Hedgehog lab receives £6.3m from BGF to drive international growth

Headquartered in Newcastle and with operations in the US and Bulgaria, Hedgehog lab works with a wide range of global brands, including AJ Bell, Aviva, Deliveroo and Tesco Bank. It provides businesses with mobile app and web development services and has grown rapidly since incorporating in 2007.

A spokesman said: “Netsells is a digital product consultancy working across web and mobile. It is ranked as one of the North’s fastest growing tech businesses.

“The two companies will come together under the Hedgehog lab brand and will be led by hedgehog lab’s current CEO Sarat Pediredla alongside a new executive board that includes ex-Accenture Song managing director and Karmarama founder Ben Bilboul.

“BGF’s funding will enable the group to further expand its service offering to enterprise clients and SMEs in both the UK and US.”

Sarat Pediredla commented: “The acquisition of Netsells is a major milestone for us as a company. The combination of two firms with established and renowned capabilities will enhance our offering and growth prospects massively by bringing together some of the best talent in the industry and facilitating our continued expansion into new international markets.”

The deal was led by John Healey and James Baker, investors in BGF’s Yorkshire and North East team.

Mr Healey said: “We are delighted to be supporting Hedgehog lab on the next stage of its growth journey. The company has already established itself as a leading global digital product consultancy and the acquisition of Netsells will combine the talent and capability of two great teams, unlocking more opportunities in this exciting sector and positioning the business as a credible player of scale in the global digital marketplace.”

Hedgehog lab and Netsells were advised by Cowgills (Corporate Finance & Tax) and Hill Dickinson (Legal). BGF was advised by Weightmans (Legal).The deal provides a full exit for Hedgehog lab’s previous investor, Maven.