Office Space News
Servcorp Set to Challenge Regus Dominance in London
Published January 14th, 2010 by Jennifer LeClaire
Watch out Regus. Servcorp is moving into your territory. That’s right, in what’s poised to be a battle of the titans in the United Kingdom, the second-largest serviced office provider is going toe to toe, head to head, with the largest serviced office provider. This should be fun to watch.
Servcorp opened its doors in London Jan. 7 in the brand spanking new Dashwood House Tower. Not too shabby for a market entrance. The Dashwood is a floor-to-ceiling glass building that offers a spectacular vista across the city. The building is on Old Broad Street in the city center. I’m not sure if Regus already has a serviced office center in this specific neighborhood. (That would make it even more interesting.)
Servcorp is using Regus’ own words against it as it enters this new market. For example, it its official announcement, Servcorp pointed out how Regus CEO Mark Dixon once acclaimed Servcorp’s IT services as solutions that knock his socks off. And Servcorp CEO Alf Moufarrige says, “Nothing has changed.” Servcorp is also pointing to accolades from software giant Cisco Systems. Owen Chan, Asia Pacific president of Cisco, says that Servcorp’s “simple to use software changes the way workspaces operate.”
Servcorp is landing in London with the full understanding that there are no guarantees and admits that London is a competitive environment. However, Servcorp is also convinced that its serviced office space and virtual offices with IT solutions will help companies in London make money. That bottom line, bold attitude could turn some heads in a market dominated by Regus.
Bragging on its international influence a bit, Servcorp is quick to explain that its clients have access to a global presence through its offices in Paris, London, Brussels, Tokyo, Jeddah, Dubai, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing and Shanghai to mention just a few. With New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., along with 15 other business centers in the U.S., Servcorp assures its clients a global footprint through its partner network.
What’s more, inking lease deals at the bottom of the market, as Regus has been doing for the last 12 months, means Servcorp can be price competitive. Servcorp is not at all intimidated by the showdown with Regus in London. The company is reminding everyone who will listen that it opened 10 years before Regus and set the standard that most central business district serviced office operators follow today. I don’t know about that. But what I do know is that Servcorp appears to be making a major move to challenge Regus in 2010, beginning in London.
Again, this should be fun to watch.
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About the Author
Elizabeth Sanchez January 14th, 2010 at 9:02 am
Wow. What a story. What I wonder is why it took Servcorp so long to enter the London serviced office space. I am surprised this is the company’s first foray into London. Servcorp is definitely a force to be reckoned with in the business center industry. I am sure Regus is looking at this closely, waiting to see how the market responds.
Bill Brookshire January 14th, 2010 at 9:25 am
Is there room in the London executive office suites market for both Servcorp and Regus? I guess time will tell. It’s great to see the competition coming into the local serviced office industry, though. Competition breeds price wars and innovation. Even though Servcorp seems to be only testing the waters in London, I think @elizabeth is right. Regus is certainly watching.
Paul V. Carter January 20th, 2010 at 9:08 am
ServCorp has no presence in USA as of this time, they simply use the Alliance referral network. One center in London is hardly a threat to Regus but it’s always good to see a strong quality company enter a market, the weakest will be the losers ultimately and that’s good for all.
Peter Davidson January 20th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Servcorp opens Chicago, New York, Atlanta and Washington in 2010. According to the press in Australia.
Maryanne Drysdale January 20th, 2010 at 5:18 pm
Word on the street is that Servcorp is about to expand into the US as well. No doubt their plan is not to open 400 individual centres in Regus style, but rather choose the better locations to add to their impressive global network. Should be a good battle!
Peter Davidson January 20th, 2010 at 11:29 pm
I think the Servcorp Centres have more style than the cheapish modern interiors of Regus and their internet is better from my experience anyways.
Tim Collins January 20th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
Not great but better than Regus. Servcorp is always worth a look. I’ve been a client in Asia & H.K. Depends on who is running their centres. Good IT, beautiful finishes.
Akihiro Araki January 20th, 2010 at 11:51 pm
Regus is Rubbish. Im glad there’s now a real global option.
Jonathan Price January 21st, 2010 at 2:09 am
To answer Jennifer’s question, Regus does have an office nearby, in the same street in fact and it will be interesting to watch that microclimate for the first few months of opening.
The real challenge for Servcorp though is not Regus, but the other 300+ business centre operators in the UK. The UK is by far the most competitive business centre market in the world and central London has the densest concentration of business centres. Servcorp is not used to this level of competition where it operates.
No doubt in opening its first centres in new markets it will try and get the best locations. Regus is, after all, also in the best locations, but to make a long term impact, a company has to be able to offer options. Not every client wants to be in the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, a heavenly location though that may be.
Mike Sullivan January 21st, 2010 at 5:27 am
My sources tell me they are definitely looking in New York and Chicago, and being very deliberate in their search to get the ideal location. And according to one of the comments here, it looks like they’re looking in a couple other cities, too.
M.M January 31st, 2010 at 6:10 am
I am a current Servcorp client with my Head Office based at the prestigious Chifley Tower in Sydney. I also have a ‘Virtual Office’ in Dubai, Singapore and Bahrain. I started my business with Regus who were a lot cheaper than Servcorp 11 years ago – service was not impressive at all. I joined Servcorp back in 2001 and have not looked back. Sure they are slightly pricier, they will admit to that, but the level of service is second to none. It will definitely be an interesting battle of the giants in London town.