Growing North East digital consultancy secures £900k investment boost

A digital product consultancy in the North East has raised almost a million pounds of further investment which it aims to use to double its revenues.

Newcastle-based firm hedgehog lab has secured £900k from the North East Development Capital Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by existing investors Maven Capital Partners.

This latest investment brings the firm’s total funding to £2.2m, and follows a year of growth for the company with global revenues of £5m and the launch of projects with household names including Kodak Moments and Deliciously Ella.

The company, which specialises in mobile app development, has expanded its international reach with its US business now contributing nearly 25 per cent of the group’s overall revenue.

Co-founder and chief executive officer of hedgehog lab, Sarat Pediredla, commented: “A few years ago, we decided to accelerate our scaleup journey by seeking an investor partner who shared our ambition of building a world-class technology consultancy in the North East.

“With the hard work of our team and support from our customers and Maven, we have made incredible progress but we knew we could do more.

“This latest round of investment allows us to invest in boosting our leadership team and go-to-market strategy to ensure we set the business up for the next stage of growth.”

Michael Vassallo, investment director of Maven Capital Partners, added: “An innovative player in the technology market who we first backed in 2017, we’re delighted to support hedgehog lab as it embarks on an exciting programme of growth.

“A dynamic and well-managed business, hedgehog lab has already proven their ability to consistently design and build great software and we look forward to working with Sarat and the team to drive the business forward.”

In addition, hedgehog lab has unveiled a new management team as part of its plan to build on its ongoing growth.

Tech growth advisor, investor and former Sun Microsystems UK sales director Charles Andrews joins the business as hedgehog lab’s new chairman.

Martin Porton joins as hedgehog lab’s finance director from RTC North, with the firm set to announce the appointment of a new global managing director within the first quarter of 2020.

Charles Andrews, hedgehog lab chairman, said: “hedgehog lab has already built an impressive fan base of clients through their ability to build compelling digital experiences.

“I am really excited to be joining them as they continue to deliver engaging digital products with more clients across various international markets and grow their digital expertise.”