There are numerous office complexes planned for Mrieħel but for now, Regus’s area manager for Malta, Andrew Grech, remains convinced that Paceville is the place to be – with hardly any purpose-built office blocks available between Ta’ Xbiex and St Julian’s.

In just an hour, he was interrupted by over a dozen phone calls about potential clients interested in Regus’s second business centre in Malta, which will be opening officially in a week’s time.

Andrew Grech, Regus’s Area Manager for Malta.

The offices, which take up one- and-a-half storeys in the Dragonara Business Centre in the heart of Paceville, are filling up fast since the soft opening at the beginning of December, with companies from a variety of sectors – aviation, medicine, IT, gaming and financial services – and he is convinced that it will prove to be even more successful than the Swatar centre, which opened just over eight years ago.

“What we are seeing here – in such a short time – shows that location is crucial for foreign companies as they want the external environment, and not just office space per se,” he said, noting that some 99 per cent of Regus clients in Malta are foreign.

“For a start, many of the employees do not own a car and want somewhere within walking distance of their homes – which tend to be in Sliema and St Julian’s. Secondly, they love being able to walk out of here either during their breaks or after work and find so many places to eat and drink – not to mention being able to go for a swim!” he smiled, adding that when they had visitors from abroad, there were a few dozen hotels nearby in which to stay.

This was why Paceville was such a natural choice for Regus’s second centre and even if the Paceville master plan fizzles out completely, it has not been in vain as it highlighted many of the infrastructural limitations of the area – from its traffic to its waste management – which Mr Grech believes will result in positive change.

The fact that so many of its clients are foreign shows that the Maltese culture with regards to offices is only changing slowly. Just as the Maltese prefer to own their homes, they also prefer to own their offices – but this ties up important capital, Mr Grech explained.

What we are seeing here – in such a short time – shows that location is crucial for foreign companies as they want the external environment, and not just office space per se

Indeed, Regus has built up a network of nearly 3,000 centres in 1,000 cities, based on the logic that companies want flexibility and an efficient use of space.

“People actually work in a very small percentage of the office, if you consider the kitchen, bathrooms, waiting room, meeting rooms and reception. And people now work in a very different way since they are digitally connected, so they are not in the office from 9am to 5pm.

“The idea of a flexible workspace came from allowing them to have their own office area but to share the rest  – of course, still having 24/7 access. Imagine, at the Dragonara Business Centre, we offer 270 square metres of common area, out of the 1,100 square metres total.

“However, considerable thought has gone into ensuring that this does not compromise their operations. For example, each company is given its own telephone numbers so that the receptionist can identify which company an incoming call is for and answer accordingly. Companies setting up in Malta find everything ready, from internet connections and furniture to cleaning services and IT backup – and only have to pay one monthly bill.”

The set-up is also flexible, so companies can expand their office requirements as they grow – or shrink.

“The average company has three or four people, but we have others that have grown to around 12,” Mr Grech said. Some companies need short-term space for a particular project, while numerous companies respect the jurisdiction’s preference for ones that have “substance” and want to have a physical presence here, rather than just using their company service provider’s address.

Belonging to a worldwide brand like Regus has its advantages too. For a start, the building was furnished with an extraordinary eye for detail, thanks to a team of Italian and French designers – in just three months.

And in addition, users of the centres are given automatic access to other Regus centres around the world – over 1,000 in the US and 114 in London alone – meaning that they can benefit from somewhere to work, with Wi-Fi access and kitchen facilities, as well as the ability to book meeting rooms.

Mr Grech notices some clients being shown round by his assistant and beams.

“The Regus chief executive officer for Europe and North Africa as well as the area director will be coming here for the official opening. It will be wonderful to show them how well we have been doing even before the ribbon was cut!”

Regus by numbers

Founded in Brussels, Belgium in 1989 and currently headquartered in Luxembourg

Its 2.3 million customers have access to 3,000 business centres, 700 airport lounges and 18 million global Wi-Fi hotspots globally

Every day Regus answers a million phone calls for its customers and every year it handles over two billion items of post