PodX Group makes its first investment in the UK
PodX Group has acquired a majority share in British based Goldhawk Productions.
One of the world’s leading producers of audio fiction, Goldhawk is behind global success formats such as Passenger List, Mumbai Crime, Life After, The Cipher, Tumanbay and Restart.
Established by multi-award-winning husband-and-wife team John Scott Dryden and Ayeesha Menon, the company has made shows all over the world, and extensively in the US and India. Several of its shows have had spin-off novels and been optioned to TV.
Goldhawk’s work has won recognition at major festivals around the world including the Webby Awards, New York Festivals, Prix Europa, Writers Guild of Great Britain Awards, Peabody Awards, BBC Audio Drama Awards and the Sony Awards.
Ayeesha Candida Menon, Director and Executive Producer, Goldhawk Productions says: Audio fiction may be the niche end of the podcasting industry but it’s also the fastest growing. Storytelling in sound is so powerful and affecting when it’s done well – and it’s our passion. Joining PodX is an exciting opportunity that will help us and our team connect with more listeners around the world.”
John Scott Dryden, Director and Executive Producer, Goldhawk Productions adds: Having been the entire C-suite of Goldhawk till now I’m thrilled to be joining PodX, a network that puts creators at its core. This is an exciting opportunity to help Goldhawk grow, connect with other creators, and cement its position as one of the world’s leading makers of audio fiction.”
This is the first investment into a UK company by PodX Group. Its CEO and Board member, Staffan Rosell told PodcastingToday: “We like to invest in creative businesses which are already successful.
“Those that create, script or investigate through journalistic work with their own content, and companies that have been successful in maintaining and keeping their own IP, in order for them to use that in other territories and on other media platforms.”
PodX is solely a media investment company – everyone who works there has a background in media. Its headquarters are in Stockholm, with offices in ten markets including Sweden, Germany, UK, France, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Latin America.
Staffan continues: “Besides the money we invest in businesses, we also build an organisation that can help and support with business development, content creation, legal protection of rights, social media, marketing – everything a business needs to grow and prosper.”
The focus for PodX is in content creation, they are not building a technical platform or hiring sales staff but concentrating on the content creators.
Staffan says that in the podcast space its quite easy to get distribution – it can be done worldwide very quickly for very little money. He says there are plenty of platforms out there.
With the investment in Goldhawk Productions, Staffan says: “It’s very exciting that we found a company that is very successful in content creation and in fiction, which is rapidly growing.
“It’s one of the most creative businesses that we have come across and are therefore particularly happy that we have partnered with Goldhawk.”
PodX has plans to invest and is on the lookout for businesses who are interested in working with them. “If anyone is interested in our geographical scope, we are primarily in Europe and in Latin America, so that’s where we focus our businesses,” says Staffan.
You can contact PodX Group here.