Hippo Digital Leeds grows from startup to 700-strong consultancy with six UK offices, two acquisitions, and Exponent investment

Leeds-founded digital consultancy Hippo Digital Leeds has grown to nearly 700 employees across six UK offices, a decade after founders Adam Lewis and Rob Coop launched the business from the city in 2016. The company, which has its headquarters and event campus in Leeds alongside offices in London, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, and Glasgow, is now one of the UK’s largest independent digital services consultancies. The growth has been accelerated by two acquisitions and two rounds of private equity investment, most recently from Exponent in 2025.

Why This Matters For Leeds

Seven hundred employees, founded in Leeds, still headquartered in Leeds. That makes Hippo Digital one of the largest independent tech employers in the city. With two acquisitions (one of them a Leeds company), two rounds of PE investment, and a client base spanning DWP, NHS, Department for Education, Virgin, and BBC, the company scaled nationally from Leeds. The kind of growth story that strengthens the city’s claim as a base for building large-scale tech businesses.

How Hippo Digital Leeds Built to 700

The route from startup to 700 people has been built on a combination of organic growth, acquisition, and PE backing. Hippo Digital Leeds acquired specialist data analytics and cybersecurity provider Converging Data in 2019, then brought in Leeds-based data consultancy The Data Shed in 2023, a Leeds-acquires-Leeds deal that strengthened its data and engineering capability. Private investment partnerships, first in 2021 and most recently with Exponent in 2025, have provided the capital to continue scaling while retaining independence.

The client roster reflects the scale Hippo Digital now operates at. The company works with the Department for Work and Pensions on modernising how millions of people access support services, with the NHS on frontline digital healthcare systems, and with the Department for Education on services used by school leaders and families. Private sector clients include Virgin and the BBC, and the company has recently expanded further into financial services.

“We set up Hippo to be different. It’s an understanding that we put people first and design systems around people. The intent is really that we take people into account across all phases of our delivery.”

— Adam Lewis, Founder and CEO, Hippo Digital

A Leeds Tech Growth Story

Hippo Digital’s trajectory is a useful reference point for Leeds’ tech sector. Founded in the city, still headquartered here, and now employing nearly 700 people, the company has scaled nationally without relocating. The Data Shed acquisition kept both businesses in Leeds, and the Exponent investment came to a Leeds-headquartered firm rather than requiring a move to London. The company was also named in the 2026 Northern Tech Awards Top 100, GP Bullhound’s annual ranking of the fastest-growing tech businesses in the North, alongside seven other Leeds companies.