thestudio

What thestudio does

The Studio Venues is a privately held UK venue-rental operator trading under the legal entity Customer First Venue Services Ltd. (Registered Company No. 8522015). It runs four city-centre meeting and conference venues in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, and Glasgow, targeting corporate bookers for meetings, conferences, training, team building, and special occasions. The core product is hourly or daily hire of meeting rooms and conference spaces, supplemented by an in-house service stack: Studio Food (catering), Studio Coffee (beverages), Studio AV (audio-visual and IT support), Team Building activities, and Virtual Experiences for remote or hybrid events. All four venues hold Greengage ECOsmart Gold accreditation (2026), and the business was shortlisted for Business Events Venue of the Year at the West Midlands Tourism Awards. Technology is limited to a web-based online booking and enquiry portal, with no app, API, or disclosed AI/ML capability. Revenue mechanics are threefold: (1) one-time venue rental bookings, (2) transactional catering and hospitality add-ons, and (3) professional services revenue from AV, team building, and special event packages. GTM is a hybrid of self-serve online booking for mid-market bookers and direct enterprise field sales for larger corporate clients, supported by organic social media (Facebook, X, Instagram), an email newsletter, and presence at industry events such as CHS Leeds. The company is independently owned with no disclosed external investors, parent company, or funding history, and no M&A activity.

Name

thestudio

Legal name

Customer First Venue Services Ltd.

Website

https://studiovenues.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Studio Venues operates four award-winning, ECOsmart Gold-accredited city-centre meeting and conference venues in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, and Glasgow, serving corporate bookers with venue hire plus in-house catering, AV, team building, and virtual event services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Meeting and Conference Venue Services

akta.pro primary industry

Conference Centers & Dedicated Meeting Venues (THAHAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Venue & Facility Reservations (Private Rooms, Event Spaces) (HSACALAJ)

Keywords

• Meeting room hire
• Conference venue rental
• Corporate event spaces
• Business event venues
• Venue booking services

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Venue Rental: Rental income from meeting rooms, conference venues, and event spaces in four city centre locations in the UK
2. Catering and Hospitality Services: Food, coffee, and catering services provided during events and meetings
3. Event Services: AV/IT support, team building activities, virtual experiences, and special events including summer and Christmas packages

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The studio rents out city centre meeting rooms and conference venues across four UK locations (Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, and Glasgow) for corporate meetings, conferences, training sessions, and team gatherings. The venue rental is supplemented by in-house ancillary services including catering, coffee, audio-visual and IT support, team building activities, virtual event experiences, and seasonal special event packages.

Product overview

The Studio is a venue hire business offering a unified platform of meeting rooms and conference venues across four UK city centres (Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, and Glasgow). The core offering is venue rental for meetings and conferences, supplemented by ancillary services including Studio Food (catering), Studio Coffee (beverages), Studio AV (audio-visual/IT support), Team Building activities, Virtual Experiences, and Special Events packages. The company operates as a single-service hospitality brand rather than a modular software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Meeting Rooms & Conference Venues Award-winning meeting rooms and conference venues in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, and Glasgow city centres, providing sustainable, professionally managed spaces for corporate meetings, conferences, training sessions, and team gatherings.
• Studio Food In-house catering and food services providing meals and dining experiences for events and conferences held at thestudio venues.
• Studio Coffee Coffee and beverage services for events and conferences at thestudio venues.
• Studio AV Audio-visual and IT support services for events, conferences, and meetings at thestudio venues.
• Team Building Team building activities and experiences designed for corporate groups hosting events at thestudio venues.
• Virtual Experiences Virtual and remote event experiences for distributed teams and hybrid meetings.
• Special Events Special occasion event packages including Summer 2026, Christmas 2026, and other celebrations hosted at thestudio venues.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Venues of ExcellenceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExhibited together at CHS Leeds industry event. Represented alongside Venues of Excellence partners for networking and visibility in the venue industry.
• Sarah Vogel and PDAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to deliver a free taster session on essential leadership skills, demonstrating collaboration for educational content offerings.
• Glasgow ChamberminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHosted Glasgow Chamber for a morning networking event, showcasing the venue to chamber members and local businesses.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Etc.venues: UK-headquartered operator of meeting rooms and conference venues across multiple London locations, directly competing with The Studio on the same product category and corporate customer base.
• Cavendish Venues: London-based conference and meeting venue operator with multiple central locations; shares the same corporate-events value proposition and city-centre meeting-room focus as The Studio.
• The Brewery: Iconic London event venue offering conference, meeting, and celebration spaces with full-service catering and AV — a same-category, same-customer peer in the UK corporate meeting market.
• Church House Westminster: Central London conference and meeting venue delivering corporate events with catering and AV; directly comparable in product offering and customer segment to The Studio's city-centre venues.
• 30 Euston Square: Central London event and meeting venue operated by the Royal College of General Practitioners; competes with The Studio in the corporate conference and meeting space category.
• QEII Centre: Westminster-based purpose-built conference and events centre; a comparable UK operator in the MICE venue category serving corporate and association events.

Regional players

• Manchester Central: Large-scale conference and events venue in Manchester; directly competes with The Studio's Manchester venue for regional corporate, association, and trade events.

Broad incumbents

• Hilton Hotels & Resorts (UK meeting venues): Major hotel brand offering meeting rooms and conference spaces across UK cities; competes with The Studio on corporate bookings, often bundling overnight accommodation.
• IWG (Regus): Global flexible-workspace operator offering meeting rooms and event spaces in UK city centres; competes with The Studio for corporate meeting demand at scale.

Emerging players

• Convene: Premium meeting and event venue operator with full-service hospitality model; comparable to The Studio on the corporate meeting venue plus catering/AV bundle, though primarily US-based.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/studiovenues
• Facebookfacebook.com/studiovenues
• Instagraminstagram.com/studiovenues
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-studio-venue-company-limited

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about thestudio