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Event overview

In Autumn 2023, B2B shared experience agency, OrangeDoor Events, was looking for a London-based venue to host an event for its client, Personio, an all-in-one HR software solutions company designed to empower organisations to work better.

Welcoming 400 guests, ‘HUG in London’ was part of Personio’s HUG European Tour, bringing HR professionals across the continent together to connect with a vibrant community, gain insights from industry leaders, expand professional networks, and shape the future of the human resources sector.

The venue

Built originally as a theatre in 1959, The Mermaid boasts the only 600-seated auditorium in the City of London, with a stage that can accommodate anything from an orchestra to a car, as well as two River Rooms that overlook the River Thames and Blackfriars Bridge.

Rachelle Speed, senior producer at OrangeDoor Events, said: “We chose The Mermaid London primarily for its Central London location and excellent travel links to outer London. To encourage guests, location is key - especially as this event is still in its early years - so access and ease were paramount.”

Multi-purpose spaces

Hiring the venue for exclusive use, Personio took advantage of The Mermaid London’s nine event spaces, as well as its chameleon-like ability to transform itself into whatever its clients need from their surroundings.

This included utilising the breathtaking Auditorium, the only 600-seated Auditorium in the City of London, for the main plenary, where guests engaged with speakers including Sir Ranulph Fiennes, explorer and author, and Steven Bartlett, founder of Social Chain.

Case Study

With views over the River Thames and the capital’s skyline, The Mermaid London’s River Rooms provided the ideal backdrop for dinner and refreshments, as well as a light-filled space for exhibitors to connect with visitors.

Its jigsaw-like Newgate Suite, featuring multiple interconnected whiteboard walls, was chopped, changed and put back together again with ease to create a series of separate breakout rooms, arranged in a theatre style, where guests could dive deeper into topics of interest in spaces designed for collaboration, community and conversation.

Rachelle noted: “The spaces were bright and open, which supported an enjoyable guest experience, and the speakers were awed by the Auditorium stage set-up which further enhanced the professionalism of the event.

"The venue’s flexibility to the brand was a massive pull factor for us; being able to truly make the venue fit to the brand rather than brand fit to the venue is unique in central London.”

As part of its Day Delegate Rate package, Personio’s guests were treated to a three-course menu catered for by award-winning culinary experts, Seasoned. Alongside tea, coffee and cookies, guests indulged in a delicious range of bowl food lunch options including chicken katsu with basmati rice, vegan macaroni cheese, and gluten-free salmon antibois. In a standout moment during the event, canapes, such as maple-coated pigs in blankets, pancetta and stilton pastry straws with aioli, and aubergine and chickpea croquettes with harissa yoghurt, were served on the auditorium stage as part of a drinks reception. A sweets station and popcorn cart added the final sweetener to a fun and informative event.