Christmas Party Venue in London
STU 22 is a licensed, exclusive-hire Christmas party venue at 8–10 Sampson Street, Wapping, London E1W 1NA. Three connected rooms, up to 135 guests, a staffed bar, a full DJ setup, and no building curfew. Festive hire is £3,500 + VAT for the whole venue for a full evening into the night — around £25.93 a head at 135 guests.
You get the building to yourselves. No shared bar, no other company’s party in the next room, no being asked to wrap up at eleven because the venue has a curfew it did not mention until after you signed.
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What £3,500 + VAT includes
One number, for the whole venue, for the whole evening. Nothing in the list below is an add-on.
| Included | |
|---|---|
| Exclusive hire of all three rooms | The Cove, the Blackout and the Portal |
| A full evening, running late | No building curfew, so the night ends when you end it |
| Staffed bar | Our licence, our bar staff, glassware and ice |
| Sound system across the venue | Not an AV hire line on your invoice |
| Full DJ setup in the Portal | Bring your DJ, or play from a phone |
| Professional lighting | Included, and it is studio lighting, not party LEDs |
| Leica Cine projector | For visuals, branding, slideshows and the year-in-review reel |
| Festive styling | Tree, lights and table dressing, put up and taken down by us |
| A photographer on the night | Edited images delivered after the event |
| Studio host on site | For the duration, so nobody from your team is running the room |
| Kitchen access and private changing room | For caterers, and for anyone who needs a quiet minute |
Catering and security are brought in by you or arranged on request. Drinks are quoted separately, and you choose the format — see the bar section below.
What that works out at, per head
Most London Christmas party quotes arrive as a per-head figure, because that is how a budget is approved. Here is the same £3,500 expressed the way your finance team will want to read it.
| Guests | Venue cost per head, ex VAT | Inc VAT |
|---|---|---|
| 135 | £25.93 | £31.11 |
| 100 | £35.00 | £42.00 |
| 80 | £43.75 | £52.50 |
| 60 | £58.33 | £70.00 |
That is the venue, the bar staff, the sound, the lighting, the DJ setup, the styling and the photographer. For most London venues that figure buys you the room and very little else, before AV, before a photographer, and before anyone has put up a tree.
A licensed bar, run by our staff
STU 22 holds an alcohol licence. That means we can serve and sell drinks on site ourselves, with no Temporary Event Notice, no ten working day wait, and no paperwork landing on whoever at your company drew the short straw.
You choose how the bar runs. A cash bar, where guests pay for their own and the drinks cost you nothing. A card tab, where you set a ceiling and we close the tab when it is reached. Or a drinks package quoted per head, so the whole night lands on one invoice with no surprises. Tell us your per-head budget and we will build the package around it rather than handing you a fixed menu and asking you to fit.
If you would rather supply your own drinks, you still can, and we still charge no corkage.
No curfew. The night ends when you end it.
There is no curfew at STU 22. Most small venues in East London carry one, and it is usually discovered late — after the date is fixed, the DJ is booked and the invitation has gone out. A Christmas party that has to stop at eleven is not really an evening, it is a long drinks reception.
Here the music can run on, the de-rig can happen overnight instead of at 7am, and nobody is herding your team towards the door at the moment the room finally warms up. Late finishes are confirmed when you book, and licensed drinks service hours are confirmed at the same time.
Three rooms, so the party moves
STU 22 is three connected rooms in one building, not a single hall. That matters more at a Christmas party than at almost any other kind of event, because a party that stays in one room for five hours dies in the middle.
The Cove
A 16ft white cyclorama — a wall that curves seamlessly into the floor. It is the room everyone photographs themselves in, and with the lighting and the projector it can be lit in any colour you like, or branded with your logo.
The Blackout
A fully blacked-out room. Low light, red velvet, and the place the evening settles into once the speeches are over.
The Portal
The music room, with the full DJ setup and the sound system. This is the dance floor, and it is a proper one rather than a cleared corner.
Open all three for 135 people. Use one or two for a team of forty and the room still feels full, which is the thing most large venues get wrong at the bottom of their range.
Dressed for Christmas, not left bare
A studio is a blank canvas, and a blank canvas in December can feel like an empty warehouse with a playlist. So festive styling is in the package: a tree, lighting dressed through the space, and table dressing. We put it up before you arrive and take it down after you leave. If your company has its own look, brand it — the projector and the cove make that straightforward.
A photographer on the night
STU 22 is a photography studio the other eleven months of the year, so the cameras, the lighting and the people who know how to use them are already here. A photographer is included in the festive package and edited images are delivered after the event.
This is the part people underestimate. A Christmas party produces exactly one lasting asset, and it is the pictures. Most companies end up with 300 phone photos nobody looks at. You will end up with a set you can actually use.
What people hold here in December
Company and office Christmas parties, team socials and department dinners, agency and studio parties, client entertaining and thank-you evenings, end-of-year awards nights, label and brand parties, and private celebrations that happen to fall in December. Because STU 22 is a working studio, production people, creative agencies, music teams and brand teams tend to feel at home in it immediately.
How December works here
London Christmas dates are decided in October and gone by mid-November, and the good Fridays and Saturdays go first. If you are reading this with a date in mind, the fastest thing you can do is message us on WhatsApp with the date and a rough headcount — we will tell you within the hour whether it is free.
Midweek dates are easier, cheaper to staff and, for a team that has to work the next morning anyway, often the better night. If your date is flexible, say so and we will tell you which evenings are still open.
Getting here
8–10 Sampson Street, Wapping, London E1W 1NA. Two minutes from Wapping Overground, ten minutes from Shoreditch and ten from Canary Wharf, and a short walk from Tobacco Dock and St Katharine Docks. Taxis and rideshares reach the door, which matters at one in the morning in December far more than it does in June.
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Frequently asked
How much does a Christmas party venue cost in London?
Exclusive hire of STU 22 in Wapping for a Christmas party is £3,500 + VAT for the full venue for an evening running late. At 135 guests that is £25.93 + VAT per head, and it includes the staffed bar, the sound system, professional lighting, a full DJ setup, festive styling and a photographer. Drinks are quoted separately as a cash bar, a card tab or a per-head package.
Is STU 22 licensed to serve alcohol?
Yes. STU 22 is a licensed venue, so we can serve and sell alcohol on site with no Temporary Event Notice and no waiting period. We run a staffed bar with our own staff, glassware and ice, and drinks packages are quoted per head. Clients who prefer to supply their own drinks can still do so, with no corkage.
How many guests can STU 22 hold for a Christmas party?
Up to 135 guests standing across three connected rooms. Because it is three rooms rather than one hall, it also works well for smaller parties of forty to eighty without the space feeling empty.
Is there a curfew?
No. There is no building curfew at STU 22, so a Christmas party can run late into the night rather than stopping at eleven. Late finishes and licensed drinks service hours are confirmed when you book.
Can we have a DJ?
Yes. A full DJ setup and a sound system across the venue are included in the Christmas package at no extra cost. Bring your own DJ, or play from a phone or laptop.
Is a photographer included?
Yes. The festive package includes a photographer on the night, with edited images delivered after the event. STU 22 is a working photography studio, so the lighting and the crew are already in the building.
Can we bring our own drinks?
Yes. STU 22 charges no corkage, so you can supply your own drinks if you prefer. Most clients now use our licensed bar instead, because it removes the buying, the delivery, the chilling and the leftovers.
Can we hold a smaller team Christmas party?
Yes. Smaller parties use one or two of the three rooms rather than all three, so a team of forty to eighty still fills the space. Message us with your headcount and date and we will quote for the format that fits.
Where is STU 22?
8–10 Sampson Street, Wapping, London E1W 1NA. Two minutes from Wapping Overground, ten minutes from Shoreditch and Canary Wharf, and a short walk from Tobacco Dock and St Katharine Docks.
Are December dates still available?
Some. London Christmas dates are decided in October and the Fridays and Saturdays go first. Message STU 22 on WhatsApp on +44 7871 170152 with your date and headcount and we will confirm availability the same day.
Book your Christmas party at STU 22
Send us the date and a rough headcount. If it is free, we will hold it while you check with your team. If it is not, we will tell you straight away and show you what else is open that week.
Enquire on WhatsAppCheck December dates
STU 22, 8–10 Sampson Street, Wapping, London E1W 1NA. Licensed venue. Up to 135 guests. See also our event space hire in East London, the Infinity Cove, the Blackout and the Portal.
