UK management company ROAR Group has acquired leading comedy agency CKP (Christian Knowles Productions) as part of its ongoing expansion, Music Week can exclusively reveal.
The acquisition means that ROAR Group now represents talent from the music, comedy, broadcasting, acting, sport and publishing sectors.
CKP, which was founded by Christian Knowles 16 years ago, is a specialist in developing comic talent for TV, radio, live and corporate work. It currently represents comedians including Hal Cruttenden, Mark Watson, Zoe Lyons and Micky Flanagan, who has already sold over 500,000 tickets for his sell-out 2017 arena shows.
“Extending the tentacles of the ROAR Groups allows us to offer those we represent an unparalleled breadth of opportunities and the unique ability to guide the careers of our clients higher and further,” ROAR founder Professor Jonathan Shalit told Music Week. “Comedy is a serious business and I have long admired the successful agency built up by Christian Knowles. The ROAR Group has always mixed strategic acquisition with organic growth as it has expanded to become one of the UK’s leading players in artist representation and rights ownership.
“The acquisition of CKP is a natural step in that growth strategy and will enable the ROAR Group and CKP to grow faster together than each would have done separately. ROAR as a company represents some of the highest profile and most remarkable talent in the UK entertainment industry. We look forward to building further on that roster and helping all clients to build on their and our successful brands.
“Christian Knowles is in my opinion the best comedy agent in the UK with an awesome roster of clients. I've long admired what Christian Knowles has achieved in the comedy sphere, and am honoured and excited that he has agreed to join forces with the ROAR Group. Christian is a hugely dynamic and imaginative agent with great wisdom. From the platform of our talent management company, Christian and CKP will help the ROAR Group even more quickly become one of the major forces in comedy both in the UK and internationally.”
Founded by Shalit 20 years ago, ROAR has represented such musical talent as Charlotte Church, Katherine Jenkins, Pixie Lott, Louisa Johnson, Wstrn, Emma Bunton, Mel B, Rebecca Ferguson and Clara Amfo.
“I’m absolutely delighted to be joining the ROAR Group and look forward to working and collaborating with their teams in the UK and worldwide,” said Knowles. “We resisted previous offers from elsewhere to buy CKP, but ROAR’s ambition and vision matched our own perfectly.”
