Boathouse Capital Exits Convene Investment
Boathouse Capital is pleased to announce that it has successfully exited its investment in Convene, an operator of a network of meeting and conference venues. The exit is the result of a $68 million recapitalization led by Brookfield Property Partners, Conversion Venture Capital, and ArrowMark Partners.
Headquartered in New York, NY, Convene (www.convene.com) provides an outsourced real estate solution for meetings, training sessions, conferences, and other corporate gatherings. Its suite of services includes meeting and collaboration space along with staffing, audiovisual, catering and conference planning support. Convene currently operates twelve conference centers in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and DC Metro.
Boathouse invested approximately $11 million of debt and equity in Convene in multiple rounds from 2013-2015. During Boathouse’s four-year investment, Convene grew from three locations in New York City to twelve locations in four markets. The Company now has over 260 employees and hopes to double its retail footprint in 2017-2018 with its new investor group.
“I am proud of what we have accomplished since our founding in 2009 and look forward to the next phase of development. Steve Gord and the Boathouse team were valuable partners as we navigated the early stages of our growth and helped transform Convene into an exciting and disruptive business,” said Ryan Simonetti, CEO of Convene.
Steve Gord, General Partner at Boathouse Capital remarked, “Ryan and his team have done a great job of fulfilling an unmet need in the real estate industry. Convene has created a well-known brand within New York City, has garnered the interest of top landlords and corporate customers, and has begun extending its reach in other urban markets. I have no doubt that the Company will continue to identify areas of opportunity and ultimately become a national brand.”