“Global talent, entertainment, sports and advisory company UTA has disclosed financials for its UK arm UTA UK, which incorporates its business across the Europe, Middle East and Africa, providing some insight into how the firm’s expansion and diversification of its London hub, including its sports growth push, have been playing out. Latest financials filed with Companies House”, — write: www.hollywoodreporter.com
The latest financials filed with Companies House, where UK companies are registered and regularly disclose their accounts, are for the fiscal year 2024 ended Dec. 31 and not directly comparable with the previous fiscal year, which only covered 10 months due to a change in the accounting periods.
UTA UK revenue jumped 67 percent to £77.0 million ($104.0 million) from £46.2 million, driven by a big push into European soccer player representation via the June 2024 acquisition of Representatives of Outstanding Footballers (ROOF) and organic growth, with the two additional months of the fiscal year also contributing to the increase.
The firm’s operating loss, meanwhile, widened to £34.6 million ($46.7 million) from £11.3 million, driven by acquisition-related expenses and integration costs of acquisitions, including ROOF, as well as investments in growth opportunities.
UTA has said that ROOF, plus its existing Klutch business, positions it to be a serious player in global sports well beyond US-centric basketball and other sports with long-term growth opportunities.
UTA has also doubled down on London as its international hub in other areas amid confidence in financial and strategic upside and the benefits of diversifying into newer areas. Its burgeoning UK creators business is among other cases in point.
Overall, UTA has acquired more than 20 companies globally over the past decade to build a more diversified business across talent management, music, theater, comedy, the creators space, sports, brands, news, books, film, TV and theater writers, and speakers. UTA UK’s acquisitions have included the likes of The Agency Group, MediaLink, Curtis Brown, and ROOF, which are at varying stages of maturity and integration with other business units.
And more acquisitions could lie ahead. “The group continues to look for complementary opportunities to grow its business,” the company’s UK filing noted.
It also highlighted its 2023 investment into a Central London office “to continue its expansion into key markets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.” Last summer, UTA also named partner Darnell Strom, who has represented such clients as Malala Yousafzai, Michaela Coel and BBC/HBO hit Industry creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, after past work with US Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, as the head of its UK office in London.
Among the stars represented by UTA’s UK and European agents are the likes of Bad Bunny, Damian Lewis, Richard Gadd, Ncuti Gatwa, Lily James, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Cynthia Erivo, soccer stars Virgil van Dijk and Kai Havertz, creators Elizabeth Day and Jack Edwards, authors Lucy Foley and David Nicholls, the estates of Ian Fleming and John le Carre, and comedian Vir Das.