any one time regus workspace represents nearly 10 
of red hat’s real estate portfolio and is sometimes higher when needed
“any company that is looking for ways to be highly 
productive has to look at their real estate costs real 
estate has been so rigid for the last century that creating 
a flexible model takes on a new kind of creative thought 
before regus we just rented out offices and had to pay 
for them then they sat empty”
john challenger ceo of challenger gray  christmas
for nearly 20 years challenger has partnered with regus to create a real 
estate programme that is completely aligned with its business needs and 
objectives – one that eliminates any excess leases from the balance sheet
“every time we open a local operation we start with 
regus because it’s easy instead of the complexities of 
starting a business in a new country such as managing 
the facilities you just start working”
pankaj parshotam marketing manager consumer tomtom portugal
with everything in tomtom centralised in amsterdam regus offers the ability 
for their small team to act like any startup and get down to business straight 
away tomtom also uses regus space in prague istanbul and zurich
“with a more agile model we are no longer on the real 
estate roller coasterwe can now acquire just what we 
need when we need it for as long as we need it without 
risk or excessive costs”
coleen hurley director of corporate real estate juniper networks
for more than 10 years the collaborative partnership between juniper 
networks and regus has resulted in a strategic and ﬂuid workplace model 
accommodating the changing needs of juniper’s global workforce and 
diverse customer base
 wwwreguscominvestors 7 8 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
chief executive’s review continued
continued improvements to the  
mature centres business model
we strive to improve the margins in our mature centres 
business through a continued focus on key strategic 
initiatives outlined below are some which played a  
key role in our strong 2011 performance
strengthened and decentralised management
i wrote last year that strengthening incountry management 
was of critical importance to the group the considerable 
progress that we have made during the year has come about 
as a direct result of the continual improvements we are 
making to our management team especially at a country 
level as our organisation continues to grow daytoday 
responsibility is being moved from our regional headquarters 
to the ﬁeld pushing decision making down into the countries 
and therefore nearer to the customer improves the speed 
with which we can respond to our customers and the quality 
and accuracy of outcomes whilst this has increased our 
overheads in the short term our business has to have 
strong experienced local leaders to manage growth and 
ensure the appropriate level of returns are generated and  
we are already seeing the return on this investment coming 
through as we achieve the desired delayering
innovation remains a core competitive differentiator
our ability to attract new customers and increase spend from 
existing ones is highly dependent upon the strength of our 
new product and service offers an approach we call “only at 
regus” key highlights from this year include the launch of 
businesslink a networking platform for regus customers 
which aims to replicate in an online environment some of the 
physical beneﬁts of being in a regus location such as 
serendipitous meetings in communal areas that lead to 
business opportunities one of the main ways it is currently 
being used by our customers is to ﬁnd new business and 
suppliers myregus our customer group purchasing portal 
also underwent a major refresh one element of which now 
allows customers to selfserve and transact with us 100 
online as such online bookings are at an alltime high and 
we expect this to continue to increase in 2012 
strong operational progress
devolving responsibility and decision making to the operations 
and especially incentre teams moved apace over the year 
our approach to operations is also focussed on reducing 
centre workload through a process of back ofﬁce 
consolidation and workﬂow simpliﬁcation by the end of the 
year we had automated online more than 90 of incentre 
processes up from 70 at the end of 2010 in doing so we 
freed up signiﬁcant amounts of frontline team members’ time 
to spend on customer facing and revenue generating activities 
a strong and dedicated global team
our people are the most important part of our business  
we are making signiﬁcant improvements to the way that we 
develop and retain our people in any growing organisation 
there is much opportunity and that remains one of the major 
attractions to working for our business
as i have demonstrated above we have gone to great 
lengths to ﬁnd and empower management within key group 
functions and at a countrylocal level but to support our 
accelerated growth programme we need great people at all 
levels of the business as a management team we are 
focussed on ensuring we are able to attract the best new 
talent but also retain key team members in the business 
over the year we have invested in our human resources team 
and created dedicated inmarket resource training and team 
member career development remain central to our approach 
to retention the business continues to invest heavily in 
training especially of lower management and centre team 
members we are also increasing the ease with which team 
members can move to new countries to help our growth as 
such we are conﬁdent that with the signiﬁcant opportunities 
arising from growth staff turnover will continue to reduce
our new centres business – capacity expansion
the larger our network both globally and nationally within 
countries so the more attractive and compelling we become 
as has been previously stated the business is aiming for a 
network in the region of 2000 locations by 2014 we opened 
139 locations in 2011 and plan to open a further 200 by the 
end of 2012 we expect these to achieve similar levels of 
revenue and earnings as the mature estate in due course 
and we tightly manage them to ensure that this happens  
it is important to state that whilst we remain optimistic and 
conﬁdent in our growth strategy the management team 
remain mindful of the continued global economic uncertainty 
in the near term we carefully monitor key metrics and are 
able to temporarily slow down the growth if we determine 
that conditions have become too uncertain or challenging
looking at our 2010 and 2011 openings we ﬁnd that
 our 2010 centres have performed well totalling  
116 locations these generated £1000m of revenue  
and made a centre contribution of £150m and an 
ebitda of £38m
 our 2011 centres some of which are only a few months 
old and totalling 139 locations generated revenues of 
£202m and as expected made a negative centre 
contribution of £134m 
in 2012 we plan to open somewhere in the region of 200 
new locations and enter 68 new countries we have already 
opened in madagascar and others will include iceland nepal 
and fiji it is crucial for us to continue to enter new countries 
this is primarily in response to demand from global but also 
medium and small companies as they look to us and our 
expertise to help them expand and enter new markets  
the classic example is how we helped google expand in  
new centres business growth
670
789
916
978
983
1084
1203
1400
1650
2000
09 08 07 06 05 10 11 12 13 14 third place
first place
 offi office ce
second place
 hom home e
mt motorway 
service stations
lib librari ies ht hot l els
ai airport ts cf cafes
b busi iness
centres
ot out id side
spaces
ri rail l 
stations
s sup li pliers’ ’
locations
business review
the early part of the last decade and continue to support 
them in some 32 countries 
to support our accelerated growth programme and leverage 
the beneﬁts and efﬁciencies of scale we have recently 
strengthened the development team it is vital that we 
automate and simplify as much of this expansion activity  
as possible and also ensure that we achieve the optimal 
return from our investment capital additionally the current 
state of the global economy could well present us with a 
good opportunity to acquire a signiﬁcant number of excellent 
locations at competitive rates 
there is a clear programme of development to ensure that 
growth is sustainable achievable and in the places where 
there will be strong demand speciﬁcally
 national networks – customers are today more likely to 
need access to complete national networks and not just 
individual centres we believe there is signiﬁcant latent 
demand as we open up more of these 
 neighbourhood locations – we are increasingly opening 
in suburban and residential areas
 infrastructure locations – major motorway junctions 
railway stations and other transport interchanges  
where people travel they will increasingly work and  
will look to regus for support
 wwwreguscominvestors 9
 missing city locations – we refer to this as ﬁlling in the 
“gaps on the map”
 growth accelerating – in response to demand from end 
users but also as we react to requests from building 
owners and developers
third place 
in pursuing additional growth opportunities the business  
has been exploring a number of new avenues especially in 
expanding our network into more third places indeed a 
commercial offer is emerging which has the potential to be  
a major third leg of our business 
third place is deﬁned as not the ofﬁce ﬁrst place nor the 
home second place – see diagram below so a third place 
could be the library or a cafe or railway station it might be 
the park bench or a supplier’s premises work in the third 
place is increasingly the norm as technological advances 
mean that anyone can work anywhere our third place 
business is creating better quality work locations where 
people are increasingly likely to work when on the move or 
when away from the home or ofﬁce railway stations and 
motorway service stations for example but the group is 
exploring a wide variety of other third place locations
this new third place business is being built on the 
experience we have gained from businessworld where we 
have created a base of more than a million members in a little 
third place work locations 10 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
chief executive’s review continued
over three years whilst third place remains at an early 
stage progress has been rapid – in the second half of 2011 
the group signed a landmark deal with sncf  the french 
national railway operator and since the year end a similar 
deal with ns trains the dutch national railway operator  
has been agreed both will result in multiple regus locations 
within these organisations’ networks serving a signiﬁcant 
number of their mobile worker customers the group is 
also in discussions with a number of other similar transport 
infrastructure organisations from around the world which 
includes a pilot with shell at their motorway service stations 
in france and facilities set up and trading within airports 
currently schiphol netherlands and zaventem belgium 
additionally we are soon to open a community based 
business centre which in addition to the standard regus 
offering will house the local ofﬁce of economic 
development and be put to a variety of different  
uses at evenings and weekends
the potential of third place is signiﬁcant and fast growing  
it plays to our skill sets – our systems and process 
business development expertise and long history of 
partnerships our intuitive understanding of work and the 
needs of ﬂexible workers we expect to sign many more  
of these agreements in 2012 with increasingly diverse 
partners in many more locations
use of third spaces is different to traditional regus centres 
and is more akin to how people interact with our business 
lounges they are in effect dropin locations for shortterm 
but frequent use convenience is key and that is why the 
experience has to be seamless especially if using several 
locations over a week or even a day they are ideally  
suited to the needs of the mobile worker highly accessible 
welcoming and comfortable local and easy to use 
professional with high quality wiﬁ and refreshments good 
value with other services available on a payasyouneed 
basis and where you are surrounded by other likeminded 
individuals membership is key – we have recently passed 
the million mark and expect strong and accelerating growth 
over the coming years from large corporates such as yell 
which take membership cards numbered in their thousands 
to entrepreneurs who will take just one possibly purchased  
via a high street outlet
with regards to the investment required and expected 
returns we anticipate both to be comparable with our 
existing model our approach is global so we expect  
to beneﬁt early from scale the concept has been 
comprehensively demand tested and being heavily 
underpinned by technology is expected to develop  
rapidly we intend to provide more information on key 
developments in this market in the future 
operational review 
the momentum of growth achieved in q4 2010 continued 
throughout 2011 over the year the group opened 139 new 
centres 2010 125 with the total number as of 31 december 
2011 standing at 1203 2010 1084 over the period 
customer numbers increased by 87 to 983360 and have 
since the year end passed the million mark taken together 
this growth resulted in an increase in total workstation 
capacity of 82 to 204043
to properly review our business i will concentrate on our 
mature business performance development which 
represents likeforlike business
americas 
our americas business posted a strong performance 
especially in the usa and i offer my congratulations to them 
on a job well done mature revenues were up 23 on 2010 
to £4318 million with average mature occupancy of 886 
during the period 2010 828 mature gross margins 
improved strongly to 293 2010 240 during the year 
we added 62 centres including our ﬁrst in omaha 
nebraska which contributed to the increase in the average 
number of workstations from 74265 in 2010 to 80064  
in 2011 the robust nature of our mature centres business  
is underpinned by the solidity of this business latin america 
has a number of exciting opportunities for us not least  
in mexico and brazil where we see tremendous growth 
potential we continue to experience healthy levels  
of demand across all geographies in the region and  
in h2 opened our ﬁrst location in uruguay
on a regional basis mature revenues and contribution can be analysed as follows
 revenue gross proﬁt mature gross margin 
£ million 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010
americas 4318 4223 1266 1005 293 238
emea 2743 2663 735 661 268 248
asia paciﬁc 1397 1325 417 402 298 303
uk 1876 1748 297 145 158 83
other 17 17 34 14 – –
total 10351 9976 2749 2227 266 223
 the mature business is deﬁned as the performance from centres owned and operated at 31 december 2009 business review
emea
contrary to what might have been expected our emea 
business had a good year especially in h2 the region 
delivered mature revenues of £2743m up 30 on 2010 
and achieved an average mature occupancy of 853 2010 
796 mature gross margins improved over the period to 
267 2010 249 during the year we added 45 centres 
which contributed to the increase in the average number  
of workstations from 36120 in 2010 to 38473 in 2011  
eight countries were added to the network including croatia 
uganda and madagascar although the macro economy 
across much of this region is challenging we continue to 
seek and ﬁnd good growth opportunities in many markets 
additionally much of the initial interest and subsequent 
development and implementation of our third place activity 
has originated here
asia pacific
our asia paciﬁc business performed well this dynamic 
region continues to present tremendous opportunities for 
growth especially in india and china but also in every 
market where we are present currently operating 108 
mature centres across 16 countries the region delivered 
mature revenues of £1397m up 54 on 2010 and 
achieved an average mature occupancy of 857 2010 
814 mature gross margins stayed broadly ﬂat at 300 
2010 306 during the year we added 29 centres which 
contributed to the increase in the average number of 
workstations from 23437 in 2010 to 27757 in 2011
uk
the uk remains a tough market but nevertheless the 
business which numbers 135 mature centres continued to 
improve and delivered mature revenues of £1876m up 
73 on 2010 this was on the back of mature gross 
margins almost doubling to 158 2010 83 a clear 
demonstration of the progress made in turning this business 
around during the year we remain vigilant as the average 
mature occupancy has not moved much beyond 80  
2011 805 vs 2010 808 property and associated 
oncosts remain high – consequently only three centres were 
added over the period the average number of workstations 
increased from 34851 in 2010 to 38346 in 2011 we have 
also focussed on refreshing the management team to give  
the business renewed vigour and focus
outlook 
regus has delivered a strong set of results after executing 
various strategic initiatives over the last two years regus is 
now a more resilient business and our strong growth reﬂects 
this the current trend toward ﬂexible working means that we 
anticipate continued strong momentum in 2012 and current 
trading reﬂects this as such despite an uncertain economic 
backdrop we are cautiously optimistic 
 our mature centres have signiﬁcant and fundamental 
strengths strong cash generation solid likeforlike 
revenue growth and improving margins performances 
which we are focussed on maintaining
 our new centres are performing well and the locations 
we have opened are expected to reach our target  
return on investment hurdle in the expected timeframe 
we anticipate margins in these locations will continue  
to improve
 whilst the overall group performance will always be 
impacted by the pace of openings within our new 
centres business the board is comfortable with the 
progress being made and expects that the strong 
momentum in our mature centres business will  
continue into 2012
 regus’ unique market leading position provides us with 
excellent potential to grow further through our third place 
business due to the burgeoning ﬂexible work market and 
we look forward to this delivering additional returns over 
the medium to long term 
whilst we foresee the general business environment  
remaining challenging at a macro level in the near term we 
remain optimistic about the longterm growth prospects  
and strategy of the business as such we are ready and 
capable to invest further to accelerate growth but scale  
back if macroeconomic conditions deteriorate
fundamentally the achievement of our goals rests on our 
energetic passionate and dedicated team members 
providing our rapidly growing number of customers and 
partners with absolutely the best possible service it is a 
pleasure to lead such a team and it is only right that i end  
by thanking them for their efforts in 2011 and look forward  
to sharing further success with them in 2012
mark dixon
chief executive ofﬁcer
20 march 2012
 wwwreguscominvestors 11 12 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
driving growth
building our  
third place business
in pursuing additional growth opportunities the business  
has been exploring a number of new avenues especially  
in expanding its network into more third places 
third place is deﬁned as not the ofﬁce ﬁrst place nor  
the home second place so a third place could be the 
library or a cafe or railway station it might be the park  
bench or a supplier’s premises it could also be a regus 
business centre work in the third place is increasingly  
the norm as technological advances mean that anyone  
can work anywhere as the illustration demonstrates  
our third place business is creating better quality work  
locations where people are increasingly likely to work  
when on the move or when away from the home or  
ofﬁce railway stations and motorway service stations  
for example but the group is also exploring a wide  
variety of other third place locations 
mr a sample
100 123456 7890 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 1 1234 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 3456 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 789 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 89 890 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
businessworld
gold
r ret tail il
our products and services 
hav haveb e been een av avail ailabl ableo e ont n the he 
hi high h st tre t et f for more th than a 
yea y r  enabli bling g a conv i enient 
access point
pa part rtne ners rshi hips ps
reg regus us has has bu built ilt a a wid widev e vari ariety ety
of partnerships with many of 
the world’s larges g t brands  
i incld ludi ing 60 60  ofl f l d eadi ing 
airway ays s hotel gro goups ups 
business organisations 
and and ot other hersw s whic hiche h exis xistt t to o 
sup suppor porta t and nd ser serve ve mob mobile ile
ﬂex ﬂexibl iblew e work orkers ers
r rail ilway t st t ati ions
rec recent ent de deals als wi with th snc sncfa f and nd 
ns ns tra trains ins d dutc utchr h rail ailway ways s 
will result in regus opening 
bus busine iness ss lou lounge ngesw s with ithin in 
i rail lway stt tati ions ft often it with h 
pla platfo tform rm acc access ess  wwwreguscominvestors 13
business review
mobile workers
wit witha h ana n arra rrayo y ofa f appl pplica icatio tions ns 
mob mobile ile se servi rvices cess  such uch as as ca call ll 
handling and selfserve tools 
our net two k rk can b be ea il sily y
d and qu q ik ickl ly y access d ed b by y
those for whom work is 
something that happens 
on the move
ai airport ts
an increasing number of airports 
are are no nows w serv erved ed by by reg regus us and and
th the b bu i siness i is acti tiv l ely ex l plo i ring 
way ys in which it can deepen p its
presence and service to support 
the vast majority of business
travellersthat no longerﬂy travellers that no longer ﬂy 
bus busine iness ss cla class ss business class 
b bu i siness cent tres
the core of the regus network is
its its bu busin siness ess ce centr ntres es whi which ch off offer er 
our f full ll range f of prod duct ts d and 
ser i vices o ou l r loca i tions range g
from premium addresses in 
central business districts to key 
transport infrastructure nodes transport infrastructure nodes 
and and su subur burban ban co commu mmutin tingh g hubs ubs and suburban commuting hubs
m mot torway 
service stations
reg regus us has has re recen cently tly 
ope opened ned a a pil pilot ot wit within hin a a she shell ll 
motorway service station
ho home me w wor orke kers rs
with a wide array of 
nonresidential products 
d and se i rvices i incre i asi l ngl g y y
available on a selfserve
basis regus is able to 
fully y sup ppor p t any y home
bas based ed wor worker ker w  wher hereve ever r 
the theya y are re in in the the wo world rld 14 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
driving growth
developing our  
mature centres
administrative support
available to anyone on a payasyou
need basis from as little as 15 minutes 
from photocopying or collation through 
to booking travel or accommodation
day ofﬁces
sometimes all that is required is a 
quite private space for a few hours 
or possibly a full day all regus 
centres have private ofﬁces with  
all the services that go with that 
available on an hourly basis 
virtual ofﬁce
all the beneﬁts of an ofﬁce  
without the ofﬁce – an impressive 
business address and phone 
number anywhere in the world  
as well as a private ofﬁce for a few 
days each month if required
branch ofﬁces
the ideal way to expand into new 
markets we provide our customers 
with space to work business 
support local knowledge and a 
customer base all on their doorstep
thinkpods
a stylish new thinking and working  
space with room for a laptop and a 
comfortable adjustable chair 
thinkpods are dedicated to 
productivity and unique to regus 
designed to be used for any length  
of time from one hour to a whole day 
providing privacy in the shared space 
of our business lounges
disaster recovery
a variety of ﬁxed and virtual spaces 
to help organisations of any size 
resume operations following a 
workplace disaster
coworking
most regus centres have open plan 
space which different businesses 
share popular with a wide variety  
of organisations these spaces are a 
low cost alternative for businesses 
which are starting to grow
training rooms
regus are able to provide  
a suite of training room 
environments at all locations 
to suit a wide variety of 
learning styles all are 
served by a dedicated 
support team
our business centres are the heart of our network and 
the place from where all our products and services can 
be accessed the assumption is that they are mainly 
places of ﬁxed working but this couldn’t be further from 
the truth – with a wide variety of ﬁxed and ﬂexible work 
products and services they are thriving hubs of 
entrepreneurial and business activity engines of  
their local and indeed national economies business review
 wwwreguscominvestors 15
document and  
print management
our fully selfservice cloud  
printing solution customers  
can print from anywhere to 
anywhere on the network this 
then facilitates other activities  
such as low cost couriering
serviced ofﬁces
our workspaces are highly adaptable and fully equipped  
with all the furniture it and communications technology  
our customers need to move in today and start working 
collaboration spaces
regus is able to provide a wide 
range of spaces for teams of all  
sizes to meet and collaborate
video  
communication
we have the world’s  
largest network of video 
communication suites including 
state of the art teleprescence 
studios which enable faceto
face meetings without the usual 
travel expense and downtime
business lounges
our business lounges are the 
perfect place to work when  
on the move convenient 
workready environments 
providing peace support  
and dedicated resources 
meeting rooms
with more than 4000 meeting 
rooms we provide the very  
best in ﬂexible meeting space 
bookable by the day half day  
or even the hour financial review
improved profitability and strong underlying 
cash generation in spite of continued 
challenging market conditions 
it is only possible to understand properly regus’ ﬁnancial 
statements by looking at mature business performance and 
new business performance separately the reason for this is 
that while our new centres deﬁned as centres that opened 
on or after 1 january 2010 develop rapidly and contribute  
in line with our mature centres those opened on or before  
31 december 2009 over time the resources that we apply 
to opening and developing a new centre as well as the 
relative underperformance before the centre has fully 
matured create a drag on our overall income statement  
the overall weight of this drag depends on the pace of our 
opening programme as well as the mix of property deals 
across the centres with the capital expenditure invested in 
our centres new centre openings have therefore a 
signiﬁcant impact on the group’s cash ﬂow with the majority 
of the free cash ﬂow generated from the mature business 
being reinvested in growing the business this will be 
covered in greater detail below
mature centres business centres open on  
or before 31 december 2009
at the end of 2011 we had 948 mature centres constituting 
79 of the total group workstations the table below shows 
the development of mature centres’ ﬁnancial performance 
from 2010 to 2011
£m 2011 2010  increase
turnover 10351 9976 38
gross proﬁt centre 
contribution 2749 2227 23
gross margin  266 223
overheads 1673 1590 5
joint ventures 01 13 –
operating proﬁt 1077 650 66
operating margin 104  65
ebitda 1683 1339  26
ebitda margin 163 134
our mature portfolio achieved likeforlike sales growth of 
38 over the full year accelerating from 2 in the ﬁrst half 
to over 5 in the second half reﬂecting the carryover from 
improving performance in the ﬁrst half the historic high levels 
of occupancy achieved in the ﬁrst half were carried forward 
into the second half and ofﬁce pricing also advanced slightly 
from its low point in the ﬁrst half of the year in light of the 
negative global economic climate through the second half  
of 2011 this performance provides management with 
conﬁdence that we are on the right strategic path
the strong topline performance converted into a 23 
improvement in gross proﬁt 27 in the second half while 
the gross margin rose to 266 for the full year 278 in  
the second half with the beneﬁt of the leverage impact from 
higher turnover tight control of centre costs and relentless 
focus on our rental costs
overheads allocated to the mature estate increased by 5 
on last year from £1590m to £1673m this was driven by 
an increase in marketing spend from £269m to £302m 
largely reﬂecting the increased effort in the ﬁrst half to drive 
occupancy levels higher as well as the investment made in 
strengthening the group’s operational management structure 
and some central functions in the second half overheads 
allocated to the mature business were up only marginally on 
2010 overheads at £770m compared with £765m and 
signiﬁcantly lower than the £903m cost in the ﬁrst half 
beneﬁting from economies of scale and some productivity 
gains as a result while overheads as a percentage of 
revenue increased marginally from 159 of revenue in 2010 
to 162 of revenue in 2011 second half overheads as a 
percentage of revenues fell to 147 we are conﬁdent 
therefore that we are making signiﬁcant progress towards 
our target of 12 on the mature estate
as a result our mature operating proﬁt increased 66 
taking our operating margin from 65 in 2010 to 104  
in 2011 and our ebitda margin increased from 134 to 
163 for the second half of 2011 the operating proﬁt 
increase was even better increasing by 79 from £385m  
in h2 2010 to £688m with an operating margin in h2 2011 
of 132 h1 2011 76
we set out below a notional eps calculation on our mature 
business which in management’s view provides a better 
insight into the operating performance of this business
£m 2011 2010  increase
mature operating proﬁt 1077 650 66
net ﬁnance charge 51 03
tax at 20 205 129 59
notional mature proﬁt after 
tax 821518
notional mature eps 87p 55p 58
accordingly notional mature eps has grown 58 from 55p 
in 2010 to 87p in 2011 in line with operating proﬁt the h2 
2011 mature eps was correspondingly stronger increasing 
65 from 34p in h2 2010 to 56p in h2 2011
16 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011  wwwreguscominvestors 17
business review
as heralded at the publication of our half year results the 
pace of openings increased signiﬁcantly in the second half  
of 2011 with 91 new centres opened during this 6month 
period bringing the total for the year to 139 new centres
the 2010 openings continued their progression to maturity 
achieving a 150 gross margin in 2011 with 190 being 
achieved in the second half
as expected there was a negative gross proﬁt on 2011 
openings which cost £134m so far these new 2011 
centres are performing to plan and we anticipate seeing  
the normal improving performance as we go through 2012
the allocation of central overheads to support the new centres 
increased signiﬁcantly in 2011 as the overall number of new 
centres increased and the pace of openings accelerated 
as a result new centres created a drag of £547m on the 
income statement in 2011 up from £395m in 2010 the 
second half drag in 2011 accelerated to £315m as a result 
of the pace of openings during this period however it 
should be noted that if when we apply the same overhead 
allocation methodology purely for the 2010 openings these 
became contributors to operating proﬁt during the second 
half of 2011 with a positive operating proﬁt of £14m
we set out below the cash ﬂow impact of this investment  
in growth
£m 2011 2010
ebitda 424 366
growth capital expenditure 936 611
working capital estimated 397 187
tax 99 –
net investment in growth 864 790
accordingly the group invested £864m in growing the 
business representing a continued commitment to growth 
subject to the investment cases clearing the group’s 
stringent ﬁnancial hurdles as previously highlighted we are 
conﬁdent that these new centres will contribute to the 
group’s cash ﬂows as they mature and it is clear that new 
2010 centres were already beginning to make a contribution 
to cash ﬂow in the second half of 2011
closures
from time to time as part of our everyday business we close 
centres in most cases either because they are lossmaking 
and the lease is not renewed by ourselves or we wish to 
close and relocate to a better property or occasionally 
because the landlord does not wish to extend the lease
accordingly we closed 20 centres during 2011 which 
contributed an operating loss of £24m in 2011 against  
a loss of £16m in the corresponding period
the mature eps of 56p in h2 2011 which yields an 
annualised 112p per share was achieved in spite of the 
negative macroeconomic backdrop of the second half of 
2011 if the economy continues to improve through 2012  
we would expect to gradually drive sales and margins  
further forward and improve on this eps achievement
the improved eps result is also reﬂected in an increased 
cash ﬂow from our mature business which is set out below
£m 2011 2010  increase
ebitda 1683 1339 26
maintenance capital 
expenditure 394318
working capital estimated 110 81
other items allocated 14 21
finance costs all allocated 
to mature 09 01
tax at 20 or cash 
outﬂow if higher 205 155
mature free  
cash ﬂow 1171 765 53
this mature free cash ﬂow increased 53 to £1171m 
underlining the cash generative nature of our mature 
business this is equivalent to 124p per share
new centres open on or after 1 january 2010
at the year end we had 255 new centres comprising 21 
of the total number of workstations
as highlighted above these centres represent a drag on  
the income statement as they require heavy investment in 
central overheads to locate negotiate man market and ﬁll 
on top of this the centres make a negative gross margin 
during their ﬁll phase before the revenues rise to a level where 
the centre starts to make a positive contribution
the table below shows the impact on the income statement 
from these new centres
£m 2011 2010
2010 openings 1000 229
2011 openings 202 –
turnover 1202 229
2010 openings 150 71
2011 openings 134 –
gross proﬁt centre contribution 16 71
overheads 563 324
operating proﬁt 547 395 
ebitda 424 366
turnover from new openings has increased signiﬁcantly as 
we have opened more centres throughout 2010 and 2011 18 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
financial review continued
overheads 
total group overheads increased 16 from £1933m in 
2010 to £2247m in 2011 this increase reﬂected a 
signiﬁcant increase in marketing costs up from £333m to 
£413m to support occupancy growth and the increased 
centre base as well as increased investment in operational 
management procurement the property team and our 
dedicated product development function in addition some 
increases in other administrative functions’ costs were 
required to support our growing business
in ﬁnance we continue to work toward simplifying and 
standardising where possible and the elimination of 
duplication of effort this has required investment in time  
and effort up front we will begin to reap some of the beneﬁts 
in 2012 and these will build over the next couple of years as 
we move towards our goal of a lean and costefﬁcient 
ﬁnance function
total overheads as a percentage of sales rose from 186  
in 2010 to 193 in 2011 while second half 2011 costs 
represented 183 of sales this increase is largely a result 
of the accelerated pace of growth because new centres are 
more overheads intensive than mature centres
overheads allocation methodology 
the allocation of overheads to the various elements of  
our business is based on the activity drivers in each part  
of the business
for sales  marketing costs the principle is that allocation  
is made on the basis of new workstation sales since the 
marketing effort is spent on driving enquiries and the sales 
effort is spent on converting these enquiries into sales 
renewals are excluded as these are handled by the centre 
staff who form part of our cost of sales
for all other overheads apart from the speciﬁc allocations for 
new centres outlined below we follow the principle of allocating 
the costs pro rata by reference to workstation numbers
there are two speciﬁc allocations made firstly it is currently 
estimated that 90 of the property teams’ costs are spent 
on supporting our growth programme – ﬁnding and 
negotiating new centre deals and managing the ﬁtout phase 
up to opening secondly we estimate that each new centre 
costs £130000 to get to the stage of opening built up from 
management time sales and marketing setup costs these 
costs are deducted before the allocation outlined above is 
made human resources recruitment and training costs  
and administrative and ﬁnance setup costs
group operating proﬁt reconciliation
the following tables reconcile the elements of our business to the group consolidated income statement down to operating proﬁt
£m
mature centres 
2011
new centres 
2011
closed centres 
2011
total  
2011
revenue 10351 1202 73 11626
cost of sales 7602 1186 86 8874
gross proﬁt centre contribution 2749 16 13 2752
administration expenses 1673 563 11 2247
share of proﬁt on joint venture 01 – – 01
operating proﬁt before exceptional items 1077 547 24 506
mature centres 
2010
new centres  
2010
closed centres 
2010
total  
2010
revenue 9976 229 199 10404
cost of sales 7749 300 196 8245
gross proﬁt centre contribution 2227 71 03 2159
administration expenses 1590 324 19 1933
share of proﬁt on joint venture 13 – – 13
operating proﬁt before exceptional items 650 395 16 239  wwwreguscominvestors 19
business review
net ﬁnance costs
despite our healthy net cash position the group incurred a 
net ﬁnance charge of £51m in 2011 this mainly relates to 
two items firstly the group income statement is exposed  
to foreign exchange movements on some intercompany 
transactions and transaction exchange losses were £26m in 
2011 secondly we incur a notional interest charge £20m 
relating to the accounting treatment of a fair value adjustment 
on an acquisition in 2006 this second item will disappear 
after 2013 when the fair value adjustment has unwound fully
tax 
the tax charge for the year was 196 in line with the 
longterm group tax rate of 20 
earnings per share
the group earnings per share increased from 19p in 2010 
before exceptional items to 40p per share in 2011 however 
as previously highlighted our new centres create a signiﬁcant 
drag on proﬁt which impacts the earnings per share 
cash flow
the table below reﬂects the group’s cash ﬂow
£m 2011 2010
mature free cash ﬂow 1171 765
net investment in growth 864 790
closed centres cash ﬂow 34 01
exceptional items 19 137
total net cash ﬂow  
from operations 254 161
dividends 250 232
corporate ﬁnancing activities – 72
opening net cash 1915 2370
exchange movements 36 10
closing net cash 1883 1915
the above table clearly highlights the underlying cash 
generation of our mature business with mature free cash 
ﬂow increasing from £765m in 2010 to £1171m in 2011 
we have also increased our investment in growth from 
£790m in 2010 to £864m in 2011 with 125 and 139 
centres opened in 2010 and 2011 respectively 
the group’s balance sheet remains healthy with net cash 
broadly stable on last year at £1883m in spite of the growth 
investment and the healthy return to shareholders via 
dividend payments
during the year we strengthened our treasury function and 
are in the process of rationalising and deepening our banking 
relationships we are also in the process of upgrading our 
cash management to ensure the maximum level of available 
cash at the centre
risk management
the group has a very diverse revenue base given its global 
reach extensive range of products and increasing numbers 
of customers engaged in all manner of different industries  
as such its exposure to localised economic issues or the 
health of individual industries is manageable
on top of this the group has done much over the years to 
manage its cost base most obviously through risk mitigation 
of its lease obligations in 2011 our rental costs were 
£4149m and the minimum contractual lease commitments 
at 31 december 2011 totalled £17797m as disclosed in 
note 29 of our audited annual accounts it should be noted 
however that the group’s forward order book gives us 
good visibility of our sales in the near term and covers almost 
two years of rental costs on top of this over 80 of the 
group’s leases are ﬂexible or fully variable in nature taking 
into account these commercial realities and based on  
past experience management does not believe that this 
outstanding obligation represents a signiﬁcant risk to the 
business we have consistently demonstrated our ability to 
renegotiate leases with landlords to ensure that we are not 
paying rent ahead of the market rate albeit with a lag and 
we know from experience that where we have centres that 
are well managed in the right location and where we are 
paying market rent we earn good returns the evidence for 
this is demonstrated through the development of our mature 
proﬁtability over the last few years no one would deny  
that the period since 2008 has been difﬁcult for the world 
economy in general and property markets in particular  
and yet throughout this period our mature business has 
maintained good proﬁtability and very healthy cash ﬂows
many readers will be aware of the ongoing attempts by the 
international accounting standards board to ﬁnd a solution 
to the perennial debate on lease accounting this has 
resulted in the unusual decision to release a second 
exposure draft there are likely to be signiﬁcant changes in 
the second exposure draft and it remains unclear how this 
debate will conclude in any event it seems unlikely that any 
resulting standard would be applicable to accounts before 
the year ended 31 december 2014 at the earliest whatever 
the outcome it will have no impact on the underlying 
commercial dynamics of our business described above 
dividends
in line with regus’ progressive dividend policy it is proposed 
subject to shareholder approval to increase the ﬁnal dividend 
for 2011 to 20p 2010 175p this will be paid on friday  
25 may 2012 to shareholders on the register at the close  
of business on thursday 26 april 2012 
this represents an increase in the full year dividend of 12 
taking it from 26p for 2010 to 29p for 2011
dominique yates
chief financial ofﬁcer 
20 march 2011 20 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
corporate responsibility
carbon reduction
regus uk continues to make excellent progress in its 
environmental performance the strategy outlined in last year’ s 
annual report targeted a 10 reduction in carbon footprint in 
2010 based on our 2007 baseline we are delighted to report 
that we actually achieved a 1028 reduction and this 
coupled with our successful carbon trust accreditation in  
may 2010 clearly demonstrates that we are taking our 
environmental impact and performance seriously the 
emissions metric we are using to measure and track our 
carbon footprint is that of kg of co
2
 per occupied workstation 
this metric follows very closely one of our important business 
performance metrics and has been accepted by the carbon 
trust as a unique measure which not only encourages carbon 
reduction but displays performance in business too
we recognise that to maintain sustainable yearonyear 
reductions in energy waste and water a combination of 
behaviour change and physical interventions would be 
necessary and in june 2010 introduced a behavioural 
change programme to encourage greener working this 
campaign includes a variety of behavioural changes coupled 
with a series of energy and carbon saving practices across 
the estate each centre now has an appointed greener 
working champion whose primary role is to reduce energy 
and water consumption encourage recycling and promote 
greener working amongst customers and suppliers dry 
mixed recycling was also introduced in 2010 and is being 
successfully adopted by our team members and customers
with energy spend in excess of £8m we are full participants 
in the uk government’s crc energy efﬁciency scheme  
we recognise that this comprehensive legislation is currently 
under review however the reputational league table will 
remain and regus expects to be favourably placed as it  
has both carbon trust accreditation and automatic meter 
readers in all its centres where required a requirement of  
the legislation for a high position on the table
charitable activities
regus is a great supporter of charities local to the 
communities we serve and in 2011 many of our efforts were 
linked to the record number of natural disasters that occurred
most notable was the support we gave to people in japan 
affected by the terrible earthquake and tsunami our centre 
in sendai was particularly badly affected as well as the 
company donating £25000 our employees from around the 
world held local fundraising events and also donated through 
payroll giving 
during the ﬂoods in bangkok team members showed 
unwavering commitment to supporting the business 
community even though many of their own homes were 
ﬂooded some commuted for hours a day just to set up 
emergency ofﬁces in unaffected centres
in the united states team members delivered blankets 
water and other essentials to victims of two tornados  
the regus life savers team of walkers and runners took  
part in the dallas race for the cure half marathon and  
raised more than 55000 for the breast cancer charity  
susan g komen
our uk business continued to fundraise for macmillan 
cancer support and debra a charity for people with a 
genetic skin blistering condition through its annual rafﬂe 
raising more than £17000 
and in south africa we continued our involvement with  
santa cause where we sponsored 300 children – at r150 
each – so they could enjoy the ultimate christmas party  
in 2012 we plan to take this worthwhile cause global
our targets for next year
recycle at least 
35 
of the waste generated from our uk locations by using 
approved dry mixed recycling bins installed in all ofﬁces 
where we have control 
reduce the carbon footprint  
of our uk business by a further 
5 
based on the measured 2007 levels by the end of 2012 
regus will have reduced its carbon footprint by at least  
20 and be on track for a 50 reduction by 2020 
20 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
 actual reduction original target reduction revised target reduction
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
regus uk ytd rolling kg co 2 pa per  
occupied workstation 
2008
actual reduction of 103 by dec 2010
kg co 2 pa per occupied workstation
actual reduction of 293 by dec 2011 211  in 2011 
predicted reduction of 328 by dec 2012 5 in 2012
2009 2010 2011 2013  wwwreguscominvestors 21
corporate governance
douglas sutherland n
chairman
douglas sutherland was appointed nonexecutive director of regus on 
27 august 2008 and was appointed nonexecutive chairman on 18 may 
2010 he also serves as chairman of the nomination committee douglas 
was 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 serving as a partner with management 
responsibilities for over a decade douglas is currently also a director  
of hosco kliniken sà rl and hosco gruppe sà rl
mark dixon
chief executive ofﬁcer
chief executive and founder mark dixon is one of europe’s best known 
entrepreneurs since founding regus in brussels belgium in 1989 he has 
achieved a formidable reputation for leadership and innovation prior to 
regus he established businesses in the retail and wholesale food industry 
a recipient of several awards for enterprise mark has revolutionised the 
way business approaches its property needs with his vision of the  
future of work
dominique yates 
chief financial ofﬁcer
dominique yates was appointed chief financial ofﬁcer of regus on  
1 september 2011 previously he served as chief financial ofﬁcer at  
both lm windpower the netherlandsheadquartered renewable energy 
company and symrise ag the mdax listed speciality chemicals 
company he also held senior positions at imperial tobacco group plc 
including group financial controller general manager of france 
switzerland italy and malta and group business development director 
he is a qualiﬁed chartered accountant
lance browne a n r
senior independent nonexecutive director
lance browne was appointed nonexecutive director of regus  
on 27 august 2008 and became senior independent nonexecutive 
director on 18 may 2010 lance is chairman of travelex china  
vice chairman of standard chartered bank china limited and  
nonexecutive director of g3 he was previously china senior advisor  
to the city of london chairman of china goldmines plc nonexecutive 
director of imi plc and director of business development at powergen 
international hk
elmar heggen a n r
independent nonexecutive director
elmar heggen was appointed nonexecutive director of regus on  
1 june 2010 and became chairman of the remuneration committee on 
24 november 2010 elmar has extensive management experience and is 
currently chief financial ofﬁcer and head of the corporate centre at rtl 
group the leading european entertainment network where he has held 
various roles since 2000 elmar began his career at the felix schoeller 
group becoming vice president  general manager of felix schoeller 
digital imaging in the uk in 1999
alex sulkowski a n r
independent nonexecutive director
alex sulkowski was appointed nonexecutive director of regus on  
1 june 2010 he also serves as chairman of the audit committee alex 
has over 30 years of experience in international ﬁnance structures private 
equity tax advice and real estate he is currently the managing director of 
third millennium investments sa and serves on the board of taxand the 
largest global network of independent tax advisers prior to this alex 
enjoyed a career with arthur andersen responsible for the belgium and 
luxembourg tax practices prior to joining ernst and young in 2002 as the 
partner responsible for the luxembourg tax practice and then serving as 
the managing partner of atoz tax advisors from 2004 through 2009
the role of the board is to provide entrepreneurial 
leadership and to review the overall strategic 
development of the group
board of directors
notes
a member of the audit committee
n member of the nomination committee
r member of the remuneration committee 22 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
other statutory information 
 
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 2011  
directors 
the directors of the company who held office during  
the financial year were  
executive directors 
mark dixon  
stephen gleadle resigned 31 august 2011 
dominique yates appointed 1 september 2011 
nonexecutive directors  
douglas sutherland  
lance browne 
elmar heggen  
alex sulkowski 
biographical details for the directors are shown on  
page 21 
details of the directors’ interests and shareholdings are 
given in the remuneration report on pages 32 to 38  
the corporate responsibility statement corporate 
governance statement remuneration report and director 
statements on pages 20 to 38 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 5 to 19 respectively address 
 review of the company’s business pages 5 to 11 
 trends and factors likely to affect the future development 
performance and position of the business pages 5  
to 11 
 development and performance during the financial year 
pages 16 to 19 and 
 position of the business at the end of the year page 19 
the corporate responsibility report on page 20  
includes the sections of the business review in respect of 
 environmental matters 
 employees and 
 social and community issues 
the corporate governance statement on pages 24 to 30 
includes a description of the principal risks and 
uncertainties facing the company  
the directors’ statements on page 31 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 £455 million  
2010 £78 million  
the directors are pleased to recommend a final dividend  
for 2011 of £188 million 2010 £165 million being  
20 pence per share 2010 175 pence per share the total 
dividend for the year will therefore be 29 pence per share 
made up of the interim dividend of 09 pence per share 
paid in october 2011 2010 085 pence per share and 
assuming the final dividend is approved by shareholders at 
the forthcoming agm an additional 20 pence per share 
2010 175 pence per share which is expected to be paid 
on 25 may 2012 to shareholders on the register at the 
close of business on 26 april 2012  
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 and 
 pay in accordance with contractual and other  
legal obligations 
at 31 december 2011 the number of creditor days 
outstanding for the group was 30 days 2010 25 days  
and for the company was 34 days 2010 1 day 
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 40 to 87 
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 10 to 11 as well as  
the group’s principal risks and uncertainties as set out  
on pages 26 and 27 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 
further details on the going concern basis of preparation 
can be found in note 24 to the notes to the accounts on 
page 68 
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   wwwreguscominvestors 23
corporate governance
 
 
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 £30000 during the year 2010 £50000 
capital structure 
the company’s share capital comprises 950969822 
issued and fully paid up ordinary shares of 1p nominal  
value in regus plc 2010 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  
details of the role of the board of directors the “board” 
and the process for the appointment of directors can be 
found on pages 24 to 25 
at the company’s annual general meeting held on  
17 may 2011 the shareholders of the company approved  
a resolution giving authority for the company to purchase in 
the market up to 94189892 ordinary shares representing 
approximately 10 of the issued share capital excluding 
treasury shares as at 13 april 2011 no shares were 
purchased pursuant to this authority during the year  
details of the company’s employee share schemes can  
be found in the report of the remuneration committee on 
pages 32 to 38 the outstanding awards and options  
do not carry any rights in relation to the control of  
the company 
substantial interests 
at 20 march 2012 the company has been notified of  
the following interests held in the issued share capital of  
the company 
 
number of 
ordinary shares 
 of issued 
share capital 
estorn limited  322028792 3419 
prudential plc 158450222 1682 
standard life group 46538104 493 
ameriprise financial inc 46441761 493 
blackrock inc 46064455 485 
tree top asset  
management sa 45167670 475 
norges bank 28266242 300 
 mark dixon indirectly owns 100 of estorn limited 
 
auditors 
in accordance with luxembourg law a resolution for the 
reappointment of kpmg luxembourg  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 14 march 2012  
on behalf of the board 
tim regan 
company secretary  
20 march 2012 24 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
corporate governance 
 
the board is committed to the high standards of corporate 
governance as set out in the uk corporate governance 
code formerly the combined code published in may 2010 
the “code” for financial periods beginning after 29 june 
2010 the code is available at wwwfrcorguk 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 then 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 2011 the board of directors was made 
up of six members comprising the chairman two executive 
directors and three nonexecutive directors biographical 
details of the directors are set out on page 21 
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 seven main board meetings during 2011  
the number of meetings of the board and committees and 
individual attendance by the directors are shown below 
 
main 
board 
audit 
committee 
remuneration 
committee 
nomination 
committee 
total meetings 7 4 4 5 
douglas 
sutherland 7   5 
mark dixon 7    
stephen 
gleadle 
a
  4    
dominique 
yates 
b
 2    
lance browne 7 4 4 5 
elmar heggen 7 4 4 5 
alex sulkowski 7 4 4 5 
a resigned 31 august 2011 
b appointed 1 september 2011 
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 and 
 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 
douglas sutherland 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 is 
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 considered by the board to be 
independent in character and judgement 
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 decisionmaking 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 nonexecutive directors 
enhances the overall decision making of the board non
executive directors are appointed for an initial three year term 
subject to election by shareholders at each annual general 
meeting “agm” after their appointment 
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   wwwreguscominvestors 25
corporate governance
 
 
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 
alex sulkowski chairman  
lance browne 
elmar heggen  
the board has delegated to the audit committee the 
responsibility for applying an effective system of internal 
control and compliance accurate external financial 
reporting fulfilling its obligations under law and the code 
and managing the relationship with the company’s external 
auditors the committee consists entirely of nonexecutive 
directors all of whom are considered by the board to be 
independent in character and judgement and are 
competent in accounting and  or auditing 
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 group head of 
internal audit and risk management attend each meeting 
summary terms of reference 
 financial reporting – provide support to the board by 
monitoring the integrity of financial reporting 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 – advise the board on the appointment 
reappointment remuneration and removal of the  
external auditors 
 employee concerns – review 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 followup action 
the audit committee also meets independently with the 
company’s auditors and with the group head of internal 
audit and risk management to informally discuss matters 
of interest 
external auditors 
kpmg luxembourg sà rl were the company’s auditors 
for the year ended 31 december 2011 for 2012 the  
audit committee has recommended to the board that a 
resolution to reappoint kpmg luxembourg sà rl 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 auditors 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 
elmar heggen chairman  
lance browne 
alex sulkowski  
details of the remuneration committee are set out in  
the remuneration report on pages 32 to 38  
nomination committee 
douglas sutherland chairman  
lance browne 
elmar heggen 
alex sulkowski 
the nomination 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 – to assist the chairman with  
the annual performance evaluation to assess the 
performance and effectiveness of the overall board  
and individual directors  
 leadership – to remain fully informed about strategic 
issues and commercial matters affecting the company 
and to keep under review the leadership needs of the 
organisation to enable it to compete effectively  26 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
corporate governance continued 
 
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 seeking 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 performancebased 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 and  
 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 longterm 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   wwwreguscominvestors 27
corporate governance
 
 
the group’s geographic expansion may increase 
exposure to unpredictable economic political and  
legal risks 
political economic and legal systems in emerging markets 
have historically been 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 32 of the group’s revenues being 
attributable to the us dollar and 16 to the euro  
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 
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 24 of the accounts 
wherever possible the group attempts to create natural 
hedges against currency exposures through matching 
income and expenses 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 structure 
as a jerseyincorporated company having its place of 
central administration head office in luxembourg and being 
tax resident in luxembourg the company is required to 
comply with both jersey law and luxembourg law where 
applicable in addition the company’s ordinary shares are 
listed on the official list of the uk listing authority and 
admitted to trading on the main market of the london stock 
exchange it is possible that conflicts may arise between the 
obligations of the company 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 the 
company 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 
all shareholders are paid dividends directly from regus plc 
sa “plc” all such dividends should be payable by plc 
without deduction of luxembourg withholding tax 
regardless of the residence of the recipient 
in general terms uk resident shareholders receiving 
dividends from plc should be taxed in the same way  
as if they had received a dividend from a uk company  
tax outcomes do however depend on the specific 
circumstances of shareholders and any shareholder in 
doubt about their tax position including in particular uk 
resident but nonukdomiciled individuals who have 
elected to be taxed on a remittance basis should  
consult their own professional adviser 
centrally managed applications and systems 
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 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 and 
 help ensure compliance with applicable laws  
and regulations  28 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
corporate governance continued 
 
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 
2012 have been set by the executive directors and are 
regularly reviewed by the 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 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 cost benefit 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 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 procedure manuals and guidelines are 
readily accessible through the group’s intranet site and 
 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 which is open 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 20 march 2012 the date of approval  
of this annual report which accord with the internal 
control guidance for directors in the 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 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 in excess 
of £1000 and 
 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   wwwreguscominvestors 29
corporate governance
 
 
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 and 
 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 board 
other matters 
board performance evaluation 
a formal evaluation of the performance of the board was 
carried out by the chairman the aim was to ensure 
continuous improvement in the functioning of the board 
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 increase 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  
the company reports formally to shareholders twice a year 
with the half year results announced in august or september 
and the 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 half year 
results and the agm 
the company has engaged the services of brunswick  
as their investor relations adviser  30 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
corporate governance continued 
 
agm 
the agm each year is held in may in luxembourg and is 
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 required to be mailed to shareholders at least 30 clear 
days before the meeting and separate resolutions are 
proposed on each issue the voting in respect of all 
resolutions to be put to the agm will be conducted by 
means of a poll vote 
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 on a poll  
financial and other information is made available on  
the company’s website wwwreguscom 
reelection of the board  
as required by the code all directors submit themselves  
for reelection by shareholders annually and directors 
appointed during the period since the last agm are 
required to seek election at the next agm under the 
company’s articles of association 
nonexecutive directors are subject to the reelection 
requirements and serve the company under letters of 
appointment which have an initial three year term 
compliance statement 
the company has complied with the provisions set out  
in section e of the code throughout the year ended  
31 december 2011 with the exception of the following 
 provision e11 – the senior independent nonexecutive 
director lance browne 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 
the board considers that the senior independent non
executive 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  wwwreguscominvestors 31
corporate governance
directors’ statements 
 
 
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 international 
financial reporting standards “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 
parent 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 judgments 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 group 
and the parent company will continue in business 
the directors are responsible for keeping adequate 
accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain 
the company’s 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 a corporate governance 
statement that complies 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 websites 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 auditor 
the directors who held office at the date of approval of  
this directors’ report confirm that 
 so far as they are each 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 the company 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 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  
by order of the board 
mark dixon  dominique yates 
chief executive officer chief financial officer  32 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
remuneration report 
 
 
this 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” the report complies with 
the requirements of schedule 8 of the large and medium
sized companies and groups accounts and reports 
regulations 2008 and in compliance with such regulations 
a separate resolution approving this report will be put to 
shareholders at this year’s annual general meeting  
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 of the directors and directors‘ interests in  
the company‘s shares and under employee share plans 
has been audited 
unaudited information 
membership and responsibilities of the committee  
the committee which met four times during the year  
is made up of independent nonexecutive directors and 
chaired by elmar heggen during the year the members  
of the committee were 
 elmar heggen  
 lance browne 
 alex sulkowski 
the committee has responsibility for determining in 
consultation with the chairman and  or chief executive  
as appropriate the total remuneration package of the 
executive directors and senior managers 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 
performancerelated pay schemes operated by the 
company and approve the total annual payments  
made under such schemes  
the committee received adhoc advice on executive 
remuneration from deloitte 
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 remunerationrelated aspects of the 
uk corporate governance 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 longterm 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 conservative and  
 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 2012 and future years are 
 to maintain a competitive package of total compensation 
commensurate with comparable packages available with 
similar companies operating in similar markets 
 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 sharebased 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 
during 2011 the committee reviewed the longterm 
incentive arrangements for the executive directors it was 
decided that the company’s share incentive arrangement 
the regus plc coinvestment plan the “cip” which had 
first been approved by shareholders at the 2005 annual 
general meeting and subsequently reapproved in 2008  
be reintroduced further details relating to the cip are set 
out on page 34 
the table below illustrates the balance between fixed  
and performancerelated variable compensation for the 
executive directors for the year ended 31 december 2011  
 
mark dixon 
chief executive officer 
dominique yates 
chief financial officer  
fixed 51 31 
variable 49 69 
fixed compensation comprises salary benefits and pension 
contributions variable compensation only comprises the 
total fair value of share awards granted in the year and the 
annual cash bonus payable in relation to the year ended  
31 december 2011    wwwreguscominvestors 33
corporate governance
 
 
 
the main elements of the packages and the performance 
conditions are described below  
service contracts 
details of contracts currently in place for directors are  
as follows 
 
effective  
date of contract  term 
notice period 
and maximum 
provision for 
compensation 
executive    
mark dixon 141008 – 12 months 
dominique yates 010911 – 12 months 
non executive    
elmar heggen 010610 3 yrs 6 months 
lance browne 270808 3 yrs 6 months 
alex sulkowski 010610 3 yrs 6 months 
douglas sutherland 270808 3 yrs 6 months 
remuneration packages  
the remuneration for the executive directors during the 
year comprised a basic salary a benefit package and 
participation in the annual bonus scheme as disclosed  
in last year‘s directors remuneration report executive 
directors did not participate in the cip during 2011 pending 
review of the company’s longterm incentive arrangements 
for executive directors during 2011 
for 2012 following the review of the longterm incentive 
arrangements of the executive directors to ensure that the 
interests of the executive directors continue to be closely 
aligned with those of the company‘s shareholders the 
committee agreed to continue the cip the first grant 
under the cip will not be made until 2013 
basic salary and benefits  
the committee reviewed the overall structure of the  
chief executive officer’s remuneration package it was 
noted that the level of his personal shareholding in the 
business created a significant alignment of interests  
with the performance of the business as a result it was 
concluded that at the current time it was appropriate to  
rebalance the package by increasing the level of fixed 
remuneration whilst maintaining a reduced but sufficient 
performancerelated element in addition the committee 
noted that the chief executive officer had received no 
salary increase since 2009 as well as considering 
comparative benchmarks the continued development  
of the group through the economic challenges of the last 
few years and the evolution of inflation as a result for 
2012 the chief executive officer’s salary will be increased 
to £565000 and the maximum annual bonus opportunity  
will be reduced to 100 of salary 
the chief financial officer who joined the board in 
september 2011 was appointed on an annual base salary 
of chf 495000 this will remain unchanged for 2012 
except if the swiss franc  pound sterling exchange rate 
materially changes in which event there is an ongoing 
adjustment mechanism in the employment contract 
benefits include a company car or allowance fuel 
allowance housing allowance and private health insurance  
annual bonus scheme 
the committee believes firmly in the financial effectiveness 
of shortterm 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 ended 31 december 2011 was 200 of salary 
consisting of a standard bonus 100 of salary and a 
discretionary bonus 100 of salary for exceptional 
performance 
the committee has determined that the financial measures 
and targets required for the discretionary bonus were not 
achieved and therefore no bonus will be paid in respect of 
this element the committee has determined that there 
was a full achievement of the criteria for the standard  
bonus and as such the chief executive officer and chief 
financial officer will each receive a cash bonus equal to 
100 of salary equivalent to 50 of the maximum bonus 
potential the committee believes that this level of payout 
reflects the company’s performance during the year 
the bonus payable to the chief financial officer will be  
prorated to reflect the fact that he started his employment 
on 1 september 2011 
for the year ending 31 december 2012 the maximum 
bonus potential for executive directors will be reduced to 
100 of annual salary half of any standard bonus paid will 
be paid in cash and half will be paid in “investment shares” 
in the company the purchase of the investment shares 
will be deferred for three years under the rules of the cip 
for further details on the cip please see page 34 
no awards were made to the executive directors under  
the cip in 2011 
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 7 
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 groupwide defined benefit 
pension scheme with the exception of switzerland where 
such schemes are required by law and has no plans to 
introduce such a scheme  34 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
remuneration report continued 
 
longterm incentives 
overview 
the company operates three longterm incentive plans  
the cip the regus plc share option scheme and the 
regus plc 2008 value creation plan  
coinvestment plan “cip” 
the committee is keen to encourage executive directors  
to build significant shareholdings in relation to their 
remuneration and as such following a review of the 
operation of the cip in 2011 the committee has  
decided to reintroduce the cip 
as a condition of participation in the cip it is expected  
that members will over time build up a shareholding 
equivalent to two times their salary using shares acquired 
from the scheme  
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 basic  
annual 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 in line with previous years 
the committee expects to place stretching performance 
targets based on earnings per share and total shareholder 
return in order to vest any matching share no awards will 
be made under the cip until 2013 
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  
the second element of the cip provides for the committee 
to make standalone longterm 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 there is no 
intention to make any ltip awards in 2012 
regus plc share option plan the “sop” 
the sop was introduced in 2008 in order to assist in the 
recruitment and retention of key employees and directors 
under the sop participants are granted options to buy 
shares in the company at no less than the market value  
of the shares at the grant date such options may be either 
options to subscribe for new shares or options to purchase 
existing shares to be satisfied from an employee trust 
options may also be granted subject to a performance 
target which must then in normal circumstances be met 
before the option may be exercised  
the options granted to the executive directors prior to  
the introduction of the cip are set out below as long as 
executive directors participate in the cip which was  
reintroduced in 2012 they will not be eligible to receive 
any share option awards  
to aid the recruitment of the chief financial officer he 
received an option award under the sop on joining the 
company of over 1 million shares these options will 
become exercisable in equal tranches in 2013 2014 and 
2015 subject to the satisfaction of a predetermined 
operating profit target in 2012 the committee believes that 
this award of share options was the most appropriate way  
to facilitate recruitment in a way which was aligned to 
shareholder value creation over the next few years 
regus plc 2008 value creation plan the “vcp”  
the vcp was introduced in 2008 as a oneoff award  
with the objective of delivering exceptional rewards to 
participants provided absolute returns to shareholders  
are exceptional  
the vcp operates over a five 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 dixon 
number of shares subject to 
vcp entitlement  35m 
 vcp entitlements hold no value 
the share price of the company will be calculated at each 
measurement date 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   wwwreguscominvestors 35
corporate governance
 
 
 
the share price targets for the vcp entitlements granted in 
2008 are as set out in the following table 
 measurement date 
 31032010 31032011 31032012 31032013 
 shares awarded less shares already earned 
share price 
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 
in respect of the first and second measurement dates  
31 march 2010 and 2011 respectively the company’s 
share price was below the target and no vcp entitlements 
vested it is expected that the company’s share price  
will be below the target on the third measurement date  
31 march 2012 as well and no vcp entitlements will vest 
total shareholder return tsr
255 948
 regus ftse all share ftse 250
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003
20
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
 
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 2011 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  
chairman and nonexecutive directors 
the fees for the chairman are determined by the 
remuneration committee and the fees for the non
executive directors are determined by the chairman  
and the executive directors  
fees are set at levels that are sufficient to attract and  
retain individuals with the required skills experience and 
knowledge to allow the board to effectively carry out its 
duties the fees recognise the responsibility of the role  
and the time commitments required  
the chairman and 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 
a review of nonexecutive director fees was carried out  
in may 2011 this was the first review of fees since 2008 
following this review and taking into account appropriate 
market data the fees were increased the fee policy with 
effect from 1 june 2011 is as follows 
chairman fee £165000 
nonexecutive director basic fee £42000 
additional fees  
senior independent director £6000 
chair of the remuneration committee £8000 
chair of the audit committee £8000 
the fees paid during the year to each nonexecutive 
director are shown in the table on page 36  
former directors 
stephen gleadle stepped down from the board in august 
2011 he was employed under a service contract dated  
18 august 2008 under which he was entitled to receive one 
year’s salary £300000 as compensation on termination  
in addition to this he was eligible for an annual bonus for 
2011 based on the achievement of bonus targets and  
the period of service during the year the committee 
considered the bonus at the same time as for other 
executive directors and concluded based on the same 
criteria and in recognition of mr gleadle’s contribution to 
the handover of the finance director role that a bonus of 
£150000 should be awarded this was paid in cash 
following the year end 
with regards to longterm incentives his entitlements under 
the cip ltip sop and vcp lapsed in full other than in 
respect of 229007 investment shares awarded under the 
cip which were exercised following termination in 
accordance with the rules of that plan 
  36 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
remuneration report continued 
 
 
directors’ emoluments 
the aggregate emoluments excluding pensions of the directors were as follows 
  2011 
 
salary 
£’000 
fees
£’000
benefits
£’000
compensation 
for loss of 
office
£’000
bonus
£’000
total 
£’000 
chairman   
douglas sutherland – 1525 – – – 1525 
executive   
mark dixon 5228 – 481 – 5228 10937 
dominique yates 
a
 1100 – 420 – 1100 2620 
stephen gleadle 
b
 2000 – 262 3000 1500 6762 
nonexecutive    
lance brown – 547 – – – 547 
elmar heggen – 483 – – – 483 
alex sulkowski – 483 – – – 483 
 8328 3038 1163 3000 7828 23357 
 
  2010 
 
salary 
£’000 
fees
£’000
benefits
£’000
compensation 
for loss of office
£’000
bonus
£’000
total 
£’000 
chairman   
douglas sutherland – 1013 – – – 1013 
executive   
mark dixon 5228 – 400 – 1960 7588 
stephen gleadle 
b
 3000 –477 –11254602 
nonexecutive    
lance brown – 512 – – – 512 
elmar heggen – 238 – – – 238 
john matthews
 c
 – 977–––977 
ulrich ogiermann
 d
 – 437– ––437 
martin robinson
 e
 – 276– ––276 
alex sulkowski
 
 – 268–––268 
 8228 3721877 308515911 
a dominique yates joined the board with effect from 1 september 2011 
b stephen gleadle stepped down from the board with effect from 31 august 2011 
c john matthews stepped down from the board with effect from 18 may 2010 
d ulrich ogiermann stepped down from the board with effect from 31 december 2010 
e martin robinson stepped down from the board with effect from 18 may 2010 
mark dixon was the highest paid director in both 2011 and 2010 benefits include car and fuel allowance medical insurance 
and life assurance   wwwreguscominvestors 37
corporate governance
 
 
 
pension contributions 
£’000 2011 2010 
mark dixon 366 366 
stephen gleadle 121 210 
dominique yates – na 
 487 576 
directors’ share interests  
the following directors held beneficial interests in the share capital of the company at 31 december 2010  
31 december 2011 and 20 march 2012 
executive 
20 march
2012
ordinary 
shares of 1p
31 december 
2011
ordinary 
shares of 1p 
31 december 
2010 
ordinary 
shares of 1p  
mark dixon a 322028792 322028792 322028792 
stephen gleadle na na 326387 
dominique yates 641989 641989 na 
nonexecutive  
lance browne –– – 
elmar heggen –– – 
ulrich ogiermann na na 71134 
alex sulkowski –– – 
douglas sutherland 400000 400000 350000 
a the interests of mark dixon are held indirectly through estorn limited an entity in which mark dixon controls 100 of the share capital  
directors’ share options 
as at 31 december 2011 the beneficial interest of the directors in options granted under the regus plc share option plan 
are shown below  
    share options 
 
at 1 
january 
2011 
awards 
granted 
2011 
awards 
exercised 
2011 
awards 
lapsed
2011
at 31 
december 
2011
average 
option 
price 
p
average 
exercise 
price 
p expiry date 
mark dixon – – – – – – – – 
stephen gleadle – – – – – – – – 
dominique yates – 1000000 – –1000000 2276743502092021 
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 
 
at 1
january
2011
awards 
granted
2011
awards
lapsed
2011
awards 
exercised
2011
at 31 
december 
2011 
mark dixon 520149 – – – 520149 
stephen gleadle 298507 – 298507 – – 
dominique yates –– –––  38 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
remuneration report continued 
 
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 
investment shares 
at 1 
january 
2011 
investment 
awards 
released 
march  
2011 
awards 
exercised
2011
awards lapsed 
2011
2011
 matching 
awards 
exercised
2011
awards made 
2011
at 31 
december 
2011 
mark dixon 715815 – –––– 715815 
stephen gleadle 384286 155279 229007 –––– 
matching shares    
mark dixon 2863260 na ––––2863260 
stephen gleadle 1537144 na – 1537144 – – – 
dominique yates – na ––––– 
during the year the cip investment shares awarded in march 2008 were released all of the matching shares awarded  
in march 2008 normal vesting date march 2011 failed to meet the related performance conditions and therefore lapsed 
the market price of the company’s ordinary shares at 30 december 2011 the last dealing day of 2011 was 845p  
and the range during the year was 64p to 119p 
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 15 may 2012 
audit requirement  
under luxembourg law and regulations there is no requirement for the sections on directors’ remuneration shareholdings 
and pension benefits on pages 36 to 38 inclusive to be audited therefore all sections of the remuneration report are  
unaudited 
on behalf of the board 
elmar heggen 
chairman 
remuneration committee  
20 march 2012   wwwreguscominvestors 39
financial statements
auditors’ report 
 
 
to the shareholders of  
regus plc société anonyme 
26 boulevard royal 
l2449 luxembourg 
report of the réviseur  
d’entreprises agréé 
report on the consolidated  
financial statements 
we have audited the accompanying consolidated financial 
statements of regus plc société anonyme which 
comprise the consolidated balance sheet as at  
31 december 2011 and the consolidated statements  
of income comprehensive income changes in equity  
and cash flows for the year then ended and a summary 
of significant accounting policies and other explanatory 
information as set out on pages 40 to 87 
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 
and for such internal control as the board of directors 
determines is necessary to enable the preparation of 
consolidated financial statements that are free from  
material misstatement whether due to fraud or error 
responsibility of the réviseur  
d’entreprises agréé 
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 for luxembourg by  
the commission de surveillance du secteur financier 
those standards require that we comply with ethical 
requirements and plan and perform the audit to obtain 
reasonable assurance about 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 
agréé 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 agréé 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 as  
set out on pages 40 to 87 give a true and fair view of  
the consolidated financial position of regus plc société 
anonyme as of 31 december 2011 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  
kpmg luxembourg sà rl 
cabinet de révision agréé 
thierry ravasio 
luxembourg 20 march 2012  40 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
consolidated income statement 
 
 
  
before 
exceptional 
items 
exceptional 
items
note 6 
year ended
31 dec
2011 
before 
exceptional 
 items 
exceptional
 items
note 6
year ended
31 dec 
2010
continuing operations notes 
total
£m 
total
£m 
total
£m 
total 
£m 
total
£m
total
£m
revenue  3 11626 – 11626 10404  – 10404
cost of sales  8874 – 8874 8245 119 8364
gross profit centre contribution  2752 – 2752 2159 119 2040
administration expenses   2247 – 2247 1933 39 1972
share of profit on joint ventures  21 01 – 01 13 – 13 
operating profit 5 506 – 506 239 158 81
finance expense 8 34 – 34 20 – 20
finance income 8 13 – 13 18 – 18 
other finance costs 9 30 – 30 01 – 01 
profit before tax for the year  455 – 455 236 158 78
tax charge  10 89 – 89 56 03 59
profit after tax for the year  366 – 366 180 161 19
attributable to   
equity shareholders of the parent  379 – 379 176 161 15 
noncontrolling interests  13 – 13 04 – 04 
profit for the year  366 – 366 180 161 19
earnings per ordinary share eps 
after exceptional items   
basic p 11 40  02
diluted p 11 40  02  wwwreguscominvestors 41
financial statements
consolidated statement of comprehensive income 
 
 
 notes 
year ended
31 dec 2011
£m 
year ended
31 dec 2010
£m
profit for the year  366 19
other comprehensive income  
retirement benefit obligations 26 01 –
foreign currency translation differences for foreign operations net of income tax  41 155
other comprehensive income for the year net of income tax  42 155
total comprehensive income for the year  324 174
  
total comprehensive income attributable to  
equity shareholders of the parent  337 170
noncontrolling interests  13 04 
  324 174 42 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
consolidated statement of changes in equity 
 
 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 2010 95  04 371 105 153 4275  4995  – 4995 
profit for the year –  – – – – 15 15 04 19
other comprehensive income –  – 155 – – – 155 – 155
total comprehensive income for  
the year –  – 155 – – 15 170 04  174
transactions with owners recorded 
directly in equity    
sharebased payments –  – – – –  12  12 –  12
ordinary dividend paid –  – – – – 232 232 – 232
dividend paid to noncontrolling interest –  – – – – –  –  03 03
purchase of treasury shares in regus plc – 73 – – – – 73 – 73
deferred tax effect of share options –  – – – –  08  08 –  08
settlement of share awards –  06 – – – 13 07 – 07
balance at 31 december 2010 95  71 526 105 153 4049 4857 01 4858
profit for the year – – – – – 379 379 13 366
other comprehensive income – – 41 – – 01 42 – 42
total comprehensive income for  
the year – – 41 – – 378 337 13 324
    
transactions with owners recorded 
directly in equity    
sharebased payments –  – – – – 06 06 – 06
ordinary dividend paid –  – – – – 250 250 – 250
acquisition of noncontrolling interest –  – – – –51 51 1239
dividend paid to noncontrolling interest –  – – – – – – – –
purchase of treasury shares in regus plc – – – – – – – – –
deferred tax effect of share options –  – – – – – – – –
settlement of share awards – – – – – 12 12 – 12
balance at 31 december 2011 95 71 485 105 153 4120 4887 – 4887
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 
 at 31 december 2011 treasury shares represent 9070906 2010 9070906 ordinary shares of the group that were acquired for the  
purposes of the group’s employee share option plans and the share buy back programme during the period nil shares were purchased in the 
open market and nil treasury shares held by the group were utilised to satisfy the exercise of share awards by employees as at 20 march 2012 
9070906 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 to fair value at the time of  
the acquisition of the outstanding 58 interest on 19 april 2006 
 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  wwwreguscominvestors 43
financial statements
consolidated balance sheet 
 
 
 notes 
as at 
31 dec 2011
£m 
as at
31 dec 2010
£m
noncurrent assets  
goodwill 13 2854 2824 
other intangible assets 14 459 484 
property plant and equipment 15 3209 2708 
deferred tax assets 10 328 371
other longterm receivables 16 379 340 
investments in joint ventures  21 26 39 
  7255 6766
current assets  
trade and other receivables 17 2713 2487
corporation tax receivable 10 74 133
liquid investments  23 – 104
cash and cash equivalents 23 1975 1942 
  4762 4666 
total assets  12017 11432 
current liabilities  
trade and other payables 18 4251 3884
deferred income  1416 1258
corporation tax payable  63 170
obligations under finance leases 19 15 23
bank and other loans 19 09 55
provisions  20 30 28
  5784 5418
net current liabilities  1022 752
total assets less current liabilities  6233 6014
noncurrent liabilities  
other payables 18 1178 991
obligations under finance leases 19 08 19
bank and other loans 19 60 34 
deferred tax liability 10 05 01
provisions  20 82 98
provision for deficit on joint ventures 21 12 13
retirement benefit obligations 26 01 –
  1346 1156
total liabilities   7130 6574
total assets less liabilities  4887 4858
total equity  
issued share capital 22 95 95 
treasury shares  71 71
foreign currency translation reserve  485 526
revaluation reserve  105 105
other reserves  153 153
retained earnings  4120 4049
total shareholders’ equity  4887 4857 
noncontrolling interests  – 01
total equity  4887 4858
total equity and liabilities  12017 11432
approved by the board on 20 march 2012 
mark dixon   dominique yates 
chief executive officer  chief financial officer  44 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
consolidated cash flow statement 
 
 notes 
year ended
31 dec 2011
£m 
year ended
31 dec 2010
£m
profit before tax for the year  455 78
adjustments for  
net finance costs 8 9 51 02 
share of profit after tax on joint ventures 21 01 13
depreciation charge 5 15 668 672
loss on disposal of property plant and equipment  12 16 
amortisation of intangible assets 5 14 67 62 
decreaseincrease in provisions 20 14 04 
other noncash movements – sharebased payments  06 12 
other noncash movements – unrealised foreign currency lossgain  20 –
exceptional costsnet income 6 – 158
operating cash flows before movements in working capital  1224 991 
increasedecrease in trade and other receivables  291 301 
increasedecrease in trade and other payables  799 407
cash generated from operations before exceptional items  1732 1097
cash outflowinflow from exceptional items  19 137 
cash generated from operations after exceptional items  1713 960
interest paid on finance leases  02 01
interest paid on credit facilities  19 16
tax paid  106 155
net cash inflow from operating activities  1586 788
investing activities  
purchase of subsidiary undertakings net of cash acquired 27 62 170 
disposal of subsidiary undertakings net of cash disposed of  18 –
dividends received from joint ventures 21 14 16 
proceeds on sale of property plant and equipment  – 03
purchase of property plant and equipment 15 1189 735
purchase of intangible assets 14 39 24
interest received 8 12 18
decrease in liquid investments 23 104 296
net cash outflow from investing activities  1178 596
financing activities  
net proceeds from issue of loans 8 02 29
repayment of loans  13 14
repayment of capital elements of finance leases  20 21
acquisitions of noncontrolling interests 27 39 –
purchase of treasury shares 22 – 73
settlement of share awards  12 07
payment of ordinary dividend 12 250 232
payment of dividend to noncontrolling interest  – 03
net cash outflow from financing activities  332 321
net increasedecrease in cash and cash equivalents  76 129
cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year  1942 2051 
effect of exchange rate fluctuations on cash held  43 20
cash and cash equivalents at end of year 23 1975 1942  wwwreguscominvestors 45
financial statements
notes to the accounts 
 
 
 
1 authorisation of financial statements 
the group and company financial statements for the year ended 31 december 2011 were authorised for issue by the board of directors on 20 march 
2012 and the balance sheets were signed on the board’s behalf by mark dixon and dominique yates 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 prepares its parent company financial statements in accordance with luxembourg gaap 
extracts from these are presented on page 88 
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 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 2011 did not have a material effect on the group financial statements 
ias 24 related party transactions amendment clarifies the definitions of a related party the new definitions emphasise a symmetrical view of 
related party relationships as well as clarifying in which circumstances persons and key management personnel affect related party relationships of 
an entity the amendment also introduces an exemption from the general related party disclosure requirements for transactions with a government 
and entities that are controlled jointly controlled or significantly influenced by the same government as the reporting entity the adoption of this 
amendment has no impact on the financial position or performance of the group 
ias 32 financial instruments presentation amendment alters the definition of a financial liability in ias 32 to enable entities to classify rights issues 
and certain options or warrants as equity instruments the amendment is applicable if the rights are given pro rata to all of the existing owners of  
the same class of an entity’s nonderivative equity instruments to acquire a fixed number of the entity’s own equity instruments for a fixed amount  
in any currency the adoption of this amendment has no impact on the financial position or performance of the group 
ifric 14 prepayment of a minimum funding requirement amendment removes an unintended consequence when an entity is subject to minimum 
funding requirements and makes an early payment of contributions to cover such requirements the amendment permits a prepayment of future 
service cost by the entity to be recognised as a pension asset the amendment to the interpretation has no impact on the financial position or 
performance of the group 
improvements to ifrss issued in may 2010 the international accounting standards board issued its third omnibus of amendments to its 
standards primarily with a view to removing inconsistencies and clarifying wording the adoption of these amendments did not have any impact  
on the financial position or performance of the group 
the following interpretation and amendments to interpretations did not have any impact on the financial position or performance of the group 
 ifric 13 customer loyalty programmes 
 ifric 19 extinguishing financial liabilities with equity instruments 
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 33 
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 
financial statements on pages 40 to 87   46 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
2 accounting policies continued 
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 5 to 11 as well as the group’s principal risks and uncertainties as set out on pages 26 and 27  
further details on the going concern basis of preparation can be found in note 24 to the notes to the accounts on page 68 
these group financial statements are presented in pounds sterling £ which is regus plc’s functional currency 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 
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 
ifrss not yet effective 
the following ifrss have been issued but have not been applied by the group in these financial statements as they are effective for years beginning 
on or after 1 january 2012 their adoption is not expected to have a material effect on the financial statements unless otherwise indicated 
ias 1 financial statement presentation introduces amendments to improve the presentation of the components of other comprehensive income 
this statement is effective for years beginning on or after 1 july 2012 
ias 12 income taxes amendment introduces a rebuttable assumption that deferred tax on investment properties measured at fair value will  
be recognised on a sale basis unless an entity has a business model that would indicate the investment property will be consumed in business  
this statement is effective for years beginning on or after 1 july 2011 
ifrs 7 financial instruments – disclosures amendment requires additional quantitative and qualitative disclosures relating to the transfer of assets 
when financial assets are derecognised in their entirety but the entity has a continuing involvement in them and when financial assets are not 
derecognised in their entirety these amendments are effective for years beginning on or after 1 july 2011 
ifrs 9 financial instruments – classification and measurement addresses the classification and measurement of financial assets and liabilities  
as defined in ias 39 this statement will be effective for years beginning on or after 1 january 2015 
ifrs 10 consolidated financial statements replaces ias 27 consolidated and separate financial statements by changing whether an entity is 
consolidated by revising the definition of control the statement also provided a number of clarifications on applying this new definition of control 
this statement will be effective for years beginning on or after 1 january 2013 
ifrs 11 joint arrangements established principles for the financial reporting by parties to a joint arrangement joint control is defined as the 
contractually agreed sharing on control of an arrangement which exists only when the decisions about the relevant activities require the unanimous 
consent of the parties sharing control this statement will be effective for years beginning on or after 1 january 2013 
ifrs 12 disclosure of interests in other entities combines enhances and replaces the disclosure requirements for subsidiaries joint arrangements 
associated and unconsolidated structured entities this statement will be effective for years beginning on or after 1 january 2013 
ifrs 13 fair value measurement establishes a single source of guidance for all fair value measurements ifrs 13 does not change when an entity  
is required to use fair value but rather provides guidance on how to measure fair value under ifrs when fair value is required or permitted this 
statement will be effective for years beginning on or after 1 january 2013 
the group did not adopt any standards interpretations and amendments to standards which were available for optional early adoption and relevant 
to the group 
the group will adopt the above standards or amendments in the year in which they become effective   wwwreguscominvestors 47
financial statements
 
 
 
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 of nonfinancial assets 
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 2011 and updated at 31 december 2011 
an impairment loss is recognised whenever the carrying amount of an asset or its cashgenerating unit exceeds its recoverable amount impairment 
losses are recognised in the income statement 
impairment losses recognised in respect of cashgenerating units are allocated first to reduce the carrying amount of any goodwill allocated to the 
cashgenerating unit and then to reduce the carrying amount of the other assets in the unit on a pro rata basis a cashgenerating 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 cashgenerating unit to which the asset belongs 
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 asset deal 
acquisition or jointly controlled entity at the date of acquisition 
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 cashgenerating units for the purpose of 
impairment testing  
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 
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 
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
amortisation of intangible assets is expensed through administration expenses in the income statement 
acquisitions of noncontrolling interests 
acquisitions of noncontrolling interests are accounted for as transactions with owners in their capacity as owners and therefore no goodwill is 
recognised as a result adjustments to noncontrolling interests arising from transactions that do not involve the loss of control are based on a 
proportionate amount of the net assets of the subsidiary  48 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
2 accounting policies continued 
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 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  
property plant and equipment 
property plant and equipment is 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 
buildings 20 years
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 
where rent free periods are granted to customers rental income is spread on a straightline basis over the length of the customer contract 
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 
employee benefits 
the group’s major pension plans are of the defined contribution type for these plans the group’s contribution and other paid and unpaid  
benefits earned by the employees are charged to the income statement as incurred   wwwreguscominvestors 49
financial statements
 
 
 
for the defined benefit obligation plans the employer’s portion of past and current services cost is charged to operating profit with the interest  
cost net of expected return on assets in the plans reported within other finance costs actuarial gains or losses are recognised in full directly in  
other comprehensive income such that the balance sheet reflects the plan’s deficits as at the balance sheet date 
the defined benefit obligation is calculated annually by external actuaries using the projected unit credit method an actuarial valuation involves 
making various assumptions that may differ from actual developments in the future these include the determination of the discount rate future 
salary increases mortality rates and future pension increases due to the complexity of the valuation the underlying assumptions and its longterm 
nature a defined benefit obligation is highly sensitive to changes in these assumptions all assumptions are reviewed at each reporting date 
the present value of the defined benefit obligation is determined by discounting the estimated future cash flows using an appropriate discount rate  
in determining this discount rate management considers the interest rates of corporate bonds in the respective currency with at least aa rating with 
extrapolated maturities corresponding to the expected duration of the defined benefit obligation the mortality rate is based on publicly available mortality 
tables for the specific country future salary increases and pension increases are based on expected future inflation rates for the respective country 
further details about the assumptions used are given in note 26 
sharebased 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 for all unused tax losses 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  50 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
2 accounting policies continued 
net finance expenses 
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 
costs arising on bank guarantees  letters of credit and foreign exchange gains or losses have been classified separately as other finance costs  
in the income statement 
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 
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 shortterm receivables when recognition would be immaterial 
liquid investments consist of 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 foreign operations are translated using the closing rate with 
all exchange differences arising on consolidation being recognised other comprehensive income and presented in the foreign currency translation 
reserve in equity 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 24 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 
 2011 2010 2011 2010
us dollar 155 155  161 154
euro 120 116  115 117 
japanese yen 120 126 128 135 
   wwwreguscominvestors 51
financial statements
 
 
 
3 segmental analysis – statutory 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 and switzerland 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 2010 the performance of each segment is assessed on the basis of the segment operating profit which excludes certain non
recurring 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 
 americas emea asia pacific united kingdom 
all other operating 
segments total 
 
2011 
£m 
2010 
£m 
2011 
£m 
2010
£m
2011
£m 
2010
£m
2011
£m 
2010
£m
2011 
£m 
2010 
£m 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
revenues from external 
customers 4775 4369 3017 2812 1691 1417 2126 1789 17 17  11626 10404 
revenues from internal 
customers – – 07 11 – – 15 09 – – 22 20
segment revenues 4775 4369 3024 2823 1691 1417 2141 1798 17  17 11648 10424 
gross profit  
centre contribution  1285  991  683 658  432 364  318 132  14 14   2732 2159 
reportable segment 
profit 514 325 175 173 215 187 38 122 03 08  939 571
share of profit of  
joint ventures – – 10 13 – – 09 – – – 01 13 
finance expense 02 – 02 02 07 05 23 15 – – 34 22
finance income – – 03 04 04 01 01 – – – 08 05 
depreciation and 
amortisation 316 326 146  147 123 111 131 140 07 – 723 724 
taxation incomecharge  12 261 21 34 92 39 16 286 14 11 89 59
assets 5885 5247  2852 2479 1719 1625 2997 3064 16 13 13468
 
12428
liabilities 3230 2515 3100 2566 1657 1434 2857 2766 06 06 10850 9287
net assetsliabilities 2655 2732  249 87 62 191 140 298 10 07 2618 3141 
noncurrent asset additions 723  278  212   129 183 137 94 201 –  – 1212 745
revenue in the other segmental category is generated from services related to the provision of 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  52 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
3 segmental analysis – statutory basis continued 
       2011 
£m revenue 
gross  
profit centre 
contribution 
operating 
profit
share of jv 
profit
finance 
expense
finance 
income
other 
finance 
costs 
depreciation 
and 
amortisation
profit before 
tax
reportable segment 
results 11648 2732 939 01 34 08 – 723 914
exclude internal revenue 22 22 – – – – – – –
corporate overheads – 42 432 – – 05 04 12 431
foreign exchange gains 
and losses – – 02 – – – 26 – 28
exceptional items    
2010 restructuring plan – – – – – – – – –
published group total 11626 2752 505 01 34 13 30 735 455
 
    2010
£m revenue 
gross  
profit centre 
contribution 
operating 
profit
share of jv 
profit
finance 
expense
finance 
income
other finance 
costs 
depreciation 
and 
amortisation
profit before 
tax
reportable segment 
results 10424 2159  571 132205 – 724 567 
exclude internal revenue 20 20 – – – – – – –
corporate overheads – 20 345 – 02 13 – 10 330
foreign exchange gains 
and losses – – – – – – 01 – 01 
exceptional items    
2010 restructuring plan – 119 158 – – – – – 158
published group total 10404 2040  68 13 20 18 01 734 78 
the 2010 exceptional charge of £158 million is split between the reportable segments and central costs as set out in note 6 they constitute 
respectively part of a reorganisation plan and a formal restructuring plan and therefore in the group’s view are differentiated from other ongoing 
charges within the operations of the business    wwwreguscominvestors 53
financial statements
 
 
 
 
  2011 
£m assets liabilities
net assets  
liabilities 
reportable segment results 13468 10850 2618
exclude segmental intercompany amounts 2914 3828 914
corporate overheads assets and liabilities excluding amounts due tofrom reportable segments  
cash 1134 – 1134
deferred taxation 197 – 197
other 132 108 24
published group total 12017 7130 4887
 
 2010
£m assets liabilities
net assets 
liabilities
reportable segment results 12428 9287 3141 
exclude segmental intercompany amounts 2655 3097 442
corporate overheads assets and liabilities excluding amounts due tofrom reportable segments  
cash 1099 – 1099
deferred taxation 273 – 273
other 287 384 97
published group total 11432  6574 4858
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 revenue is recognised 
where the service is provided 
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 
 2011  2010 
£m 
external 
revenue 
noncurrent   
assets
a
 external revenue
noncurrent  
assets
a
country of domicile – luxembourg 34 06   40 04 
united states of america 3651 3157  3507 2852  
united kingdom 2130 1644  1804 1685  
all other countries 5811 2120  5053 1854  
 11626 6927  10404 6395 
a excluding deferred tax assets  54 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
5 operating profit 
operating profit has been arrived at after chargingcrediting 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
depreciation on property plant and equipment 
owned assets 649 658
finance leases 19 14 
amortisation of intangibles 67 62 
provision for bad debts  51 41
loss on disposal of property plant and equipment  12 16 
exchange differences recognised in the income statement – lossgain 04 04
movement in fair value of derivative financial instruments – 05
rents payable in respect of operating leases 
property  4149 3932
equipment  15 18
contingent rents paid  149 100
amortisation of uk acquisition fair value adjustments 46 44
staff costs see note 7 2327 2015 
 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£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  13 14
other services pursuant to legislation 
tax services 01 01
other services 01 04
6 exceptional items 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
administration expenses 
2011 restructuring plan charge 25 –
2010 restructuring plan release  charge 25 158
 – 158 
during the year ended 31 december 2011 the group completed the restructuring of specific entities within the group at a net cost of £25m  
this balance consists of expenditure arising on the following categories asset write down reorganisation costs and other costs there is no 
provision recognised at year end 
during the year ended 31 december 2010 the group undertook a uk restructuring programme at a net cost of £158 million this balance consists 
of expenditure arising on the following categories asset write down reorganisation costs space reduction costs centre closure costs and other 
costs an onerous lease and other property related provisions which were identified during the restructure as being no longer required were 
released £25m of the remaining provision was released during the year ended 31 december 2011 
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    wwwreguscominvestors 55
financial statements
 
 
 
7 staff costs  
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
the aggregate payroll costs were as follows 
wages and salaries 1941 1686
social security 352 303
pension costs 28 14
sharebased payments 06 12
 2327 2015
 
 
2011
average full 
time 
equivalents 
2010
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 3984 3577
sales staff 871 780 
finance staff 774 668 
other staff 823 662 
 6452 5687 
 
americas 2483 2246 
emea 1610 1466 
asia pacific 960 832 
united kingdom 976 896 
corporate functions 423 247 
 6452 5687 
details of directors’ emoluments and interests are given on pages 36 to 38 in the remuneration report  
8 net finance expense 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
interest payable and similar charges on bank loans  12 05
interest payable and similar charges of finance leases 02 01
total interest expense 14 06
unwinding of discount rates 20 14
total finance expense 34 20
total interest income 12 18
unwinding of discount rates 01 –
total finance income 13 18
net finance expense 21 02
9 other finance costs 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
foreign exchange net gains or losses  26 01
bank guarantees  letters of credit 04 –
other finance costs 30 01
foreign exchange gains or losses were reclassified from administration expenses to other finance costs there is no impact on profit before tax  
for the year  56 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
10 taxation 
a analysis of charge in the year 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
current taxation 
corporate income tax 135 103
previously unrecognised tax losses and temporary differences 15 09 
over provision in respect of prior years 74 319
total current taxation 46 225
deferred taxation 
origination and reversal of temporary differences 72 289
previously unrecognised tax losses and temporary differences 44 –
under  over provision in respect of prior years 15 05
total deferred taxation 43 284
tax charge on profit 89 59
b reconciliation of taxation charge 
 2011 2010
£m  £m 
profit before tax 455  78
tax on profit at 288 2010 286 131 288 22 286
tax effects of  
exceptional items not deductible for tax purposes – – 42 538
expenses not deductible for tax purposes 64 141 90 1154
items not chargeable for tax purposes 204 448  142 1821
recognition of previously unrecognised deferred tax assets   59 130  09 115
movements in temporary differences in the year not recognised  
in deferred tax 142 312 453 5808
other movements in temporary differences  71 156  66 846
adjustment to tax charge in respect of previous years  59 130  324 4154
differences in tax rates on overseas earnings  03 07  07 90
 89 196 59 756
the applicable tax rate is determined based on the tax rate in luxembourg which was the statutory tax rate applicable in the country of domicile  
of the parent company of the group for the financial year 
the group has benefitted from a credit in relation to the settlement of a number of tax audits in respect of previous years   wwwreguscominvestors 57
financial statements
 
 
 
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 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
2011  – 09
2012 23 41
2013  13 16
2014  37 36
2015 05 38
2016 37 12
2017 42 31
2018 36 –
2019 and later  1009 954
  1202 1137
available indefinitely  1442 1205
tax losses available to carry forward  2644 2342
amount of tax losses recognised in the deferred tax asset  948 527
total tax losses available to carry forward  3592 2869
the following deferred tax assets have not been recognised due to uncertainties over recoverability 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
intangibles 449 3289
accelerated capital allowances  120 55
tax losses  804 771
rent 03 08
short term timing differences  83 75
  1459 4198
estimates relating to deferred tax assets including assumptions about future profitability are reevaluated at the end of each reporting period  
in considering current facts and circumstances the group has amended the calculation of deferred tax assets relating to certain intangible assets 
this has given rise to a total decrease in the unrecognised deferred tax assets of £2739 million 
d corporation tax 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
corporation tax payable 63 170
corporation tax receivable 74 133
  58 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
10 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 2010 135 288 139 202  157 651 
current year movement 65 30 17 11 200 289
prior year movement 01 16 11 08  06 04
direct reserves movement ––––  08 08
acquisitions – – – – – – 
transfers 01 07 03 02  – 05
exchange movement  13 14 02 07 08 18
at 1 january 2011 211 281 150 188  37 371
current year movement 131 04 42 38 110 29
prior year movement 03 04 159 04 181 17
direct reserves movement – – – – – – 
acquisitions – – – – – – 
transfers 01–0103 0207
exchange movement 06 06 03 04 03 04
at 31 december 2011 338 275 265 229 103 328
deferred tax liability  
at 1 january 2010 01 10 04 – – 07
current year movement – 02 – –  02 –
prior year movement – 01 01 – 01 01
acquisitions –––– ––
transfers 01 07 03 02 –  05
exchange movement –––– ––
at 1 january 2011 02 –  – 02 01 01
current year movement – – – 01 – 01
prior year movement – – 01 – 01 02
acquisitions –––– ––
transfers 01–0103 0207
exchange movement –––– ––
at 31 december 2011 03 – – – 02 05
the movement in deferred taxes included above are after the offset of deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities where there is a legally 
enforceable right to set off and they relate to income taxes levied by the same taxation authority 
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 £513 million 2010 £643 million 
the only tax that would arise on these reserves would be noncreditable withholding tax   wwwreguscominvestors 59
financial statements
 
 
 
11 earnings per ordinary share basic and diluted 
 2011 2010
profit attributable to equity shareholders of the parent £m 379  15
weighted average number of shares outstanding during the year 941898916 947462881
average market price of one share during the year 9479p 8661p
weighted average number of shares under option during the year 3674249 4228848
exercise price for shares under option during the year 5823p 5884p
 
profit earnings per share
2011
£m
2010 
£m 
2011  
pence 
2010 
pence
basic and diluted profit for the year attributable to shareholders and  
basic earnings per share 379 15   40  02
diluted earnings per share   40  02
weighted average number of shares for basic eps number  941898916 947462881
weighted average number of shares under option during the year  3674249  4228848
weighted average number of shares that would have been issued at 
average market price  2286139 2872755
weighted average number of awards under the cip and ltip  2465389  4513161
weighted average number of shares for diluted eps number  945752415 953332135
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  
12 dividends 
 2011 2010
dividends per ordinary share proposed  20p 175p 
interim dividends per ordinary share declared and paid during the year  09p 085p
dividends of £250 million were paid during the year 2010 £232 million the company has proposed to shareholders that a final dividend of  
20p per share will be paid 2010 175p subject to shareholder approval it is expected that the dividend will be paid on 25 may 2012  60 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
13 goodwill 
 £m
cost 
at 1 january 2010 2591 
recognised on acquisition of subsidiaries 152
exchange differences 81
at 1 january 2011 2824
recognised on acquisition of subsidiaries 46
exchange differences 16
at 31 december 2011 2854
net book value 
at 1 january 2011 2824
at 31 december 2011 2854
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 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
carrying amount of goodwill included within the americas business segment 1713 1688
carrying amount of goodwill included within the emea business segment 59 66
carrying amount of goodwill included within the asia pacific business segment 119 111
carrying amount of goodwill included within the uk business segment 963 959
 2854 2824
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 87 of the total the remaining 13 of the carrying value is allocated to a further 24 countries 24 cash generating units the goodwill 
and indefinite life intangibles allocated to the usa and the uk cash generating units are set out below 
goodwill
£m
intangible  
assets 
£m 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
usa 1495 – 1495 1481
uk 963 112 1075 1071
other cash generating units 396 – 396 384
 2854 112 2966 2936
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 14 
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 risk 
adjusted discount rate for the group 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 cash flows it is also possible 
that impairment charges could arise in future periods   wwwreguscominvestors 61
financial statements
 
 
 
the following key assumptions have been used in calculating value in use for each group of cgus 
 future cash flows are based on budget for 2012 approved by the board 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 2013 that reflect an average annual growth rate of 356 2010 354  
 these forecasts exclude the impact of both organic and acquisitive growth expected to take place in future periods 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 2016 have been extrapolated using a 2 growth rate which management believe is a reasonable longterm 
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 longterm nature of the businesses 
 the group applies a country specific pretax discount rate to the pretax cash flows for each cgu the country specific discount rate is based on 
the underlying weighted average cost of capital wacc for the group the group wacc is then adjusted for each cgu to reflect the assessed 
market risk specific to that country the group wacc increased to 13 in 2011 2010 12 the market risk adjustments remain unchanged 
from 2010 giving a risk adjusted range of 13 to 19 2010 12 to 17 
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 remain challenging for the group and the current global conditions make 
forecasting mediumterm 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 prolonged or to deteriorate greater than 
currently expected this would adversely impact the forecast cash flows and could result in impairments to goodwill and indefinite lived intangible 
assets in future periods 
the amount by which the value in use exceeds the carrying amount of the cgus are sufficiently large to enable the directors to conclude that a 
reasonably possible change in the key assumptions would not result in an impairment charge in any of the cgus foreseeable events are unlikely  
to result in a change in the projections of such a significant nature as to result in the cashgenerating units carrying amount exceeding their 
recoverable amount 
the key assumptions used in the us model are that in 2012 the forecast centre contribution rises to 29 from 24 revenue and costs grow at  
3 per annum from 2011 maintaining a terminal 2016 centre gross margin of 29 thereafter a 2 longterm growth rate is assumed on revenue 
and cost into perpetuity the cash flows have been discounted using a pretax discount rate of 14 201012 
the uk model assumes an ongoing recovery reverting to midcycle revenue and occupancy being achieved in 2016 prior to the application of  
the longrun growth rate and discount rates used this model forecasts a 2012 centre contribution of 13 rising to 22 before reverting to a  
midcycle centre contribution of 16 thereafter a 2 longterm growth rate is assumed on revenue and cost into perpetuity the cash flows  
have been discounted using a pretax discount rate of 13 201012  
management has considered the following sensitivities 
market growth and wipow – management has considered the impact of a variance in market growth and wipow the value in use calculation 
shows that if the longterm growth rate was reduced to nil the recoverable amount of the us and uk cgus would still be greater than their carrying 
value 
discount rate – management has considered the impact of an increase in the discount rate applied to the calculation the valueinuse calculation 
shows that for the recoverable amount of the cgu to be less than its carrying value the pretax discount rate would have to be increased to 25 
for the us cgu and 17 for the uk cgu 
there is no goodwill relating to the group’s joint ventures  62 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
14 other intangible assets 
 
brand 
£m
customer  
lists 
£m 
software 
£m
total 
£m
cost  
at 1 january 2010 522 192  136 850 
additions at cost – – 24 24 
acquisition of subsidiaries – 22 – 22 
disposals –– – –
exchange rate movements 16 07 03 26
at 1 january 2011 538 221 163 922 
additions at cost – 01 38 39
acquisition of subsidiaries – 04 – 04
disposals –– – –
exchange rate movements – – 02 02
at 31 december 2011 538 226 199 963
amortisation  
at 1 january 2010 112 146  109 367 
charge for the year 21 22 19 62 
disposals –– – –
exchange rate movements 05 02 02 09
at 1 january 2011 138 170 13 0 438
charge for year 20 26 21 67
disposals –– – –
exchange rate movements – – 01 01
at 31 december 2011 158 196 150 504
  
net book value  
at 31 december 2011 380 30 49 459
at 31 december 2010 400 51 33 484 
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 13 
the remaining amortisation life for nonindefinite life brands is 13 years   wwwreguscominvestors 63
financial statements
 
 
 
15 property plant and equipment  
land and 
buildings
£m
furniture  
fittings and  
motor vehicles 
£m 
computer 
hardware
£m
total
£m
cost  
at 1 january 2010 – 5771  376 6147 
additions 56 666 50 772 
acquisition of subsidiaries – 123  02 125 
disposals – 45 17 62
exchange rate movements – 212 14 226
at 1 january 2011 56 6727  425 7208 
additions – 1126 63 1189
acquisition of subsidiaries – 25 – 25
disposals – 81 14 95
exchange rate movements – 95 04 99
at 31 december 2011 56 7702 470 8228
accumulated depreciation  
at 1 january 2010 – 3455  283 3738 
charge for the year – 610  62 672
disposals – 25 17 42
exchange rate movements – 121 11 132
at 1 january 2011 – 4161 339 4500
charge for the year 03 610 55 668
disposals – 68 14 82
exchange rate movements – 60 07 67
at 31 december 2011 03 4643 373 5019
  
net book value  
at 31 december 2011 53 3059 97 3209
at 31 december 2010 56 2566  86 2708
  64 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
15 property plant and equipment continued 
additions include £nil million in respect of assets acquired under finance leases 2010 £38 million  
the net book value of furniture fittings and motor vehicles includes amounts held under finance leases as follows 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
cost 244 239 
accumulated depreciation 184 165
net book value 60 74 
16 other longterm receivables 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
deposits held by landlords against rent obligations 343 299 
amounts owed by joint ventures 19 08 
prepayments and accrued income 17 33 
 379 340
17 trade and other receivables 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
trade receivables 1057 1026 
amounts owed by joint ventures  40 40
other receivables 284 181 
deposits held by landlords against rent obligations 154 202 
prepayments and accrued income 912 842
vat recoverable 266 196 
 2713 2487
18 trade and other payables 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
trade payables 616 507 
other tax and social security 319 261
customer deposits 1843 1632
deferred landlord contributions 164 130 
amounts owed to joint ventures 07 16 
rent accruals 431 373 
other accruals 696 747 
other payables 175 218 
total current 4251 3884
 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
accruals and deferred income 588 456 
rent accruals 565 511 
other payables 25 24 
total noncurrent 1178 991 
   wwwreguscominvestors 65
financial statements
 
 
 
19 borrowings 
the group’s total loan and borrowing position at 31 december 2011 and at 31 december 2010 had the following maturity profiles 
bank and other loans 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£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 34 –
in more than two years but not more than five years 26 34
in more than five years  – –
total noncurrent 60 34
total current 09 55
total bank and other loans 69 89 
obligations under finance leases  
the maturity of the group’s finance obligations is as follows 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
amounts payable 
within one year or on demand 15 23
in more than one year but not more than two years 09 14
in more than two years but not more than five years – 06
 24 43 
less finance charges allocated to future periods 01 01
present value of future minimum lease payments 23 42
total current 15 23
total noncurrent 08 19
 23 42
  66 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
20 provisions 
  2011  2010
 
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 107 07 12 126 88 21 12 121
provided in the period 04 03 07 14 55 – – 55
utilised in the period 20 01 01 22 11 04 – 15
provisions released 05 – – 05 25 09 – 34
exchange differences 01 – – 01 – 01 – 01
at 31 december 85 09 18 112 107 07  12 126
analysed between   
current 14 09 07 30 21 07   – 28 
noncurrent 71 – 11 82 86 – 12 98 
at 31 december 85 09 18 112 107 07  12 126 
onerous leases and closures 
provisions for onerous leases and closures 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 2022 
restructuring  
the restructuring provision of £09 million 2010 £07 million is expected to be utilised during the next financial year 
other  
other provisions include the estimated costs of claims against the group outstanding at the year end of which due to their nature the maximum 
period over which they are expected to be utilised is uncertain  
21 investments in joint ventures  
investments  
in joint ventures 
£m 
provision for 
deficit in joint 
ventures
£m
total
£m
at 1 january 2010 44  11 33 
dividends paid  16 – 16
share of profitlosses 15  02 13 
acquisition –  – – 
exchange rate movements 04 – 04
at 1 january 2011 39  13 26 
dividends paid  14 – 14
share of profitlosses 01 – 01
acquisition – – –
exchange rate movements – 01 01
at 31 december 2011 26 12 14
   wwwreguscominvestors 67
financial statements
 
 
 
the results of the joint ventures below are the full results of the joint ventures and do not represent the effective share 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
income statement 
revenue 200 236
expenses 175 202
profit before tax for the year 25 34 
tax charge 03 05
profit after tax for the year 22 29
net assetsliabilities 
fixed assets 73 73 
current assets 160 147 
current liabilities 177 166
noncurrent liabilities 50 30
net assets 06 24
22 share capital 
ordinary equity share capital 
2011  2010
number 
nominal value
£m number  
nominal value
£m
authorised  
ordinary 1p shares at 1 january  31 december 8000000000 800 8000000000  800 
 
issued and fully paid up  
ordinary 1p shares at 1 january  31 december  950969822 95 950969822  95 
treasury share transactions involving regus plc shares 
as at 1 january 2011 9070906 2010 1576498 shares were held as treasury shares during the year ended 31 december 2011 regus plc 
repurchased nil 2010 9385000 of its own shares in the open market and utilised nil 2010 1890592 treasury shares held by the group to 
satisfy the exercise of share awards by employees  
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 do not carry such rights until reissued  68 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
23 analysis of financial assets 
 
at 1 jan 2011
£m 
cash flow
£m
noncash  
changes 
£m 
exchange 
movements
£m
at 31 dec 2011
£m 
cash and cash equivalents 1942 76 – 43 1975
liquid investments 104 104 – – –
gross cash 2046 28 – 43 1975
debt due within one year 55 07 36 03 09
debt due after one year 34 04 36 06 60
finance leases due within one year 23 07 03 02 15
finance leases due after one year 19 14 03 – 08
 131 32 – 07 92
net financial assets  1915 04 – 36 1883
cash and cash equivalent balances held by the group that are not available for use amounted to £255 million at 31 december 2011  
2010 £326 million  
of this balance £198 million 2010 £234 million is pledged as security against outstanding bank guarantees and a further £57 million  
2010 £92 million is pledged against various other commitments of the group  
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 
24 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 
going concern 
the business review on pages 5 to 11 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 19 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 
2011 while making significant investment in growth the group has maintained its cash levels at comparable levels to the position at the start of  
the financial year while many countries where the group operates continue to experience difficult economic conditions the directors believe that 
the group is taking the necessary actions 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 
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 minimise 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   wwwreguscominvestors 69
financial statements
 
 
 
the maximum exposure to credit risk for trade receivables at the reporting date analysed by geographic region is summarised below 
 
2011
£m
2010
£m
americas 219 189
emea 417 429 
asia pacific 175 166
uk 246 242 
 1057 1026 
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
2011
£m
provision 
2011 
£m 
gross
2010
£m
provision
2010
£m
not overdue 980 – 943 06
past due 0 – 30 days 49 02 66 03
past due 31 – 60 days 22 02 23 04
more than 60 days 124 114 112 105
 1175 118 1144 118
at the year end 31 december 2011 the group maintained a provision of £118 million against potential bad debts 2010 £118 million arising from 
trade receivables the group had provided £51 million 2010 £41 million in the year and utilised £50 million 2010 £70 million customer 
deposits of £1843 million 2010 £1632 million are held by the group mitigating the risk of default 
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  
cash investments and derivative financial instruments are only transacted with counterparties of sound credit ratings and management does not 
expect any of these counterparties to fail to meet their obligations  
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 £1720 million 2010 £1720 million which 
the directors consider adequate to meet the group’s day to day requirements 
the three year unsecured bank guarantee  letter of credit facility entered into in november 2010 with lloyds tsb bank was increased to  
£100 million in the current year the facility is subject to financial covenants covering operating cash flows the ratio of gross debt to consolidated 
tangible net worth and the ratio of ebitdar to net interest and rental charges the group is in compliance with all covenant requirements 
although the group has net current liabilities of £1022 million 2010 £752 million 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 which will be recognised in future periods 
through the income statement although the group holds customer deposits of £1843 million 2010 £1632 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 excluding deferred income were £395 million at 31 december 2011 2010 £506 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  70 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
24 financial instruments and financial risk management continued 
market risk 
the group is exposed to market risk primarily related to foreign currency exchange rates interest rates and the market value of our investments  
in financial assets these exposures are actively managed by the regus treasury in accordance with a written policy approved by the board of 
directors and subject to internal controls we do not use financial derivatives for trading or speculative reasons 
interest rate risk 
the group manage its exposure to interest rate risk through the relative proportions of fixed rate debt and floating rate debt as well as investment  
in financial assets our surplus cash balances are invested short term and at the end of 2011 no cash was invested for a period exceeding 
three months the board of directors believes that the group has no material exposure to interest rate fluctuations as the group does not have  
any significant interest bearing loans or longterm financial investments 
foreign currency risk 
the group presents its consolidated financial statements in gbp as a consequence the group is exposed to foreign currency exchange rate 
movements the majority of day to day transactions of overseas subsidiaries are carried out in local currency and the underlying exposure is small 
transactional exposures do arise in some countries where it is local market practice for a proportion of the payables or receivables to be in other 
than the functional currency of the affiliate intercompany charging funding and cash management activity may also lead to foreign exchange 
exposures it is the policy of the group to seek to minimise such transactional exposures through careful management of nonlocal currency assets 
and liabilities thereby minimising the potential volatility in the income statement net investments in regus affiliates with a functional currency other 
than gbp are of a longterm nature and we do not normally hedge such foreign currency translation exposures 
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 2011 the group used derivative financial instruments to manage the 
translation risk of certain foreign currencies on the reported profits of the group as of 31 december 2011 all such instruments had matured 
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 in the  
income statement 
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 of the group’s communication with key investors can be found  
in the corporate governance report on pages 24 to 30 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 32 to 38 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 2011 regus plc purchased 1212797 2010 1353188 of its own shares in the open market and utilised these to 
satisfy employee share awards regus plc did not repurchase any of its own shares in the open market to hold as treasury shares as at 20 march 
2012 9070906 shares were held as treasury shares 
the company declared an interim dividend of 09p per share 2010 085p during the year ended 31 december 2011 and proposed a final dividend 
of 20p per share 2010 175p per share a 12 increase on the 2010 dividend  
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 as well as the strategy of accelerated organic growth 
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   wwwreguscominvestors 71
financial statements
 
 
 
as at 31 december 2011 
 
effective   
interest rate  

a
 
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 06  1975 1975 1975 – – –
liquid investments – corporate 
bonds –  – – – – – –
other liquid investments –  – – – – – –
trade and other receivables –  2164 2281 1919 173 189 –
financial assets 
b
 –  4139 4256 3894 173 189 –
   
finance lease liabilities 31  23 23 15 07 01 –
secured bank loans 81  63 66 03 35 28 –
other loans  55  07 07 07 – – –
customer deposits –  1844 1844 1844 – – –
trade and other payables  –  1888 1888 1863 25 – –
foreign currency swaps –  – 22 22 – – –
financial liabilities –  3825 3850 3754 67 29 –
as at 31 december 2010 
 
effective   
interest rate  

a
 
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  1942 1942 1942 – – –
liquid investments – corporate 
bonds 21  104104104– ––
other liquid investments –  –––– ––
trade and other receivables –  1900 2018 1718 150 150 –
financial assets 
b
 –  394640643764150 150 –
   
finance lease liabilities 39  42 42 23 13 06 –
secured bank loans 24  37 37 04 – 33 –
other loans  73  52 52 52 – – –
customer deposits –  1632 1632 1632 – – –
trade and other payables  –  1763 1763 1738 25 – –
foreign currency swaps –  – – – – – –
financial liabilities –  3526 3526 3449 38 39 –
a all financial instruments are classified as variable rate instruments 
b financial assets are all held at amortised cost 
sensitivity analysis 
at 31 december 2011 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 2010 £14 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 £12 million for the year ended 31 december 2011 2010 £03 million it is estimated that a five percentage point 
weakening in the value of the euro against sterling would have decreased the group’s profit before tax by approximately £05 million for the year 
ended 31 december 2011 2010 £04 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 £73 million for the year ended 31 december 2011 2010 £79 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 £04 million for the  
year ended 31 december 2011 2010 £06 million  72 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
24 financial instruments and financial risk management continued 
fair value disclosures 
the fair values together with the carrying amounts shown in the balance sheet are as follows 
2011 2010
carrying 
amount
£m 
fair value 
£m 
carrying 
amount
£m
fair value
£m
cash and cash equivalents 1975 1975 1942 1942
liquid investments – corporate bonds – – 104 104 
other liquid investments – –  ––
trade and other receivables 2164 2164 1903 1903 
finance lease liabilities 23 20 42 39
secured bank loans 63 63 37 37
other loans  07 07 52 52
customer deposits 1844 1844 1632 1632
trade and other payables 1888 1888 1763 1763
 314 317 423 426
unrecognised gain 03  03
summary of methods and assumptions 
cash and cash equivalents trade and other receivablespayables and customer deposits 
for cash and cash equivalents receivablespayables with a remaining life of less than one year and customer deposits the book value approximates 
the fair value because of their shortterm nature 
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 
derivative financial instruments  
the group held several foreign currency swaps in the year in relation to the hedging of group profits mentioned above with the following table 
summarising the open swaps as at 31 december 2011 
 
2011
chf m
2011 
eur m 
2010 
chf m 
2010
eur m
foreign currency swaps 29 02 – – 
committed borrowing facilities 
 
principal 
£m 
available
£m
at 31 december 2011 – – 
at 31 december 2010 – – 
the threeyear unsecured bank guarantee  letter of credit facility entered into in november 2010 with lloyds tsb bank was increased to  
£100 million in the current year the facility is subject to financial covenants covering operating cash flows the ratio of gross debt to consolidated 
tangible net worth and the ratio of ebitdar to net interest and rental charges the group is in compliance with all covenant requirements   wwwreguscominvestors 73
financial statements
 
 
 
25 sharebased 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  
2011 2010
number of 
share options
weighted 
average 
exercise price 
per share 
number of 
share options
weighted 
average 
exercise price 
per share
at 1 january 7814746 8019 10059700 6795 
granted during the year 13867539 10600 4764607 9613
lapsed during the year 950379 10709 3823075 8127 
exercised during the year – – 3186486 6426
outstanding at 31 december 20731906 9622 7814746 8019 
exercisable at 31 december 3170139 5700  3170139 5700 
 
date of grant numbers granted 
weighted 
average exercise 
price per share lapsed exercised at 31 dec 2011 exercisable from expiry date
23072004 4106981  5700 – 936842 3170139  23072007 23072014
18032008 4331641  8050 4331641 – – 18032011 18032018
18052010 3986000 10050345000 –3641000 1805201523032020
28062010 617961 750054751 –563210 2806201328062020
01092010 160646 6910 – –160646 0109201301092020
01042011 grant 1 2100000 11490 – – 2100000 01042014 01042021
01042011 grant 2 300000 11490 300000 – – 01042014 01042021
30062011 9867539 10950370628 – 9496911 3006201430062021
31082011 300000 6700 – – 300000 3108201431082021
02092011 1000000 7435 – – 1000000 0109201402092021
06102011 300000 6410 – – 300000 0110201401102021
total 27070768 9275540202093684220731906 
  74 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
25 sharebased payment continued 
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 
404015 options awarded under the regus group share option plan france are included in the above table 2010 447773 353186 lapsed 
during the year 2010 416146 and none were exercised during the year 2010 nil  
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 awards of options made in march 2008 failed to meet the related performance conditions and lapsed in the year ended 31 december 2010 
the options awarded in april june and september 2010 contain the following performance conditions 
50 of the options will be eligible to vest if the regus total shareholder return ‘tsr’  achieved relative to ftse all share total return index is  
at least at the median over the performance period 50 of the options will be eligible to vest subject to the eps conditions in the table below 
vesting scale eps target ye 2012
25 15p
50 16p
75 17p
100 18p
once performance conditions are satisfied those options that are eligible to vest will vest as follows 
proportion to vest
march 2013 13
march 2014 13
march 2015 13
the options awarded in april 2011 grant 1 are subject to a performance target based on the pregrowth profit for the year ending 31 december 
2011 such that the number of shares vesting will be determined as follows 
vesting scale pregrowth profit
60 £65m
80 £775 m
100 £90m
once performance conditions are satisfied those options that are eligible to vest will vest as follows 
proportion to vest
april 2014 13
april 2015 13
april 2016 13
the options awarded in june 2011 are subject to both group and regional performance targets based on pregrowth profit for the year ending  
31 december 2011 when determining the number of shares to vest both the group and the regional performance target must be achieved  
such that the number of shares vesting will be determined as follows 
vesting scale pregrowth profit a
group performance target £65m
regional performance target 
50 good
75 better
100 best
a the regional pregrowth profit performance target differs from region to region with a consistent vesting scale assigned to the predefined good better  
best performance   wwwreguscominvestors 75
financial statements
 
 
 
once performance conditions are satisfied those options that are eligible to vest will vest as follows 
proportion to vest
april 2014 13
april 2015 13
april 2016 13
the options awarded in april grant 2 august and october 2011 are conditional on the ongoing employment of the related employees for  
a specified period of time once this condition is satisfied those options that are eligible to vest will vest as follows 
proportion to vest
april 2014 13
april 2015 13
april 2016 13
the options awarded in september 2011 are subject to a performance target based on the consensus operating profit for the year ending  
31 december 2012 such that the number of shares vesting will be subject to the satisfaction of a predetermined operating profit target in 2012 
once performance conditions are satisfied those options that are eligible to vest will vest as follows 
proportion to vest
april 2014 13
april 2015 13
april 2016 13
the share options awarded were valued using the monte carlo or the blackscholes method  
the inputs to the model are as follows 
 october 2011 september 2011 august 2011 june 2011 
april 2011 
grant 2 
     
share price on grant date 6830p 7250p 7590p 11070p 11070p
exercise price 6410p 7435p 6700p 10950p 11490p
expected volatility 5326 – 4655 5259 – 4608 5261 – 4613 5155 – 4499 5218 – 4541
number of simulations 30000 30000 30000 30000 30000
number of companies – – – – –
option life 3 – 5 years 3 – 5 years 3 – 5 years 3 – 5 years  3 – 5 years
expected dividend 388 366 349 235 235
fair value of option at time of grant 2304p – 2243p 2289p – 2271p 2732p – 2701p 3941p – 4096p 3827p – 3980p
risk free interest rate 115 – 167 116 – 175 129 – 191 181 – 257 170 – 248 76 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
25 sharebased payment continued 
 
april 2011 
grant 1 september 2010 june 2010 march 2010
  eps tsr eps tsr eps tsr
share price on grant date 11630p 7060p 7060p 7320p 7320p 9400p 9400p
exercise price 11490p 6910p 6910p 7500p 7500p 10050p 10050p
expected volatility 5123 – 
4554 
5028 –
4561
5028 –
4561
4618 –
5432
4699 –
5636 
4702 – 
6482
4674 – 
5598
number of simulations 30000 30000 30000 30000 30000 30000 30000
number of companies 
– 
ftse all 
share index
ftse all 
share index
ftse all 
share index
ftse all 
share index 
ftse all 
share index
ftse all 
share index
option life 3 – 5 years 3 – 5 years 3 – 5 years 3 – 5 years 3 – 5 years 3 – 5 years 3 – 5 years
expected dividend 224 340 340 328 328 255 255
fair value of option at time of grant 4219p – 
4480p 
2280p –
2360p
2151p –
2151p
3520p – 
4270p
1240p –
1740p 
4549p –
6177p
1950p –
2630p
risk free interest rate 233 –
304 
151 –
217
151 –
217
276 – 
305
276 – 
305 
307 – 
338
307 – 
338
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 
 
2011 
number of 
awards 
2010
number of 
awards
at 1 january 21114781 19724642 
cip awards granted during the year – –
ltip awards granted during the year – 2900472 
lapsed during the year 3304502 –
exercised during the year 1212797 1510333
outstanding at 31 december 16597482 21114781 
exercisable at 31 december  654497  167852
1212797 options or conditional share awards were exercised during the year ended 31 december 2011 2010 1510333 the weighted average 
share price at the date of exercise for share awards and options exercised during the year ended 31 december 2011 was 7767p 2010 9606p 
plan date of grant
numbers 
granted lapsed exercised at 31 dec 2011 release date
ltip 031120053723235 10928192462564 167852 03112008
ltip 230320102900472515415 –  238505723032013
 6623707 16082342462564 2552909 
 
plan date of grant
numbers 
granted lapsed exercised at 31 dec 2011 release date
cip investment shares 18032008 1557391 86956 983790 486645 18032011
cip matching shares 18032008 5922916 1182796 –  4740120  see below
cip investment shares 23032009 2212734 172835 229007 1810892 23032012
cip matching shares 23032009 8614284 1607368 –  7006916  see below
 18307325 30499551212797 14044573 
 as indicated in the remuneration report in the annual report for the year ended 31 december 2009 the remuneration committee felt it inappropriate to set specific 
performance conditions for matching shares under the cip which were 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 sharebased payments is measured by reference to the fair value of the equity instruments granted  
of the awards of investment and matching shares under the ltip on 23 march 2010 1028539 were conditional share awards and 1871933  
were nil cost options    wwwreguscominvestors 77
financial statements
 
 
 
the ltipcip awards are valued using the monte carlo method  
the inputs to the model are as follows  
23032010 23032009 18032008 03112005
ltipa cip b cip b ltip c
share price on grant date 10810p 6550p 8050p 9225p
exercise price nil nil nil nil
number of simulations 250000 200000  200000 60000
number of companies 32 32  36 29
award life 3 years 3 years 3 years 3 years
expected dividend 222 272 119 nil
fair value of award at time of grant 4700p 4797p 6121p 6500p
risk free interest rate 186 192 386 447
a the ltip awards have a release date of 23 march 2013 there is no expiry date and therefore remaining contractual life is on the basis that the awards release 
immediately the ltip nil cost options have a vesting date of 23 march 2013 and an expiry of 23 march 2020 the performance conditions are set out below 
b 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 was updated  
in the year ended 31 december 2010 
c the ltip awards of 3 november 2005 had a release date of 3 november 2008 there was no expiry date and therefore remaining contractual life is on the basis  
that the awards release immediately the ltip nil cost options had a vesting date of 3 november 2008 and an expiry date of 3 november 2015  
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 thus 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 longterm shareholder value in addition the 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  78 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
25 sharebased payment continued 
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
 a
nil 100
25 above 100 but below 101
increments of 075 for each complete 1 above 100
100 200 or above
a over three four or five year performance period 
regus plc value creation plan 
 2011 2010
 
number of 
entitlements 
number of 
entitlements
at 1 january 21000000 21000000 
vcp entitlements awarded during the year – – 
lapsed during the year 8142858 –
outstanding at 31 december 12857142 21000000
 
plan 
date of 
award
numbers 
awarded lapsed exercised at 31 dec 2011 
measurement 
date
vcp tier 1 awards 20052008 3500000 1000000 – 2500000  –
vcp tier 2 awards 20052008 6000000 3857143 – 2142857  –
vcp tier 3 awards 20052008 10000000 2857144 – 7142856  –
vcp tier 4 awards 20052008 3000000 1928571 – 1071429  –
 22500000 9642858–12857142  
31032010 – 
31032013
the fair value of services received in return for sharebased payments are measured by reference to the fair value of the equity instruments granted 
no awards were exercisable at the year end 2010 nil 
the vcp awards are valued using the monte carlo method   wwwreguscominvestors 79
financial statements
 
 
 
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
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 80 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
25 sharebased payment continued  
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 will be granted under the vcp 
in respect of the first second and third measurement dates 31st march 2010 31st march 2011 and 31 march 2012 respectively the company’s 
share price was below the target and no vcp entitlements vested 
26 retirement benefit obligations 
in 2011 for the first time the group has accounted for the swiss pension plans as defined benefit plans under ias 19 based upon a reasonable  
and consistent allocation method of the multiemployer plan assets to the group’s interest in the plans given that the ias 19 valuation resulted  
in insignificant prior year net liabilities the management of the group believes that it is appropriate not to restate 2010 comparatives the group  
has recognised £04m of pension costs in the income statement together with a loss of £ 01m in other comprehensive income 
reconciliation of balance sheet movements 
the reconciliation of assets and liabilities recognised in the balance sheet are as follows 
£m 31122011 31122010
fair value of plan assets 24 11
present value of obligations 25 11
 
net funded obligations 01 –
as required by ias 19 liabilities for benefit obligations are determined using the projected unit credit actuarial valuation method this is an accrued 
benefits valuation method that discounts the best estimate of future cash flows and makes allowance for projected earnings 
the group does not operate any unfunded defined benefit pension plans 
changes in present value of defined benefit obligations and fair value of plan assets 
changes in the present value of the defined benefit obligation were as follows 
£m 31122011 
at 1 january 11
current service costs 04
plan participants’ contributions 03
benefit payments 08
interest cost 
net insurance premiums and expenses 02
actuarial gain  loss for the year 01
exchange rate differences 
at 31 december 25
changes in the fair value of plan assets were as follows 
£m 31122011 
at 1 january 11
employer contributions 04
plan participants’ contributions 03
benefit payments 08
expected return on plan assets –
actuarial gain  loss for the year –
net insurance premiums and expenses 02
exchange rate differences –
at 31 december 24
   wwwreguscominvestors 81
financial statements
 
 
 
income and expenses 
the amounts that have been recognised in the income statement and other comprehensive income for the year ended 31 december 2011 are  
as follows 
£m 31122011 
analysis of amounts charged  credited to the income statement 
service cost component net of plan participants’ contributions 04
interest cost component –
expected return on plan assets –
total charge  credit to operating profit 04
 
analysis of amounts recognised in other comprehensive income 
net actuarial gains  losses recognised 01
actuarial gain  loss 01
current service costs have been included in selling general and administrative expenses interest costs and expected return on plan assets  
have been included in finance expenses 
the actual return on plan assets was £nil 2010 £nil 
major assumptions 
the major assumptions adopted by the group when valuing the defined benefit obligations under ias 19 are as follows 
 311211 010111
discount rate 225 280
inflation rate 100 100
expected return on plan assets 225 280
future salary increase 100 100
future pension increase  000 000
average remaining years of service life  109 108
life expectancy is reflected in the defined benefit obligations by using uptodate mortality tables the mortality and invalidity assumptions  
adopted by the group are based on the lpp 2010 tables as follows 
mortality tables 
life expectancy 
at age 65 
 2011 
lpp 2010 male 1956
 female 2189
analysis of scheme assets 
the major categories of plan assets as a percentage of total plan assets are as follows 
 311211 010111
money market 43 43
fixed income 753 753
equity 06 06
real estate 124 124
other 74 74
total 100 100
sensitivities 
an increase of 025 in the discount rate would decrease the defined benefit obligation by 30 a decrease of 025 in the discount rate  
would increase the defined benefit obligation by 43  82 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
27 acquisitions 
during the year ended 31 december 2011 the group made the following acquisitions 
name region 
purchase 
consideration  
£m 
percentage of 
equity and voting 
rights acquired
date of 
acquisition
asset acquisition     
espacio servicio sa de cv americas 28 na 03082011
davinci international inc americas 21 na 20072011
in addition to the above a further £16 million of purchase consideration was paid to complete a further 8 net asset acquisitions there were  
no equity share capital business acquisitions completed during the year ended 31 december 2011 
book value 
£m 
provisional fair 
value 
adjustments
£m
fair value
£m
net assets acquired  
intangible assets – 04 04
property plant and equipment note 14 13  12 25 
current liabilities 07 – 07
non current liabilities 03 – 03
  03  16 19
goodwill arising on acquisition  46 
total consideration  65
deferred consideration  03
  62
cash flow on acquisition  
cash paid  62
net cash outflow  62
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 £16 million of the above goodwill is expected to  
be deductible for tax purposes 
there was no contingent consideration arising on the above acquisitions 
the acquisition costs associated with these transactions were £03 million recorded within administration expenses within the consolidated  
income statement 
acquisition of noncontrolling interests 
on 31 may 2011 the group acquired the remaining 4095 interest in regus business centres canada limited for £39 million the carrying 
amount of regus business centres canada limited’s net assets on the date of acquisition was a net liability of £29 million   wwwreguscominvestors 83
financial statements
 
 
 
during the year ended 31 december 2010 the group made the following acquisitions 
name region
purchase 
consideration  
£m 
percentage of 
equity and voting 
rights acquired
date of 
acquisition
100 equity share capital acquisitions     
abbey business centres limited  abbey offices limited uk 30 100 03122010
hq do brazil administracao de bens e servicos ltda americas 102 100 30092010
business facilities international sa emea 18 100 15012010
asset acquisition  
advanced business technology inc americas 32 na 11012010
in addition to the above a further £27 million of purchase consideration was paid to complete a further 12 business and net asset acquisitions 
 
book value
£m
provisional fair 
value 
adjustments
£m
fair value 
£m 
final fair value 
adjustments
£m
fair value
£m
net assets acquired  
intangible assets 01 23 24  – 24 
property plant and equipment note 15 102 23 125  02 127 
other noncurrent assets 26  – 26  – 26 
cash 39 –39  –39 
other current assets 75 14 61 05 56 
current liabilities 189 – 189 – 189
non current liabilities 29 – 29 – 29
  25 32 57 03 54
goodwill arising on acquisition 152  03 155 
total consideration 209 – 209
deferred consideration – – –
 209 – 209
cash flow on acquisition  
cash acquired 39 – 39 
overdrafts and loans acquired – – –
cash paid  209 – 209
net cash outflow  170 – 170
 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 equity acquisitions had occurred on 1 january 2010 the revenue and net retained loss arising from these acquisitions would have  
been £407 million and £14 million respectively in the year these equity acquisitions contributed revenue of £118 million and a net retained loss  
of £18 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 £12 million of the above goodwill is expected to  
be deductible for tax purposes 
the acquisition costs associated with these transactions were £10m recorded within administration expenses within the consolidated  
income statement 
additional consideration of £nil was accrued as a result of the improved financial performance of acquisitions under contractual earnout provisions 
the amendments in 2011 to provisional purchase price allocations on acquisitions completed in 2010 are reflected in the table above  84 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
28 capital commitments 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
contracts placed for future capital expenditure not provided in the financial statements 118 116 
these commitments are principally in respect of fit out obligations on new centres opening in 2012 in addition our share of the capital commitments 
of joint ventures amounted to £nil at 31 december 2011 2010 £nil 
29 noncancellable operating lease commitments 
at 31 december 2011 the group was committed to make the following payments in respect of operating leases 
 2011 2010
 
property
£m 
motor vehicles 
plant and 
equipment
£m 
total
£m 
property 
£m 
motor vehicles 
plant and 
equipment
restated £m
total
£m
lease obligations falling due  
within one year 4103 03 4106 3751 09 3760
between two and five years 9934 01 9935 8527 08 8535
after five years 3760 – 3760 3295  – 3295
 17797 04 17801 15573 17 15590
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 the 2010 motor vehicles plant and equipment operating lease commitments 
have been restated primarily to reflect the elimination of intercompany transactions 
30 contingent assets and liabilities 
the group has bank guarantees and letters of credit held with certain banks amounting to £1037 million 2010 £1022 million  
there are no material lawsuits pending against the group   wwwreguscominvestors 85
financial statements
 
 
 
31 related parties 
parent and subsidiaries entities 
the financial statements include the results of the group and the subsidiaries listed in note 32 
joint ventures 
the following table provides the total amount of transactions that have been entered into with related parties for the relevant financial year 
£m 
management 
fees received 
from related 
parties 
amounts owed 
by related party
amounts owed 
to related party
2011  
joint ventures 15 67 63
2010  
joint ventures 16 44 15
as at 31 december 2011 £nil of the amounts due to the group have been provided for 2010 £nil 
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 are required to be disclosed  
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 
 
2011
£m 
2010
£m
shortterm employee benefits 53 31 
sharebased payments 02 14
 55 45
sharebased payments included in the table above reflect the accounting charge in the year the full fair value of awards granted in the year  
was £19 million 2010 £27 million these awards are subject to performance conditions and vest three years from the award date 
transactions with related parties 
during the year ended 31 december 2011 the group acquired goods and services from a company indirectly controlled by a director of the 
company amounting to £7807 2010 £30738 the goods and services were acquired in arm’slength transactions there was a nil balance 
outstanding at the year end 2010 nil  86 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the accounts continued 
 
32 principal group companies 
the group’s principal subsidiary undertakings at 31 december 2011 their principal activities and countries of incorporation are set out below 
name of undertaking 
country of 
incorporation 
 of 
ordinary 
share and 
votes held name of undertaking 
country of 
incorporation 
 of 
ordinary 
share and 
votes held
principal activity –  
trading companies    
principal activity –  
holding companies   
regus do brasil ltda brazil 100 regus h holdings inc british virgin islands 100
hq do brazil administracao de bens e servicos  brazil 100 rgn general partner holdings corp canada 100
abc business centres ltd  england 100 rgn limited partner holdings corp canada 100
regus paris sas france 100 insignia partnership canada 100
regus gmbh  co kg germany 100 rgn services limited canada 100
regus business centres italia srl italy 100 regus management de chile ltda chile 100
regus japan kk japan 100 regus denmark holding as denmark 100
regus management de mexico sa de cv mexico 100 regus group limited england 100
regus amsterdam bv netherlands 100 regus investments limited england 100
regus business centre sa switzerland 100 regus business centres holding england 100
hq global workplaces llc united states 100 regus business centres trading limited england 100
regus business center llc united states 100 regus h holdings england 100
regus equity business centers llc united states 100 regus h uk  england 100
   regus holdings uk limited england 100
principal activity –  
management companies  
regus holdings sas 
regus deutschland gmbh 
france 
germany 
100
100
regus australia management pty limited australia 100 regus germany holding gmbh  co kg germany 100
regus belgium sa belgium 100 regus management gmbh germany 100
regus colombia limitada colombia 100 regus no2 sàrl luxembourg 100
regus poslovni centar doo croatia 100 regus businessworld luxembourg sàrl luxembourg 100
regus management sro czech republic 100 regus middle east sàrl luxembourg 100
regus management aps denmark 100 regus india holdings limited mauritius 100
regus group services ltd england 100 regus pakistan holdings limited mauritius 100
business centres management estonia ou estonia 100 regus mexico s de rl de cv mexico 100
regus asia pacific management limited hong kong 100 regus netherlands bv netherlands 100
regus management latvia latvia 100 regus business centres bv netherlands 100
uab regus management lithuania lithuania 100 regus business centre norge as norway 100
regus management malaysia sdn bhd malaysia 100 regus holding gmbh switzerland 100
regus malta management ltd malta 100 regus corporation llc united states 100
regus amsterdam bv netherlands 100 regus holdings llc united states 100
regus management singapore pte ltd singapore 100 regus h holdings llc united states 100
regus management group pty ltd south africa 100 regus international services sa uruguay 100
regus management espana sl spain 100   
regus global management centre sa switzerland 100   
regus yonetim ve danismanlik ltd sirketi turkey 100   
regus vietnam assets management vietnam 100   
     
   wwwreguscominvestors 87
financial statements
 
 
 
33 key judgemental 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 cashgenerating 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 2011 including the sensitivity to changes in those assumptions can be found in note 13 
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 exits 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 
  88 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
parent company accounts 
 
summarised extract of company balance sheet prepared under luxembourg gaap 
 
as at
31 dec 2011
luxembourg 
gaap
£m 
as at
31 dec 2010
luxembourg 
gaap
£m
assets 
c fixed assets 
iii financial assets 
1 shares in affiliated undertakings 7782 2245
2 loans to affiliated undertakings 03 5786
4 loans to undertakings with which the company is linked by virtue of participating interests 03 03
d current assets 
ii debtors 
2 amount owed by affiliated undertakings  149 208
a becoming due and payable within one year 
iii transferable securities 
2 own shares  71 71
9070906 shares of £001 per share 2010 9070906 shares 
iv cash at bank and in hand 01 06
e prepayments and accrued income 02 07
total assets 8011 8326
liabilities 
a capital and reserves 
i subscribed capital 95 95
ii share premium and similar premiums 537 537
iv reserves 
1 legal reserve 09 09
2 reserve for own shares 71 71
4 other reserves 5129 5129
v results brought forward 2210 2597
vi results for the financial year 68 191
vii interim dividends 85 31
 7898 8216
c provisions  
3 other provisions 03 03
d nonsubordinated debts 
4 trade creditors  03 – 
a becoming due and payable within one year 
6 amounts owed to affiliated undertakings  
a becoming due and payable within one year  107 107
 110 107
total liabilities 8011 8326
approved by the board on 20 march 2012 
mark dixon   dominique yates 
chief executive officer  chief financial officer   wwwreguscominvestors 89
financial statements
 
 
 
accounting policies 
basis of preparation 
the annual accounts 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 2011 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 
financial assets 
shares in affiliated undertakings are valued at purchase price including acquisition costs where any permanent diminution in value is identified  
value adjustments are recorded in the profit and loss account these value adjustments are not continued if the reasons which caused their  
initial recording cease to apply 
  90 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
segmental analysis 
 
segmental analysis – management basis unaudited 
 
americas 
2011
emea 
2011
asia pacific
2011
united 
kingdom 
2011 
other
2011
total
2011
mature  
workstations 69383 33433 21510 33076 – 157402
occupancy  879 840 858 845 – 861
revenue £m 4318 2743 1397 1876 17 10351
contribution £m 1266 735 417 297 14 2729
 
2010 expansions  
workstations 6771 2654 3628 4521 – 17574
occupancy  857 765 781 806 – 814
revenue £m 369 186 213 231 – 999
contribution £m 74 09 43 23 – 149
 
2011 expansions  
workstations 2856 1606 2187 349 – 6998
occupancy  590 444 475 737 – 528
revenue £m 77 55 59 12 – 203
contribution £m 50 52 27 04 – 133
 
closures  
workstations 1054 780 432 400 – 2666
occupancy  723 738 727 635 – 715
revenue £m 11 33 22 07 – 73
contribution £m 05 09 01 02 – 13
 
total  
workstations 80064 38473 27757 38346 – 184640
occupancy  865 816 816 837 – 842
revenue £m 4775 3017 1691 2126 17 11626
contribution £m 1285 683 432 318 14 2732
unallocated contribution £m – – – – – 20
 
revpaw £ 5963 7842 6092 5544 – 6296
these figures exclude nonconsolidated workstations which totalled 10132 as at 31 december 2011 
   wwwreguscominvestors 91
shareholder and other information
 
 
 
 
 
americas 
2010
emea 
2010
asia pacific
2010
united  
kingdom 
2010 
other
2010
total
2010
mature  
workstations 69988335482106333356 –157955
occupancy  796 769 787 750 – 780
revenue £m 4223 2663 1325 1748 17 9976
contribution £m 1005 661 402 145 14 2227
 
2010 expansions  
workstations 201314601720666 –5859
occupancy  619 615 430 516 – 551
revenue £m 87 74 46 22 – 229
contribution £m 08 20 37 06 – 71
 
2010 closures  
workstations 6838593336 –1197
occupancy  753 702 505 570 – 679
revenue £m 29 05 03 12 – 49
contribution £m 07 12 05 01 – 01
 
2011 closures  
workstations 15811027561493 –3662
occupancy  723 761 734 662 – 711
revenue £m 30 70 43 07 – 150
contribution £m 01 05 04 08 – 02
 
total  
workstations 74265 36120 23437 34851 – 168673
occupancy  790 761 758 743 – 769
revenue £m 4369 2812 1417 1789 17 10404
contribution £m 991 658 364 132 14 2159
unallocated contribution £m –––– ––
 
revpaw £ 5883 7785 6046 5133 – 6168
 the mature business is defined as those centres owned and operated prior to 1 january 2010 and that therefore have a full 12 month 
comparative in 2011 
 expansions include new centres opened and acquired businesses 
 a 2011 closure is defined as a centre closed during the 12 months ended 31 december 2011 for which there is a 12 month comparative in 2010 
a 2010 closure is defined as a centre closed during the 12 months ended 31 december 2010 
 workstation numbers are calculated as the weighted average for the year 
 emea represents europe excluding uk middle east and africa 
 contribution in 2011 is £22 million 2010 £20 million less when compared to note 3 owing to the exclusion of internal revenue  92 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
five year summary 
 
 
five year summary 
 
full year ended
31 dec 2011
£m 
full year ended
31 dec 2010
£m
full year ended 
31 dec 2009 
£m 
full year ended
31 dec 2008
£m
full year ended
31 dec 2007
£m
revenue 11626 10404 10551  10772 8624 
cost of sales before nonrecurring costs 8874 8245 8195 7715 6105
nonrecurring cost of sales – 119 – – –
cost of sales 8874 8364 8195 7715 6105
gross profit centre contribution before exceptional 2752 2159 2356 3057 2519 
administration expenses before nonrecurring expenses 2247 1933 1661 1617 1302
nonrecurring administration expenses – 39 26 – –
administration expenses 2247 1972 1687 1617 1302
operating profit before exceptional 505 226 669 1440 1217 
exceptional income from legal settlement – – 183  – –
operating profit after exceptional 505 67 852 1440 1217 
share of posttax profitloss of joint ventures  01 13 20  23 08 
share of posttax profit of associate – – –  – – 
profitloss before financing costs 506 81 872 1463 1225 
finance expense 34 20 44 68 81
finance income 13 18 33  63 41 
other finance costs 30 01 08 34 09
profitloss before tax for the year 455 78 869 1492 1194 
tax chargecredit 89 59 192 343 158
profitloss after tax for the year 366 19 677 1149 1036 
 
attributable to  
equity shareholders of the parent 379 15 670  1139 1031 
minority interests 13 04 07  10 05 
 366 19 677  1149 1036 
earningsloss per ordinary share eps  
basic p 40p 02p 71p  120p 105p 
diluted p 40p 02p 70p  118p 104p 
weighted average number of shares outstanding ‘000’s 941899 947463 948204  950320 980962 
balance sheet data as at 31 december  
intangible assets 3313 3308 3074  3303 2699 
property plant and equipment 3209 2708 2409  2780 1847 
deferred tax assets 328 371 651  790 468 
trade and other receivables 3192 2999 2503  2824 2172 
cash cash equivalents and liquid investments 1975 2046 2451  2195 1429 
total assets 12017 11432 11088  11892 8615 
current liabilities 5784 5418 5045  5923 4482 
noncurrent liabilities 1264 1058 966  1081 961 
provisions 82 98 82  85 74 
equity minority interests – 01 –  03 05 
equity shareholders funds’ 4887 4857 4995  4800 3093 
total liabilities and shareholders’ funds 12017 11432 11088  11892 8615 
   wwwreguscominvestors 93
shareholder and other information
shareholder information 
 
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 luxembourg sà rl 
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  
goldman sachs 
peterborough court 
133 fleet street 
london ec4a 2bb 
reservations 
uk telephone  0870 880 8484 
us telephone  1877regus87 or 
   001 954 331 1647 
websites 
wwwreguscom 
wwwhqcom  94 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
shareholder information continued 
 
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  
centre contribution 
gross profit comprising centre revenues less direct operating expenses 
but before administrative expenses 
ebitda 
earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation 
ebitdar 
earnings before interest tax depreciation amortisation and rent 
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 
occupancy 
occupied workstations divided by available workstations expressed as  
a percentage 
occupied workstations 
workstations which are in use by clients this is expressed as a 
weighted average for the year  
revpaw 
total revenue per available workstations revenueavailable 
workstations 
revpow 
total revenue per occupied workstation 
wipow 
workstation income per occupied workstation   the forest stewardship council
®
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which promotes responsible management of the world’s forests forest 
certiﬁcation is combined with a system of product labelling that allows 
consumers to readily identify timberbased products from certiﬁed forests
designed and produced by black sun plc  wwwblacksunplccom
printed in england by the pureprint group regus plc sa
26 boulevard royal
l2449 luxembourg
wwwreguscom
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Summary:
 4 regus plc annual report and accounts 2011
chairman’s statement
i am pleased to report that regus has 
produced a strong set of results in line  
with the board’s expectations 
group sales grew 118 to £11626m 2010 £10404m 
operating proﬁts more than doubled to £506m 2010 
£239m excluding exceptional items and on the same basis 
earnings per share increased from 19p to 40p largely as a 
result of the increased ebit in the year it was also pleasing 
to witness our 2010 openings move into proﬁtability in the 
second half of the year 
on a likeforlike basis our mature business increased 
its operating proﬁt by 657 to £1077m 2010 £650m  
gross margins to 266 2010 223 and sales increased 
by 38 to £10351m 2010 £997m additionally it remains 
highly cash generative with a free cash ﬂow after notional 
tax ﬁnance costs and maintenance capital expenditure of 
£1171m 2010 £765m 
over the year we invested £864m in growth 2010 £790m 
opening 139 new locations and entering nine new markets 
this assured progress gives the board the conﬁdence to 
increase the ﬁnal dividend by 14 to 20p making a total 
increase for the year of 12 to 29p 2010 26p
our business
there are three parts to our business – mature new and 
third place they are closely interlinked contribute to each 
other’s success and can be accessed by every one of our 
million strong members 
 mature – our ﬁrst thousand locations 
a well established and consistently high performing 
business cash generation is strong and continues to 
demonstrate robust yearonyear improvement it is 
actively managed to deliver high occupancy and usage 
and support stronger pricing which when coupled with 
lower overheads results in improved margins
 new – the next thousand locations 
the larger our network globally and nationally the more 
compelling a proposition we become to our customers 
– from the very largest corporates to lone entrepreneurs 
we remain committed to achieving a global network of 
2000 locations by 2014 and by end of february 2012 
had already opened a further 19 locations since the year 
end our new centres are performing well and achieving 
their target returnoninvestment hurdles we remain 
conﬁdent in our growth strategy however we are mindful 
of the continued global economic uncertainty and the 
management team carefully monitors key metrics 
remaining ready to adapt our growth plans accordingly
 third place – new avenues for growth 
the business has been exploring a number of new 
growth opportunities especially related to expanding our 
network into third places these are locations from which 
people are increasingly likely to work when on the move 
railway stations and motorway service stations are 
examples and the group is also exploring a wide variety 
of other potential third place locations whilst early in its 
development this is an exciting opportunity and has 
signiﬁcant potential we anticipate that the investment 
required and returns generated will be comparable with 
our existing businesses
a strong management team focussed on delivery
our management team is strong and many of our leaders 
have more than 20 years’ industry experience including 
managing through challenging macroeconomic conditions 
they have directed our business during the current economic 
challenges with vigour increasing returns from our mature 
business whilst executing controlled yet aggressive growth 
and exploring exciting new opportunities during 2011 strong 
progress was made in key business areas including the 
strengthening of our management team both centrally and  
at the country level business development and product 
innovation improving our revenue mix and diversiﬁcation 
operational efﬁciencies and people management  
delivery in these areas contributed signiﬁcantly to our 
improved performance 
strategy
following the execution of a range of strategic initiatives 
regus’ strategy is clear to serve and proﬁt from the move 
toward ﬂexible work by being the platform of choice from 
which business operates 
to deliver this we will
 continue to broaden our appeal through accelerated 
product and service innovation