Regus announces £20m boost for young entrepreneurs

Prime Minister David Cameron today welcomed the news that Regus is giving 30,000 young entrepreneurs in England access to its global network of business lounges and administrative support.

Worth £20 million, this support from Regus will give a tangible boost to young entrepreneurs who are starting up a business.

The investment complements the Government’s £82.5 million StartUp Loans scheme which will provide mentoring support and around £2,500 to approved young people looking to set up a new business. The scheme is being chaired by James Caan of Dragon’s Den fame.

Regus will offer this group of entrepreneurs:

  • 6 months free and unlimited use of its Virtual Office (a network of business lounges in over 1,200 business centres worldwide, including over 160 in the UK);
  • A business address in a recognised business location;
  • Mail handling and call answering; and
  • Discounts on all other Regus products and services.

Recognising the importance of enterprise and business activity in driving economic growth, Regus has pledged its support for StartUp Loans by providing this group of young entrepreneurs with high quality, professional and flexible support allowing them to focus on building their business.

David Cameron said: “Enterprise is vital to our country’s future and I welcome the excellent news that Regus are getting behind our young entrepreneurs and helping them get their businesses and ideas off the ground. Regus’ support for Startup Loans is a fantastic example of an established and successful company reaching out to help nurture the next generation of British businesses.

“As a Government, we also have buildings at our disposal and I am determined that, where we can, we make unused space available to aspiring entrepreneurs to build and grow their businesses. We recently announced that 20 empty Government buildings will become spaces available for start-up businesses and this work continues.”

Steve Purdy, Regus UK MD said: “When the StartUp Loans scheme was announced, it was immediately clear that this was an initiative that Regus should actively support. We believe businesses should be investing in the next generation of British entrepreneurs and the future of British business. Rather than moaning from the sidelines about what more the Government should do to stimulate growth, we believe it is time business offered some meaningful support – we hope others will follow suit.”