Mark Linehan (second from right) shows off plans for the Regus Business Centre to Minister Donville Inniss, second from left. Looking on are Hutson Drakes (left), a shareholder in Williams Offices (Caribbean) Limited and Williams Industries chairman Ralph “Bizzy” Williams. (GP) FLEXIBLE working spaces – the phenomenon that is reshaping the way the world works – is coming to Barbados with the opening of a Regus Business Centre at One Welches in St Thomas, the 107th market worldwide. The Regus business centre which boasts a combination of office space, meeting rooms, co-working facilities, and a business lounge will be the first of its kind in Barbados offering creative working in the heart of the island’s commercial district. Located at Level 1 of the newest commercial office development in Barbados, One Welches the contemporary interior of the Regus Business Centre has been designed to provide a unique and exciting working environment to suit the needs of small and large businesses alike. With 46 offices of varying sizes, 135 work stations and three meeting rooms – including a board room – the centre will be a great addition to the growing business hub of the wider Warrens area. It is also fitted out with world class IT and Telecoms infrastructure and is designed to support the needs of all its clients. The centre will also offer ‘virtual offices’, which provide companies a prestigious address, as well as call answering services and mail forwarding, even if they are based elsewhere. This helps businesses project a more ambitious image to local, regional and international customers. Regus, the global leader of flexible working spaces have partnered with Williams Offices (Caribbean) Ltd, a company set up by Ralph ‘Bizzy’ Williams, Chairman of Williams Industries Inc. and Mark Linehan, former CEO of Digicel (Barbados) Limited to bring the Regus franchise to the region. The first centre at One Welches will open in early June this year with the second centre scheduled to open in Trinidad later in 2016. On touring the fit out of the facility at One Welches Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development Donville Innis stated “It is great to see Regus coming to Barbados. To be the country of choice in the Caribbean for Regus speaks volumes about Barbados’ appeal as a hub for business. “Equally it will be hugely beneficial for businesses operating in Barbados – both local and international – who will find Regus’ state of the art business centre, an excellent environment from which to grow their business in Barbados.” Williams added: “At Williams Industries we are always looking for ways to grow our business. To us, Regus is an ideal partner as not only does the partnership allow us [to] bring the world class Regus products and services to Barbados, but it allows us at Williams to further expand our footprint in the region. We look forward to opening this first centre and to replicating in other countries across the Caribbean.” Mark Linehan, Managing Director, of the Regus franchise in the territory said: “Flexible working spaces are rapidly gaining popularity around the world and we look forward to bringing these cutting edge work practices to Barbados. Our first business centre located at One Welches in St Thomas will open in early June and interest has been very high to date with a number of businesses already booking space at the centre. “Fitted out with the latest technology our fully equipped office centre will meet the needs of both small and large businesses whether they are looking for dedicated office space, meeting rooms or a business lounge all of which they can use on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Our aim with Regus is to provide businesses with an environment that allows them focus on what they do best.” (PR)
Regus has partnered with Williams Offices (Caribbean) Ltd to bring the Regus franchise to the Caribbean. The first centre, which will combine office space, meeting rooms and a business lounge with co-working facilities, is due to open in Barbados in June. Located at One Welches in St Thomas, the Regus centre is the first of its kind on the island. A second is planned for Trinidad, which is scheduled to open later in the year. Relevance: The new location in Vancouver brings Regus' year-to-date total of new properties to 28, and its total number of locations worldwide to 2,797.