Establishing a hub in the heart of London

Opening an office space is easy; making it meaningful takes intention. When Contentful opened a London hub in November 2023, we wanted to establish a place that helps people do their best work; where new hires can ramp up quickly, teams can collaborate naturally, and conversations with customers stay close to where they happen.

Working as Senior Executive Assistant and office manager for the London hub, I believe that for great culture to flourish, you need more than a nice view, good coffee, or pizza. You nurture it through trust, flexibility, and shared purpose. And when people feel supported and connected, great work follows.

Why Contentful opened a London hub

London as a location is strategically important to the company for several reasons. First, proximity to customers. The city concentrates many of our enterprise accounts and solution partners, and being nearby shortens the path from idea to solution. 

Second, access to talent. London’s pool of sales, marketing, engineering, and partner professionals gives us the breadth we need as we scale. Third, community. A shared space helps new hires build momentum and gives teams a place to learn from one another in person.

"London made absolute sense for us as a global organization,” Chris Penfold, Senior Vice President of Sales EMEA, explains. “The multicultural and diverse nature and relevance of the candidate pool meant the talent was there, we just needed to make this a great place to work and build the winning culture."

We’re on a dedicated floor within a coworking space in the heart of the city. It’s modern, lively, and full of personality — complete with the occasional bingo night, on-site massages, and dog dressing-up competitions. And, as with any great workspace, it’s the people who bring it to life.

A clear and flexible approach to hybrid work

Our Business Development Representatives (BDRs) and Associate Account Executives (AAEs) are typically in the office four days a week. It helps them learn faster, share knowledge, and build energy as a team. 

When we moved away from a 50% remote team and brought almost all BDRs into working from the London Hub, the team collaboration, knowledge sharing, and learning increased average BDR target attainment by 21%.

According to Associate Account Executive Kenza Mansour: "Being in the London office makes such a difference, it’s great to sit alongside the team, share ideas in real time, participate in competitions, and celebrate wins together. There’s always someone around to give feedback or just keep the energy up, which is huge in a sales role."

For others, they come in up to three times a week, depending on what makes sense for their work and life. There’s no one-size-fits-all schedule, just a clear rhythm that supports collaboration and flexibility.

And for those who spend most of their week in the office, we offer dedicated desks. It’s a small thing, but having your own space makes a difference. For everyone else, hot desking keeps things flexible and easy.

"London made absolute sense for us as a global organization.”

Chris Penfold, Senior Vice President of Sales EMEA

Welcoming new team members

Starting a new role can feel incredibly overwhelming. There’s so much to learn, and you want to make a good impression. That’s why we’ve built an onboarding process that’s personal, structured, and supportive.

Whenever possible, we invite new hires within commuting distance to spend their first day in the office. It’s practical — they get their laptop and meet people face-to-face — but it also sets the tone. We want people to feel part of something from day one.

Each month, we host a welcome lunch that brings new starters together with existing team members. It’s informal, but it goes a long way in helping people build their network early.

We also announce new joiners in our internal channels, so everyone knows who’s coming on board and what they’ll be working on. And during that first month, regular check-ins make sure no one feels lost or overloaded. The goal isn’t to rush people through onboarding, it’s to help them feel grounded, confident, and ready to grow.

“I know, as I am new to a career in sales, hearing my colleagues’ cold calls is very insightful. As I am listening to their calls, I am learning different methods which are all helping me find my own style of outreach,” Solange Okoeguale, Commercial Business Development Representative, says. 

She continues: “It's also a big advantage that the office is so central and so, coming to work, you are constantly reminded of the magic of living in a dynamic city."

Building connections in a hybrid world

It takes effort to keep people connected. We’ve learned that culture doesn’t just happen when people share a space. It happens when you create opportunities for people to come together, wherever people are.

Some teammates come in almost every day because they love the energy. Others drop by when they need a change of scene or a bit of in-person collaboration. Many of our developers regularly work from the hub simply because they enjoy the relationships they build here.

“I think the best part is the environment at the office it creates by us coming so often. The fact that we are all sat together in the same area favors a really fun and encouraging vibe,” Solange says.

We also arrange quarterly events, where it’s usually built around group activities so that various team members get to know each other on a different level, and we arrange volunteer opportunities for people to come together to do good for the community.  

“I work remotely a lot as I live a bit far from London, but coming into the office is always an exciting day for me,” David Seward, Software Engineer, says. 

“When I walk in, I can feel a big sense of community; it's a hive of activity and friendly faces. The event days are a big part of that. They’re always fun and allow us to mix across teams and make new friends.” 

David Seward, Software Engineer

Wrapping up

A space by itself does not create culture or results. The London hub works because it aligns with how our teams operate and how our customers prefer to collaborate.

It gives us a place to move faster together, through onboarding that builds confidence, hybrid rhythms that encourage coaching and deep work, and workshops that turn ideas into working solutions.

The last word goes to Barry Thorn, Area Sales Director UKI: "I love the culture that has been developed at the London office. There is a real buzz about the place and people obviously enjoy the atmosphere — just look at how many of our international colleagues find excuses for extended visits!”

If you’d like to explore a working session with our team in London, contact sales to schedule time in the hub. We’ll tailor the agenda to your goals and you’ll leave with clear next steps.

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