Independent UK podcast and radio company, Listen, has been acquired by global podcast group, PodX.
Stockholm-based PodX’s strategy has already seen it invest in a range of podcast studios across the globe including: Nouvelles Écoutes and Studio Minuit (France); Goldhawk Productions (UK); Posta (Argentina); Filt (Sweden, Norway, Denmark); and Suomen Podcastmedia (Finland). PodX’s investment sees the Group purchasing a majority share in Listen.
“When we launched in September 2019, we set out to be the UK’s leader in radio and podcast production, and we’ve achieved this,” said Listen MD, Josh Adley. “Not only have we consistently grown turnover year on year, we’ve specifically grown our podcast business by more than 250% and been at the forefront of the industry’s move into video and social.
“The beating heart of Listen is our obsession with producing premium content and a desire to move at pace and stay ahead of change. We know there is a huge opportunity for us internationally and this is precisely what PodX can support us with.”
Listen works with brands and platforms including BBC, Audible, Spotify, Amazon Music, Sky, ITV, BMW, Vodafone, Global, Viacom, Sky Sports and many more. The company has produced over 3,500 hours of content in the past 12 months, enjoyed by millions of listeners all over the world.
Staffan Rosell, CEO of PodX Group, said: “We are building a group of world class companies, and we are thrilled to be acquiring the most significant production company in the UK. Listen is a truly impressive business – highly-respected, with a market-leading position, inspirational leadership with ambitious plans for future. Listen has great potential and we are thrilled that it is joining the PodX Group.
Listen, which joins the PodX Group with immediate effect, will continue to be run by the same management team: Josh Adley, Managing Director; Darby Dorras, Director of Content; and Tim Hammond, Executive Director. The company will continue to operate from its current offices, but benefit from the creative and commercial opportunities presented by being part of an enlarged, global organisation.
Stockholm-based PodX Group invests in podcast producers who create the best content to jointly develop those companies both domestically and globally, bringing them into their global network of podcast companies to enable collaboration and synergies.