Regus has announced that Roadchef has become its latest partner in a series of deals to open Regus Express business centres in transport and retail hubs, designed to help people work more productively on the move.

Each of the ‘big four’ motorway service area operators and office supplies retailer Staples have now signed deals with Regus. Their motivation is to capitalise on the mobile working market, which represents a new way to meet customer needs and create additional revenue streams from their space. 

Research suggests that wo in five of the nation’s professionals now work remotely for at least half the week and the nomadic workforce has created huge demand for local ‘third place’ business centres that provide drop-in workspace and professional services on tap.

Moto Hospitality, Welcome Break, Extra Motorway Service Area Group and Staples have all launched Regus Express locations within the last year and have seen usage rise steadily among local home-based workers as well as business travellers touching down between meetings.

Other ‘Third Place’ deals signed by Regus on an international level include SNCF in France; the Dutch railway network and Shell, currently rolling out 70 business centres in its service stations across Berlin.

Phil Kemp, global managing director of Regus Third Place, said: “Business and society as a whole is fundamentally changing the way it thinks about ‘work’ and ‘the office’.

“Geographical location is becoming less relevant, yet our need for office services is undiminished.

“Most of us still rely on the equipment, dedicated space and personal interaction provided by a traditional office environment, at least some of the time. But we want those services on tap, wherever we are. 

“Transport operators and retailers across the world are approaching Regus to explore the exciting opportunities presented by mobile working. With our partners, we are bringing the office to the worker – whether that’s in motorway service areas, petrol stations, train stations or retail parks.”