CONVENE ACQUIRES UK-BASED MEETING PROVIDER ETC.VENUES

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Acquisition Creates the Largest Provider of Dedicated Premium Meeting and Event Venues in the U.S. and UK, Expands Convene Offering for Clients Globally

LONDON and NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Convene, a hospitality company that designs and manages premium meeting, event, and flexible office spaces, today announced that it has acquired etc.venues, an established leader in urban day conferencing with venues across the United Kingdom in London, Manchester, and Birmingham, and in the United States in New York City. The acquisition adds 16 new venues to the Convene portfolio, making it the largest single provider of dedicated premium meeting and event venues in the U.S. 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, 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."

Convene is a premium provider of corporate meeting and event spaces, offering everything needed for a turnkey experience including: thoughtfully-designed spaces to maximize collaboration and productivity, full-service production services, catering, and a dedicated A/V team for in-room and hybrid tech support.  The addition of etc.venues quickly expands the size of Convene's portfolio and team across the U.S. and UK affording the business to strategically benefit from economies of scale and further operating efficiencies. 

"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."

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 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 Alastair Stewart of etc.venues.  "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."

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.  With the addition of etc.venues, Convene now has a network of 38 premium meetings, events, and flexible office locations 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 and chairman.  "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."

About Convene:
Convene is a premium hospitality company that designs and operates meeting, event, flexible office, and membership spaces.  With a network of 38 locations across nine cities in the U.S. and UK, Convene thoughtfully combines beautiful yet intuitive design, fully-integrated technology services, and a warm and welcoming environment to create a turnkey solution for extraordinary meeting and work experiences. Founded in 2009 with the goal of bringing hospitality and lifestyle into traditional commercial real estate assets, Convene partners with the industry's top landlords to deliver increased value to their assets and premium experiences to their tenants. The company counts Hudson's Bay Company, Ares, and RXR Realty among its investors and has been named one of America's 100 Most Promising Companies by Forbes and a Best Workplace by Inc. magazine, Fortune magazine, and Built In.  Learn more at https://convene.com/