YMU Group Aligns Brands Under New Company Name

Management company and talent giant YM&U Group (YMU), formerly James Grant Group, has today aligned thirteen of its fourteen individual brands into its holding company name, with divisions now officially recognised as YMU Business Management, YMU Drama and Comedy, YMU Entertainment, YMU Music and YMU Sport. Troika, which forms its drama and comedy division will retain its brand name for the foreseeable future. 

Based predominantly in the UK and US, the Group legally changed its holding company name back in September 2018 when it completed its sale to Trilantic Europe. The decision to market itself as a single entity is due to the rapid growth of the group over recent years, including its mergers with Deckstar, Top Marque Sports, Troika, Impact SM, Shoot to Kill, Machine Management and Strike Management (the latter being the most recent acquisition).

YMU’s roster of talent includes elite athletes, entertainers, writers and more. Its clients’ trophy shelves creaking under the weight of including winners of prestigious awards such as BAFTAs, Academy Awards, Pulitzer Prizes, and Emmy awards.

YMU now has over 300 employees and is a leading management company for clients in sports, music and entertainment, with offices in London, Manchester, LA, DC and New York.  

Neil Rodford, CEO of YMU Group, said that the rebrand will help them pool the power of their collective expertise to better serve their expansive roster of talent. “We have wanted to rebrand our group for some time. I am delighted we have found a name that aligns all our businesses. We are proud of the heritage and experience that our individual divisions, brands and teams bring, and will retain this in our buildings and beliefs. The new name enables us to put forward our proposition more succinctly and demonstrate the depth and breadth of our group as it stands today: namely one that it is driven by innovation and works as a collective to service our clients’ best interests.” 

Lawrence Vavra, President of North America, added that the rebrand reflects their philosophy of cross-group collaboration. “We believe in a fully integrated management model where we succeed as a group, not as individual businesses. All of our companies operate jointly across the entire Music, Sports and Entertainment industry. Rebranding under one unified name is just an extension of our core philosophy.”

The new organisation will see brands will align into the division they relate to, and cease to trade under their original name: OJK into YMU Business Management; Troika (although, this brand name will remain for the foreseeable future) into YMU Drama & Comedy; James Grant; James Grant Management Inc., Furniss Lawton, Rabbit will come under YMU Entertainment; Deckstar, Hall or Nothing, Machine Management into YMU Music; James Grant Sport; Impact SM, Strike Management, Top Marque Sports (TMS), Strike.