The serviced offices giant formerly known as Regus has declared war on landlords by threatening to dump hundreds of lease commitments unless they agree to swingeing rent cuts.
IWG, run by Mark Dixon, is set to put Jersey-based subsidiary Regus plc into insolvency in a matter of days, dissolving £790m of lease guarantees across 500 centres. Doing so would be hugely controversial. In 2018, the value of the subsidiary’s guarantees quadrupled to £758m. IWG extracted a £635m dividend in January last year, all but wiping out its assets.
The threat has sparked fury among property owners. “This was not about Covid — this was clearly pre-determined ... It is immoral at best,” a landlord said.
Dixon is known for strong-arm tactics. IWG, then called Regus,