2006–2026. Apparently, time flies when you’re making meetings happen.
This October, thestudio turns 20.
Yes, really. Twenty!
Since 2006, we’ve grown, learned, laughed, opened doors in new cities, served a lot of coffee and welcomed thousands upon thousands of lovely people through those doors.
In 2006, Facebook had barely arrived, Twitter didn’t exist for most people, Instagram, TikTok and Zoom, were years away. People came together because they wanted to, not because of a notification.
Twenty years later, that’s still what we do best…
But thestudio has never really been about buildings or meeting rooms.
It’s about people.
Our studiofamily. Our brilliant customers. The relationships we’ve built. And a simple idea that has been with us from day one:
Customer First.
So, rather than write a very serious corporate history, we thought we’d celebrate the only way we know how…
20 years. 20 moments.
2006 Hello, thestudio
A management buyout, a new name and a big idea.
thestudio was born.
One Birmingham venue. A small team. Plenty of ambition.
Twitter launched that year too.
Whatever happened to that?
2007 Getting into our stride
More than 30,000 customers through our Birmingham doors.
Apple launched the iPhone.
We continued answering an actual telephone.
And talking to customers
We still recommend it.
2008 People first
A slightly wobbly year for the world economy.
A good reminder that businesses aren’t really built on spreadsheets.
They’re built on people, trust and relationships.
Still true.
2009 Shall we go to Manchester?
One venue was lovely.
But we had ideas.
Big, colourful, slightly northern ideas…
2010 Hello, Manchester
thestudio Manchester opened.
Two cities. 24 meeting rooms. More than 55,000 customers.
Instagram launched too.
We were more interested in getting the coffee machine working.
Priorities.
2011 Gathering momentum, getting known
NASA’s Space Shuttle flew its final mission after 30 years.
Back on Earth, our journey was gathering pace.
More customers. More events. More brilliant people joining the studiofamily.
Because even then, we knew:
Great venues need great people.
No rocket science required.
2012 Teamwork makes the dream work
London hosted the Olympics.
Team GB won 65 medals.
We won considerably fewer.
But we did get very good at teamwork.
And served many, many lunches, fresh, health, fit for athletes
2013 More room for big ideas
Birmingham got bigger.
Two new floors – Innovate and Escape – and six more creative spaces.
More meetings.
More ideas.
More infamous cookies
2014 Growing without going corporate
We were getting bigger.
But we never wanted to feel bigger.
No faceless hospitality.
No conveyor-belt service.
Just real people looking after real people.
2015 I Predict a… Studio – Ay up, Leeds!
Home of the Kaiser Chiefs, who famously predicted a riot.
We predicted something slightly less chaotic…
Another new studio.
Birmingham ✔️
Manchester ✔️
Leeds ✔️
Three cities, around 86,500 customers a year and plenty more reasons to sing about.
2016 Glasgow. Pure dead brilliant.
We turned 10 and headed north to celebrate.
In summer 2016, thestudio Glasgow opened its doors.
Four cities. One studiofamily. And just like that …
Birmingham ✔ Manchester ✔ Leeds ✔ Glasgow ✔
As they might say locally…
Pure dead brilliant.
2017 Ooh, shiny!
thestudiobirmingham was named Best Independent Venue at the CHS Awards.
We love an award
We love more space, so we opened another floor in Leeds
But do you know what we love even more?
Hearing …“Why would we go anywhere else?”
2018 Customer First
Technology changed.
Events changed.
Customer expectations changed.
Our basic philosophy didn’t.
Listen. Care. Help. Smile. Sort it.
Customer First – It’s really not complicated.
2019 What could possibly happen next?
Four venues.
A brilliant team.
Big plans.
Everything was going rather nicely.
And then…
2020 Well. That wasn’t in the plan.
The world stopped.
Meeting rooms emptied.
Events disappeared.
And for a company whose whole purpose is bringing people together, being told people couldn’t be together was pretty tough.
But our studiofamily did what it does best.
We looked after each other.
2021 We are back OPEN!
One by one, the lights came back on.
By late 2021, all four studios were open again.
Customers came back.
Coffee was poured.
People talked to each other without saying:
“You’re on mute.”
Wonderful.
We also achieved ECOsmart Gold.
A pretty good comeback year.
2022 Turns out, people like people
Zoom was useful.
Teams was useful.
Slippers were useful.
But nothing quite replaces being in a room together.
Ideas. Conversations. Laughter. Coffee. Connections.
Face-to-face was back.
We’d missed it.
2023 Greener thinking 🌱
Being a good business means thinking beyond today’s booking.
We kept pushing ourselves on sustainability, responsible sourcing and reducing our impact.
Because looking after people also means looking after the place we all share.
Small things can make a big difference
2024/25 Definitely Maybe… we’re back
Oasis announced they were getting back together.
And we knew a thing or two about a comeback.
The buzz was back. Rooms were full. Customers old and new were walking through our doors.
By 2025, we were back to welcoming up to 120,000 guests a year.
After a few challenging years, it felt good to say…
We’re back. Definitely. Not maybe.
2026 WE’RE 20!
And here we are.
Twenty years of thestudio.
Four cities.
46 meeting rooms.
Thousands of events.
Hundreds of thousands of guests.
An almost unreasonable quantity of coffee.
And one very proud studiofamily.
Oh, and thestudiobirmingham being ranked #4 in VenueDirectory.com’s Top 50 Meeting Venues for 2026 AND a finalist for Best Business Venue isn’t a bad birthday present either.
We’ll take that.
But here’s the important bit…
Buildings haven’t got us here.
People have.
The person opening the venue first thing in the morning.
The chef checking a dietary requirement.
The host remembering your name.
The person quietly fixing the projector while everyone else is blissfully unaware there was ever a problem.
The team resetting a room at lightning speed.
The customer who’s been coming to us for years.
And the customer walking through our doors for the very first time.
That’s us thestudio.
To every member of our studiofamily, past and present – thank you.
To our suppliers, partners and friends – thank you.
And to every customer who has booked a room, eaten lunch, drunk a coffee, recommended us, challenged us, made us laugh and – most importantly – come back…
A huge, enormous, birthday sized THANK YOU.
All of YOU made these 20 years possible.
We’ve changed a lot since 2006.
But the important stuff?
Not so much.
Great people.
Great service.
Great relationships.
Customer First.
That’s what built thestudio
And that’s what will take us into the next 20 years.
Although if the next 20 could contain slightly fewer global pandemics, we’d appreciate it.
Happy 20th birthday, thestudio
Here’s to the people, the meetings, the moments and whatever comes next.
We’ll put the kettle on.
