The companies hope that coming together can provide a unique proposition
North East digital product consultancy hedgehog lab has acquired Scottish innovation support firm Label Sessions.
The deal for the Edinburgh firm aims to create a combined operation that brings together hedgehog lab’s expertise in AI delivery and product design and development with Label Sessions’ methodology and network of more than 500 experts. All roles across both businesses will remain in place as part of the deal.
The two businesses have been working together successfully for a number of years. They said that their new proposition will help organisations in sectors such as finance, travel, retail and technology to take ideas from concept to pilot and then to scalable, AI-enabled products.
In addition to its Newcastle HQ, hedgehog lab has operations in London, Leeds, Edinburgh and Sofia, Bulgaria. In 2023, it secured funding from investment group BGF and acquired York-based app developer Netsells. It has achieved significant growth since then and has set itself the target of reaching turnover of £50m in the coming years.
Malcolm Seagrave, managing director at hedgehog lab, said: “This acquisition is a gamechanger for our business and clients who will now gain access to a global network of more than 500 innovation experts, changemakers and senior leaders who operate at board and C-suite level. This enables us to offer innovation, global insights and strategic thinking alongside hedgehog lab’s delivery and build capability.
“This also provides an excellent opportunity for both of our teams’ development as we continue to expand. We already know the two businesses have a fantastic cultural fit and we’re excited about achieving our shared ambitions and offer something very unique to the market.”
Label Sessions was founded in 2023 by Nick Sherrard and Maxine Mackie. The business quickly grew to have operations across Europe, North America, and Africa, supporting household brand names such as Google, Mastercard and Lululemon.
Nick Sherrard, managing director of Label Sessions, said: “We want to be the ultimate sidekicks to leaders who want to make change happen. We’ve already shown that there’s a different way to do strategy in the biggest brands, now we want to bring more big ideas to the market faster.
“By coming together with hedgehog we create something unique. Clients will get access to global expertise on-demand, side-by-side with world-class development teams proven to get products before it’s too late. That’s a combination we can disrupt the market and, from our team’s perspective, have fun doing it.”