Hedgehog Lab Review: What UK Businesses Should Know in 2026

Agency websites are designed to showcase successful projects, polished portfolios and impressive capabilities. For a UK business planning an app or digital product, however, that leaves many practical questions unanswered: what does the company actually deliver, what experience does it have, and what type of project is it equipped to handle?

This Hedgehog Lab review looks at those details using publicly available information. We examine the services, case studies, industries, and cooperation options of Hedgehog Lab to help you decide if it is worth considering for your project.

When comparing mobile app development companies in the UK, basic company information can help establish the provider’s background and scope before looking at individual projects. Here is a quick overview of Hedgehog Lab.

Hedgehog Lab is a digital agency founded in Newcastle upon Tyne in 2007 by developers Sarat Pediredla and Mark Forster. Initially, they worked on software as a service (SaaS) for the financial services sector. Yet after the economic crisis of 2008, the company evolved into a digital agency with a growing focus on mobile technologies.

A major expansion came in 2023, when Hedgehog Lab company secured £6.3 million in investment from BGF and acquired York-based digital product consultancy Netsells. The acquisition combined the two companies’ product design and engineering capabilities.

In December 2025, the company acquired Edinburgh-based innovation consultancy Label Sessions, expanding its product and innovation strategy capabilities.

A leadership change followed in March 2026, when Malcolm Seagrave succeeded co-founder Sarat Pediredla as CEO after a phased succession process. Pediredla remained involved as an adviser to the Board.

Hedgehog Lab’s services are divided into three types, depending on the stage of digital product creation they support: Discover, Launch, and Run.

Discover

Discover corresponds to the initial stage of the project. It involves product strategy, research, and validation, which means that analysis of possible opportunities can be performed, product direction can be set up, and the idea.

Launch

Launch covers building digital products and migrating or modernising existing systems. Work can include mobile and web applications, product design, engineering and legacy system migration.

Run

Run involves managing and developing beyond launch, including making adjustments as needs change due to business and user demands.

AI development has also become a substantial part of Hedgehog Lab’s business. In March 2026, CEO Malcolm Seagrave stated that pure-play AI technologies accounted for around 40% of the company’s business.

Hedgehog Lab’s portfolio includes projects across several industries. Three examples are summarised below.

The following Hedgehog Lab case studies provide more detail on each project.

Dodl by AJ Bell

Client: AJ Bell is a UK investment platform and financial services company.

What Hedgehog Lab delivered: Hedgehog Lab conducted user research and developed Dodl with Flutter for iOS and Android, creating a useful reference point when comparing Flutter app development companies in the UK.

Key results: Dodl launched in April 2022 with more than 5,000 people on its waiting list and later received a BIMA 2023 award for user experience.

Sourced by Deliveroo

Client: Deliveroo is a food delivery company operating an online marketplace connecting consumers, restaurants, and other partners.

What Hedgehog Lab delivered: Hedgehog Lab developed Sourced, an application to help restaurants connect with their suppliers. It included user research, UX/UI design, and development of iOS, Android, and web applications for suppliers.

Key results: The iOS, Android, and web products were all launched at the same time in October 2019.

Teachmate

Client: Teachmate provides AI-powered tools designed to help teachers with tasks such as lesson planning and creating learning resources.

What Hedgehog Lab delivered: After the initial low-code platform of Teachmate reached its limit of scalability, Hedgehog Lab developed a new web solution and cloud infrastructure for Teachmate.

Key results: Hedgehog Lab claims that today Teachmate serves more than 370,000 teachers and has over 150 tools to offer, with users saving over 10 hours a week.

Hedgehog Lab consultancy groups its Run offering into five services covering product management, technical support, team delivery, platform management and optimisation.

There is no published price list by Hedgehog Lab for an entire app or any other digital product. Its G-Cloud 14 listing on the UK Government Digital Marketplace gives a price range of £190 to £1,750 per unit per day for its Mobile App Development service.

These figures relate to services offered through the public-sector G-Cloud framework and should not be treated as standard commercial project rates.

As described in the same pricing document, there are two pricing models: time and materials, where charges are based on the work completed, and fixed price, where a cost is agreed for a predefined scope and paid according to delivery milestones.

For Hedgehog Lab app development, the eventual budget can vary based on factors such as project scope, the number and complexity of features, the development timeline and the work required from the delivery team.

Reviews of Hedgehog Lab Newcastle are generally positive, although the amount of feedback varies considerably between platforms.

Recurring themes in Clutch reviews include good work, communication, and collaboration. Clients also often point to the team’s timely delivery and technical skills. Clutch has individual scores in each category: 4.7 in quality, 4.6 in schedule, and 4.5 in cost.

For businesses comparing UK software development companies, Hedgehog Lab is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne and maintains a presence across several UK cities.

Where social value is used in the supplier evaluation process, the company claims its strategy aligns with the UK Government Social Value Model (PPN 002).

This model includes aspects such as employment and skills development, environmental schemes, community engagement, equality and well-being. Hedgehog Lab also tracks outcomes including volunteer hours, skills sessions, environmental results and community engagement.

Where relevant, the company uses the UK Government’s 33 social value metrics to maintain consistent and transparent reporting.

This Hedgehog Lab review shows a company with a long operating history, experience across different industries and several ways to structure product delivery. Its published case studies and client reviews provide useful evidence for assessing its work, while exact commercial pricing remains less transparent and requires a project-specific estimate.

For UK businesses considering Hedgehog Lab, the next step is to compare its experience with the specific technical requirements, budget, and level of external support their project needs.