Convene now valued at more than $500M

Meeting space startup Convene raised $152 million in its latest funding round, bringing the value of the company to more than $500 million, according to a new report.

New investors in this Series D funding round included RXR Realty, David Rubenstein’s Declaration Capital, QuadReal Property Group and Revolution, Bloomberg reported. Earlier investors include the Durst Organization, Brookfield Property Partners and BlackRock. ArrowMark Partners led the round.

Convene, which was founded in 2009, will use this latest round of funding to help expand the amount of space it has under management from 582,000 square feet to 700,000 square feet by the end of the year, and 1.7 million square feet by the end of next year. The company is currently eyeing London as its sixth city, having already opened locations in New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Convene differs from rival WeWork in that most of its customers are well-established companies that rake in more than $1 billion in annual revenue or have more than 1,000 employees. Convene also offers standalone hospitality services that don’t require it to sign a lease.

“For landlords, it’s a perfect marriage because it solves an issue that arises as our end customers seek more flexibility in the size and scale of their footprints,” Ben Brown, a Brookfield executive vice president, told Bloomberg. [Bloomberg] — Kathryn Brenzel