Strata

Strata acquires Wonderland to expand creative experiential offering and sector reach

HMT, the UK member firm of Cognos, MT, led by Partners Andrew Thomson and Ricky Lane and Senior Manager Francis Drysdale advised Strata, the award-winning brand experience agency group on their acquisition of Wonderland, a female-led London-based experiential event production agency delivering creative events and experiences for global brands.

Founded in 2008 by Lora Lutostanska-Enthoven, Wonderland has become a trusted partner for brands such as Amazon, Red Bull, SHEIN, L’Oréal and HubSpot. In the last two years, the agency has delivered hundreds of events across Europe, the US and APAC, bringing deep expertise in tech, beauty, finance, fashion, media and FMCG.

Wonderland produces experiential events and campaigns across live, digital and hybrid formats. Its services span UK and international event management, PR and marketing support, creative design and styling, venue sourcing, entertainment booking, set design, production and lighting, enabling the team to manage projects from brief to on-site delivery and post-event activity.
The acquisition adds further creative firepower and experiential design expertise to Strata, opening up new sector opportunities and high-level briefs. It increases capacity across the group and supports Strata’s strategy to diversify its sector mix and reduce risk by broadening its client portfolio.

Wonderland is led by Managing Director Luisa Caro, supported by Executive Director of Creative Events, Susanne Lumb both of whom will remain in the business going forward. Since Luisa took on the leadership role in 2018, the team has driven significant revenue growth and improved margins, while maintaining the culture and creative ambition that underpin the agency’s success.
The HMT team acted as buy-side lead advisor on the transaction which included identifying the best targets to fit Strata’s strategic objectives, negotiating detailed terms, supporting the business through due diligence process, developing an enlarged group model, negotiating debt terms with the incumbent lender and project managing the deal to a successful completion.

Wonderland is a business we have admired for some time and bringing the business into the Strata Group deepens our creative offer, gives clients access to a bigger, more diverse team and broadens the sectors we can support. The support provided by the team at HMT was invaluable. Their professionalism and proactive approach helped us navigate several challenging situations throughout this process and played a key part in getting this deal over the line. I look forward to working with Andrew, Ricky and Francis again on future transactions Simon Hambley, Founder and CEO of Strata

This deal represents a significant milestone for Strata and the team at Wonderland. Not only will it help both the businesses further strengthen their market presence, but there is the potential to deliver significant synergies that will accelerate the continued growth of the enlarged group. I’m confident this acquisition will strengthen Strata’s strategic position in the market and create long-term value for all stakeholders. We look forward to working with Strata again in the future as the team continues its buy and build journey. Ricky Lane, Partner at Cognos UK

Ricky Lane

Andrew Thomson