Convene has acquired etc.venues, an urban day conferencing company with venues in the UK and New York.
Convene, a hospitality design and management company, recently announced it has purchased etc.venues, an urban day conferencing firm with 16 venues in London, Manchester and Birmingham in the UK, and across the pond in New York City. Convene intends the acquisition of etc.venues will strategically benefit through economies of scale and additional operating efficiencies.
“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 Convene CEO and Co-founder Ryan Simonetti. “The talented team at etc.venues, led by Alastair Stewart and Nick Hoare, Managing Director, has built an incredible business across the UK and New York for over 30 years; the acquisition of an organization 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’ 450,000-square-foot portfolio of events, training and conference venues span 13 UK locations and three additional facilities in New York City. Pre-pandemic, the company served over 3,100 clients and more than 1 million delegates across 19,000 events, many representing Fortune 500 companies. “As we set our sights on expansion into the U.S., we realized the natural synergy and alignment with Convene and are really looking forward to what’s next as our two world-class firms join forces,” said Alastair Stewart of etc.venues.
Simonetti and etc.venue’s Nick Hoare shared this in a joint message announcing the acquisition: “With this addition, we are excited to share that Convene is now the largest single provider of dedicated premium meeting and event venues in the U.S. and UK and can now create extraordinary experiences for our clients in more places and exciting new ways.
“As we move from being two distinct and established leaders in the meetings and events industry to one prominent combined entity, we will take the time to learn from one another so that our clients and landlord partners may benefit from our shared expertise. Looking forward, we will expand and scale as a unit to serve an even larger client base and help more landlords amenitize their commercial real estate asset.”
Convene is a company on the move. Just last year it merged with SaksWorks, and Convene has announced it will be opening its new San Francisco location later this year. Since its founding in 2009, Convene’s network has continued to expand. Now, with this latest acquisition, includes 38 premium meetings, events and flexible office locations in nine cities across the U.S. and UK.
“Convene and etc.venues are two distinct and established leaders in the meetings and events industry, bringing them together creates an unparalleled global offering,” said Richard Baker, Governor, CEO and Executive Chairman of Hudson’s Bay Company, Convene’s majority shareholder. “We are pleased to offer nearly 40 venues across the joint portfolio and are confident this newly-combined organization will benefit clients, landlords, and shareholders alike, especially as we set our sights on further international expansion opportunities.”
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