Sydney-based graphic design company Canva is expanding its footprint in the UK by purchasing three properties, including its current European headquarters at 33 Hoxton Square in London, which opened in May last year.

Duncan Clark, Canva’s European lead and co-founder of Flourish, announced that the company will also acquire The Rutherford at 43 Hoxton Square and The Bersey Warehouse at 293 Old Street. These buildings are located in the vibrant Shoreditch area, near the ‘Silicon Roundabout’ tech hub.

The expansion comes as Canva’s UK team has grown from 100 to 250 members since last year, with the European team now exceeding 400 people. Clark expressed excitement about the growth, saying, “We’re excited to be growing our London Campus with the acquisition of three buildings including our current HQ, enhancing our presence in the UK and supporting our team’s rapid growth across Europe.”

He added, “This major milestone reflects our deep commitment to Europe and the rapid growth of our team, business, and communities here. The expanded Campus in and around London’s Hoxton Square will also create an even more vibrant, cohesive environment for local Canvanauts.”

The flagship building at 33 Hoxton Square will remain central to Canva’s operations, but the new properties will enhance the on-campus experience. Clark explained, “Our current office is home to our ‘Town Hall’, where we bring together our team, customers, partners, and Canva user communities – and host meet-ups and gatherings for nonprofits, education organisations and others.”

The Bersey Warehouse will offer flexible open space on its ground floor, allowing Canva to expand its office space and host teams from Europe and beyond. Clark noted, “We greatly admired all three buildings and the campus feel they’ll create around the gorgeous park of Hoxton Square – operating similarly to our Sydney campus which spans multiple buildings in Surry Hills. This model celebrates unique cityscapes and furthers our sustainability mission through the adaptive re-use of the existing characterful buildings.”

Clark also highlighted Canva’s growth in Europe through acquisitions, including UK-based design software company Affinity, London-based data visualisation tool Flourish, and Austria’s Kaleido, which has contributed to Canva’s image and video background removal features. He said, “Through acquisitions of cutting-edge European companies, we’ve been able to evolve and scale our platform to meet the needs of larger enterprises as we empower every person in every organisation to design.”

He further mentioned, “Czech-based Smartmockups, now called Mockups, has led the development of Canva’s product and printing mockup features, while Pexels and Pixabay have been providing high-quality stock photography, video, vectors, and illustrations since 2018.”