Case study: Wonderland Magazine

Business Area: Business Planning & Consultancy

Client: Wonderland Magazine

    

ARTICLE:

Huw Gwyther is just one of the many clients who are delighted with the service provided through the Access to Finance programme. A former managing director of New York Magazine ‘V’, Huw returned to the UK in 2003 with ambition to launch a new and unique magazine for affluent professionals with high disposable incomes. The idea for ‘Wonderland’ was born.

Huw contacted Business Link for London and after talking through his project, his adviser recommended him to the Access to Finance programme. Satsuma Consultancy, a private sector business support provider who is one of the Access to Finance programme’s delivery partners, helped Huw successfully present his ‘Wonderland’ concept to investors.

Godwin Ohajah of Satsuma Consultancy worked with Huw to ensure he understood the business aims, helping to develop the right business plan including the all important cashflow forecasts.

The final business plan had an unexpected result. Not only did Huw achieve £75,000 in private funding but Satsuma also put him forward to appear on the BBC 2 programme ‘Dragon’s Den’ where to his amazement he was offered a cash injection of £175,000 from one of the Dragons, one of the biggest investments made to date on the programme which gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their business plan to a panel of successful business people.

Huw says: “I had the creative ideas and knew the business model I wanted but I also knew that to successfully secure the finance needed, I had to present my plan in a relevant and effective manner. It’s only right that I thank the team at Satsuma Consultancy who were one of the first to really understand our vision and exceeded our expectations in the way they helped us prepare our plan.”

END.

Source: as published in Government Office for London (GOL) news bulletin, June 2005. Images: Courtesy of Wonderland Magazine

Update: July 2021

From that original £250,000 investment in 2005, Wonderland is currently worth around £220 million (net).