OFFICE rental firm Regus says it will continue expanding its UK operations after seeing group revenues increase.

The company, which operates meeting spaces in Newcastle, Sunderland and Gateshead, says revenues increased 23.3 per cent to £1.53bn for the year to December 31.

Bosses say its UK division saw revenues rise by 3.8 per cent to £201.7m and wants to open at least 300 new business centres this year.

The company, which has 5,500 meeting rooms across 600 cities, also provides services that allow firms to move administrative and back-office work to its specialist teams.

It said its previous acquisition of rival MWB helped add 68 business centres to its network, increasing its amount of workstations from 37,754 in 2012 to 50,630 in 2013.

Mark Dixon, Regus, chief executive, said: “Our business is in a strong position and we are well positioned to continue to grow our networks, customer base and earnings in 2014.

“Strengthening and expanding our network is core to ensuring we continue to generate incremental returns over the medium-term.

“At this early point in the year it is difficult to predict precisely how many locations we will add, but we expect to grow by at least 300 new business centres in 2014.

“Growth, when coupled with increased investment in innovation, will create additional demand for our products and services, especially from large corporate firms as they seek help in transitioning from fixed to flexible working.

“We remain confident over our prospects for the year ahead.”

According to Regus' results, it European, Middle-East and African business also delivered strong results, with mature revenues increasing by 2.2 per cent to £298.3m.

The company said it opened 126 business centres, including bases in Dortmund, Naples and Pretoria.

In the Americas, Regus saw mature revenues rise by 4.2 per cent to £534m, adding 196 centres, with bases in Beverly Hills, California, St Pauls, Minnesota and Canada.