YMU's literary division understood to be unaffected by group's corporate changes

Sources at YMU have indicated that the group’s recent corporate changes do not affect how the literary division operates. The YMU Group was sold to private lending firm Permira Credit late last year, while separately the business has created a Global Entertainment division housing its TV, radio, podcasting and live events.

YMU confirmed its sale in a Deadline story, published in March. The news website reported that Permira has taken full control of YMU’s parent company Yokozuna Newco, with past investor Trilantic Europe exiting the agency after five years. Under the deal, Permira has converted £32.9m of YMU debt into Yokozuna shares and cancelled a further £16m of debt. Permira also made a credit facility of £10m available to YMU, as has Lloyds Bank.

The information, which dates back to October 2023, was released in YMU’s financial filing at Companies House, which showed revenue stood of £41.6m in the year to the end of 2022. The company made a pretax loss, but said that adjusted earnings were £1.38m. It added that it was now positioned for growth through acquisitions and further developing its roster of clients.

YMU, formerly James Grant Group, is home to a range of celebrities such as Claudia Winkleman, Ant & Dec, and Graham Norton, its literary wing, run by m.d. Amanda Harris, looks after the book interests of bestsellers such as Noel Fitzpatrick, Davina McCall, and Fearne Cotton. It also operates music and sports divisions.

Chief executive Mary Bekhait told Deadline: "This new phase in our ongoing partnership with Permira will unlock the next wave of the group’s development, allowing us to identify and capture new opportunities for existing and future clients."