A company that provides furnished office space for small to medium-sized businesses has opened a facility in Riverside and is making that space available to other businesses.

The Regus Group has leased 20,000 square feet of office space at 11801 Pierce St., an office building at Turner Riverwalk, said Dennis Watson, spokesman for Regus Group's U.S. headquarters in Dallas.

That facility, which occupies the second floor of the two-story building, is Regus Group's first in the Inland Empire. Regus Group officials spent about three months preparing the space for operations.

Several tenants, including a one-person auditing business, began moving in Aug. 11, and a grand opening ceremony was scheduled for Aug. 21.

The executive suite facility has 97 offices, one board room, one conference room and one videoconferencing facility, according to a release.

Watson declined to discuss financial details, including how much it cost Regus Group to set up the office. Regus Group officials hope to have half of their Riverside space leased by mid-September, Watson said.

The Riverside area's fast-growing population, along with its proximity to Los Angeles and Orange County, make it a good place for Regus Group to locate, Watson said.

"It's what we're looking for when we want to open a center," he said. Turner Riverwalk "was the best available space for us in Riverside."

Regus Group was founded in 1989. Based in Surrey, England, it currently manages 950 properties in 70 countries.

Regus Group leases space in an office building, then out-sources that space, effectively becoming a landlord in a building it doesn't own. Clients typically lease from Regus Group for about one year.

Between 200 to 250 people can work at a facility the size of the Turner Riverwalk operation, with each company sharing facilities, including a reception area and rooms where they can host luncheons and entertain guests.

Regus Group's business model is designed to allow companies to test a market without having to spend a lot of money, said Sande Golgart, western regional vice president for Regus Group.

"They send in some of their revenue producers and say, 'See if you can make this market work for us,' " Golgart said. "They know they can run the office without a human resource person or their own office manager. If it works, then they go out and find a bigger place. That happens with us all the time."

Besides eliminating overhead, smaller office space gives companies greater flexibility, especially in a down economy.

"If a business hasn't grown as fast as it thought it would smaller office space can help because it's not locked in to a long lease on space it doesn't need," Watson said. "It can also help if a business has to downsize."

Most of the companies that locate at Regus' Group's Turner Riverwalk facility probably will come from within the Inland region. Golgart said.

Rates start at $400 a month and in rare instances could go as high as $15,000 a month, Golgart said.

Cecilia Robinson, a one-person business who conducts loan audits for banks, said she left a Newport Beach office for the Regus Group facility in Riverside because it's closer to her home in Corona.

The impetus for obtaining office space came late last year, after Robinson decided she wasn't getting enough done working out of her house.

"I have to be self-disciplined in this job," Robinson said. "I also spend a lot of time in the field. But I wasn't doing enough when I was working at home. I think it helps if you have people working around you."

Regus Group's international client list includes Google, GlaxoSmithKline, IBM, Nokia, and Accenture.

Regus Group has 10 facilities in Orange County.