Regus, the office rental group, became the third UK-listed company this week to quit Britain to seek a more favourable tax regime overseas after revealing it will transfer its headquarters to Luxembourg.

The company, which today posted a 39 per cent increase in first half profit on continued demand for its "outsourced workplaces", will move its headoffice and create a UK holding company in the Channel island of Jersey called New Regus.

New Regus will continue to be traded on the main market of the London Stock Exhange.

The company's move to quit the UK follows Henderson Group, the asset manager, and Charter, the engineering company, who both separately announced their intention to relocate to the Republic of Ireland for tax reasons.

Ireland's corporation tax rate is 12.5 per cent compared to Britain's 28 per cent.

Regus said the move to Luxembourg would reduce the overall tax burden on the company, which operates from 900 locations in 71 countries.

In a statement, Regus said the change would "help protect the Regus Group's taxation position given the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the UK tax treatment of international groups whose holding company is UK tax resident".

"Luxembourg has been chosen as it meets all necessary commercial criteria including providing both greater certainty and stability for the Regus Group's taxation position as the Regus Group continues to develop worldwide," the compnay said.

Regus' chief executive Mark Dixon, who lives in the tax haven of Monaco, said: “Tax is one reason (for the move) but we have had this idea for a long time and see it as a way to internationalise the business”.

Regus said pre-tax profit for the six months to the end of June grew 39 per cent to £74.5 million. Revenue increased by 23.3 per cent to £507.5 million.

Total capacity increased 6.3 per cent, while average occupancy edged up to 83.4 per cent.

“Our offerings are proving even more attractive to global businesses and small and medium enterprises during these uncertain times," Mr Dixon said.

The group’s best performing region was Asia Pacific, which boosted year-on-year sales by 57.6 per cent to £55 million.

Regus, which have fallen 10 per cent since January, dropped 2.25p to 73.5p.

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