Regus review: Misrepresentation of lease 1

On 16th May 2024 we signed a 36 month agreement to lease (Regus Brand) office space at the Cirrus Building in Aberdeen.

The agreement was due to start on 1st October 2024. On 1st August 2024 we were contacted by a Regus representative to advise us that the building was closing ahead of our contracted entry date but that they had space for us at their brand new (HQ Branded) CHC House which would be a "like for like" alternative. NB - I have subsequently learnt that Regus & HQ are not like for like brands - HQ is a more casual brand.

They were not able to grant us access to view the building as it was at that point in time being renovated. We were given no alternative (eg to cancel our agreement) but to transfer our agreement to the HQ – CHC House building.

I have subsequently discovered that Regus were given notice by the landlord of the Cirrus Building on 6th February 2024 and confirmed on 7th March their receipt and that their lease of the building would end on 16 August 2024.

To clarify that timeline;
- Regus served notice to leave, by the landlord of Cirrus Building on 6th Feb 2024
- Regus confirmed receipt of the notice to the landlord of Cirrus Building on 7th March
- Regus signed my company up for office space within the Cirrus Building on 16th May 2024 - despite knowing that they would not be in that building on our start date of 1st October 2024

By withholding this information at the point of signing us up, I believe Regus misrepresented the terms of the agreement and the viability of the Cirrus Building location. This was a deliberate lack of transparency which I believe to be both unethical and a breach of trust.

We made a fully informed business decision to lease an office in the Regus - Cirrus Building based on the location’s proximity to the airport (5 minute walk), premium facilities (booths, breakout spaces, a social kitchen area, showers, and multiple meeting rooms), and its professional image. By way of comparison, the HQ – CHC House building we now find ourselves stuck in has a single meeting room, a small (no social space) kitchen area, is a long 30 minute walk from the airport, and appears to be no more than a converted warehouse.

To further frustrate, Regus/HQ continue to falsely advertise the quality of the HQ – CHC House building, using images on their website to represent the building - showing facilities which simply do not exist (booths as just one example).

To frustrate matters even further - when our actual entry date came (1st October), we were unable to access our office space as the building was not ready for tenants. It was in fact not until 7th October that our office was usable. I have been promised a credit for the week that we were unable to use our office - and as of 29th January 2025, and despite repeated chasing by me, this credit has still not materialised.

I spoke with our Centre Manager to explain we wanted to cease our lease without penalty (without being held to the 36 month agreement). She needed to discuss with her Manager and after chasing by me, the response came which was simply - no, you are in a 36 month agreement.

There have been so many more challenges - just one example of which being that during recent heavy snow, the car park was not gritted or cleared - and the response from the reception team was they did not know who was responsible for doing it. I am paying for a 'fully managed service' but am receiving no more than an office space - certainly not fully managed. I have to question, had someone slipped and broken something on the ice, whose responsibility would this have been...?