Avalon management group, home to clients including John Oliver, Frank Skinner and Fiona Bruce, has bought Billy Marsh Associates, founded by the “doyen of theatrical agents”, the late Billy Marsh.
Billy Marsh’s current clients include Jon Culshaw, Esther Rantzen, Fiona Phillips and David Dickinson. It also manages the estates of artists including Kenny Everett and Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.
Marsh, whose clients included Morecambe and Wise, Norman Wisdom and Bruce Forsyth, died in 1995 with his ashes interred close to the stage at the London Palladium.
The agency’s managing director Jan Kennedy will take a non-executive director role following its purchase, announced on Thursday, and is expected to step back from its day-to-day running.
Kennedy said: “Working with Billy Marsh was a privileged experience and I was proud to take over the baton from him 25 years ago, and together with my dedicated team, have taken the agency from strength to strength.
“I’m sure that all the many talented artistes he represented, past and present, would be happy to know that his renowned and most respected name will progress well into the future, in the capable hands of the team at Avalon.”
Billy Marsh Associates will operate in the Avalon group alongside Artist Rights Group (Daniel Radcliffe, James Nesbitt, Imelda Staunton), which joined the group in 2012.
Jon Thoday, joint managing director of Avalon, said: “Billy Marsh Associates are one of the truly iconic brands of British artist representation and we are delighted to welcome Jan’s team to Avalon.”
