David Higham acquires Gregory & Co

David Higham Associates is acquiring Gregory & Company, the agency founded by Jane Gregory in 1987 and representing Val McDermid.

Gregory and her staff will be moving into David Higham’s Soho offices at the start of next year, the company said.

Speaking on the decision to acquire Gregory & Co, Anthony Goff, m.d. of David Higham, told The Bookseller the agency had no desire to "simply get bigger", but that Gregory & Co was the "perfect fit" for the company.

"We are very proud to be teaming up with Jane now and we see our agencies as a perfect fit: she joins her starry list of authors to our bestselling client list and we look forward to contributing our expertise in film and television and to offering the support of our resources", he said. "Together we will both be stronger and provide an even better service for all our clients."

Goff also praised Gregory and her list saying that she has won "huge respect" for the way she has "spotted talent and developed careers".

"As co-founder of both the Harrogate Crime Festival and the Orange Prize (now the Women’s Prize for Fiction), she has also been one of the real game-changers of our industry", he added.

Gregory told The Bookseller that she was relishing being part of a bigger team and was particularly attracted to David Higham's film & TV arm.

Gregory added that the move would ensure the "secure" future of Gregory & Co's authors. "I am so delighted that the Gregory & Co team and authors will be joining DHA", she said. "It will be fabulous to work alongside like-minded colleagues, to be joining such a well-established and successful agency. This will ensure that our G&Co authors have a secure future. I am really excited by this new chapter for me, our agency and our authors."

Crime author McDermid, a long-standing client of Jane Gregory’s, said the acquisition would create a "formidable negotiating powerhouse".

She said: "I've been represented magnificently by Jane Gregory for almost thirty years. I owe much of my success to her stewardship of my career, and I'm very much looking forward to the next phase of our publishing adventure. This is a marriage that will build on the strengths of both agencies to create a formidable negotiating powerhouse. I'm delighted to be part of it.”

Along with McDermind, Gregory & Co represents authors including Minette Walters, Nick Brownlee and Rebecca Griffiths. David Higham represents Naomi Alderman, Paula Hawkins and Owen Jones, among others.