The momentum machine
How Strata is scaling up with purpose
With private equity investment, a strengthened leadership team and international demand rising across pharma, automotive and B2B comms, Strata is accelerating into its next phase. Group chief executive Simon Hambley and Strata CEO Cole Mulkerrins share the strategy behind the growth - and why culture still comes first.
When M&IT last caught up with Strata group chief executive Simon Hambley, the agency had just acquired Trinity, adding another powerhouse brand to its growing group. Twelve months on, Strata has stepped up another gear - a new private equity partnership, expansion into the Middle East, and continued growth across its pharma and automotive divisions.
“It’s definitely all go,” says Hambley with a laugh. “Since the Trinity acquisition, we’ve accelerated our expansion plans. In 2024, we reached a point where we had a choice; stand still and consolidate, or keep growing. Our clients were giving us more work, we were winning new clients, and we wanted to maintain that momentum. That’s really the keyword: momentum.”
That drive led to another acquisition in late 2024 and, significantly, to Strata’s first private equity investment. It’s a move that might raise eyebrows in an industry still wary of corporate finance, but Hambley says it’s been transformational.
“Private equity is a scary term for a lot of people in events,” he admits. “But if you’re running a business and want to grow, your options are limited - banks won’t take the risk, and using your own money is slow and risky. Private equity is essentially people investing their own capital in businesses like ours to help them grow.”
What’s changed, he says, is perception. “Our sector is finally being taken seriously as a business category. Twenty years ago, events were seen as discretionary spend - parties, launches, one-off projects. Now there’s real recognition of how critical live events are in a post-pandemic world. Clients understand their value, and investors see the opportunity.”
The investment has given Strata the resources and rigour to scale with confidence. “The reporting, the structure - it’s made us sharper,” Hambley says. “We’re more professional than ever, but we’ve not lost the fun.”
Simon Hambley, group chief executive of Strata
Simon Hambley, group chief executive of Strata
Building from within
With the group now approaching 180 employees, Strata has undergone a quiet transformation in leadership and culture. Hambley now operates at group level, while Mulkerrins leads the Strata brand day-to-day as CEO.
That split has been deliberate, Hambley says. “We’ve had to grow our management capability. We’ve promoted a lot of people internally - development’s become a big thing for us: personal development, career development. If one person steps up, someone else steps up behind them.”
Recruitment remains a hot topic. “Talent is still a challenge,” Hambley admits. “It’s not just our industry, it’s across the board. The frustrating thing is that there are lots of graduates who can’t find jobs, but they’re not necessarily looking at events. We need to showcase that this is an industry where you can have a long, successful career.”
He points to a widening skills gap between seasoned professionals and the next generation. “There’s a gap between the young talent coming through and those with 20 years’ experience. That will close, but only if we can mentor and retain those mid-career people. Events is a craft learned over time.”
Strata’s hybrid model aims to balance flexibility with culture and connection. “Work is what you do, not where you do it,” Hambley says. “But being together matters. We’ve got offices in London, Brackley, Stamford and Castle Donington, and we fund travel for remote staff to come in, because it’s about community.”
The agency’s investment in HR and recruitment technology is also paying off. “It’s an overhead,” Hambley says, “but it pays dividends. We had over 800 applications for one graphic designer role in London. The talent is out there - you just have to create the right environment to attract and develop it.”
Strategic Growth: From B2B to the Middle East
Strata’s growth has been fuelled by strength in pharma, automotive, and B2B communications - all sectors with solid budgets and measurable ROI.
“The biggest opportunity right now is in B2B,” says Mulkerrins. “That’s where the return on investment is strongest. Our integrated offer means we can deliver everything - consumer events, internal comms, employer brand campaigns - all under one roof.”
Cole Mulkerrins, CEO of Strata
Cole Mulkerrins, CEO of Strata
The agency’s international expansion is following client demand. A staff relocation to Dubai opened doors in the Middle East; a region Mulkerrins describes as “full of opportunity, but one where you have to move carefully.”
“We’re already working with global clients there, and we’ve just delivered our first project in the region,” he says. “But we’re taking our time, learning the market, following client needs, building something sustainable. There’s a history of UK agencies rushing in and failing. We don’t want to be one of them.”
That cautious approach extends to the US, where Strata has formed two joint ventures with local agencies. “You can’t just fly a team over anymore, visas are hard to get and expensive,” Hambley explains. “So we’ve built partnerships with agencies that operate to our standards. It’s seamless for the client, low risk, and gives us real capability in the US.”
Incentives reimagined
Incentive travel and rewards have long been part of Strata’s DNA, and through its operating company Element, that side of the business remains strong, even as some sectors tighten budgets.
“Incentive spend dipped a bit this year, especially in pharma and auto,” Mulkerrins says. “Some clients have delayed projects into next year. But we’re already seeing it come back.”
Hambley agrees: “Businesses are realising that incentives drive long-term value. We’re seeing automotive brands planning overseas incentives for the first time in a decade. They know they need to reconnect with their dealer networks.”
A major innovation has been Sherbet, Strata’s proprietary incentive technology platform. “It delivers measurable results,” says Mulkerrins. “We can quantify the impact on sales, which is a game-changer. It’s not just about the trip; it’s about data, performance and ROI.”
The bigger challenge, Hambley notes, is taxation. “In the UK, incentives are hammered by tax - a £250,000 trip ends up costing half a million. That’s not the case in the US or Asia. It’s a uniquely British issue, and it’s holding the market back.”
Embracing AI
If there’s one topic every agency is grappling with in 2025, it’s AI. Strata is leaning in, hiring a Group CTO to lead innovation and investing in AI tools to streamline processes and enhance creative output.
“AI will make us more efficient and productive,” says Hambley. “But it won’t replace people. We’re in the business of human connection - that’s the antithesis of AI.”
For Mulkerrins, the benefits are already tangible. “AI lets us iterate ideas 20 times faster,” he says. “It’s transformed measurement too, we can now track event impact in real time. And we’ll see new roles emerge, such as ‘AI checkers’, to ensure what’s produced is accurate and ethical.”
Hambley believes AI could also revolutionise pitching. “We can train models on past tenders and have an 80 per cent draft in hours. That means we can pitch for more work, not less. It’s not about replacing creativity, it’s about freeing people to focus on relationships and ideas.”
But he’s pragmatic about the challenges. “Clients will use AI too - they’ll expect faster answers, tighter turnarounds. We’ll have to educate them that real quality still takes human expertise. AI can replicate patterns, but it can’t create original thought.”
Client first delivery
"Everything we’re doing is about making life easier and better for our clients," says Hambley. "Each acquisition, partnership and new market move is designed to give them simpler access to deeper expertise, smarter technology and truly global delivery. By investing in platforms like Sherbet, AI capability and specialist teams across our key sectors, we’re focused on one thing: making it faster and more straightforward for clients to get consistent, measurable results from a single, trusted partner."
Looking ahead
Despite the challenges of recruitment, tax, and politics, both Hambley and Mulkerrins are upbeat about the road ahead.
“There’s strong demand for what we do, that’s not going away,” says Hambley. “Globally, the UK is still seen as the gold standard for events. Our creativity, reliability, and professionalism are valued everywhere.”
However, Hambley believes there’s still work to do with industry associations.
“I don’t think our associations do enough to support that, to be honest. That might be a bit of a contentious one, but I think there’s a gap. There are too many associations, and they’re too focused on awards revenue rather than creating real forums for discussion. Honestly, I think the media now does a better job of bringing the industry together than the associations do.”
And while competition remains fierce, collaboration has replaced rivalry as the defining spirit of the post-COVID events landscape. “The industry feels more like a community now,” says Hambley. “We talk to other agency owners all the time. We’re all facing similar challenges, and sharing ideas helps everyone.”
“I like that everyone’s more open and collaborative. We try to stay humble. We’re not better than anyone else - we just want to do great work, with great people. This is still the best industry in the world, and we want to help it grow.”
