The move follows the success of Roadchef’s first Regus Express site at M25 Clacket Lane services in Kent, which has seen strong demand from business travellers, mobile workers and local home-based professionals since its launch six months ago.

The new centres – at least four of which will be opened this year – are designed to help people co-work productively outside of a traditional office or to hold meetings at convenient roadside locations.

Typical Regus Express services include a professional business lounge with dedicated workstations (Thinkpods), comfy seats with laptop stands, phone chargers and wifi – plus high-specification meeting rooms available by the hour.

Regus has 300 business centres in the UK alone, and is strengthening its network of Express locations through partnerships with various transport operators and retailers, including Gatwick, Heathrow and Birmingham Airports; Staples and British Land, which has just opened its first Regus Express at Meadowhall Shopping Centre in Sheffield.

Phil Kemp, global managing director of Regus Third Place, said: ‘Extending the Regus Express network across 12 of Roadchef’s locations is an exciting development for us, and one which reflects rapidly evolving corporate attitudes towards the workplace.

‘Regus Express is popular with people travelling on business and sales teams, but also with the rising number of flexible workers. Flexibility in work location is likely to gather further momentum when the legal right to request flexible working is extended to all employees from the end of June.

‘Increasingly, companies with a distributed workforce want reassurance that staff can access a professional work environment rather than just their kitchen table or spare room. This explains the rise of “third places” – professional workspace on demand. Regus Express is a glimpse into the future of work, where the new rules are flexibility, convenience and choice.’