Convene has acquired etc.venues, expanding its UK presence and adding 16 new venues to its portfolio.

A premium provider of corporate meeting and event spaces, US-based Convene opened its first international venue at 22 Bishopsgate in London in May 2022, which was the host venue for our recent micebook EXPO.

The addition of etc.venues quickly expands the size of Convene’s portfolio and team  – it now has a network of 38 premium meetings, events, and flexible office locations across the US and UK.

“The London and New York City markets continue to rebound at a tremendous pace post-COVID with demand for outsourced premium meeting and event solutions accelerating from clients and landlords alike,” said Ryan Simonetti, CEO and co-founder of Convene.

“The talented team at etc.venues, led by Alastair Stewart and Nick Hoare, has built an incredible business across the UK and New York for over 30 years; the acquisition of an organisation with such an unwavering commitment to delivering high-quality meeting and event experiences allows Convene to expand our ability to serve our clients in more places and exciting new ways.”

Founded in 1992, etc.venues is a leading provider of events, training, and conference venues with a 450,000-square-foot real estate portfolio spanning 13 UK locations in London, Birmingham and Manchester, and three New York City outposts.  In 2019, the company served over 3,100 clients and more than 1 million delegates across 19,000 events.

“etc.venues is the largest urban day-conference venue provider in the UK  with an incredible client base comprising a number of Fortune 500 companies,” said etc.venues’ Stewart.  “As we set our sights on expansion into the US, we realised the natural synergy and alignment with Convene and are really looking forward to what’s next as our two world-class firms join forces.”

This acquisition comes on the heels of Convene merging with SaksWorks in 2022 and announcing its new San Francisco location opening later this year.  Since its founding in 2009, Convene has served the meetings and events needs of more than 4,000 companies around the world.

“The workplace of the future is a meeting space,” added Simonetti.  “While individual work can be done anywhere, Convene provides purpose-built meeting and social event spaces with the tools and amenities aimed at inspiring collaboration that are needed for high-impact, team-based work.  We are proud to further this offering with the addition of etc.venues to our global network.”