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Press release
PodX Group acquires majority share in British based Goldhawk Productions, one of the world’s leading producers of audio fiction
Stockholm, 27.10.2022 – In September PodX announced its acquisition of a majority share in
French podcast production company, Nouvelles Écoutes. PodX Group are now becoming the
majority shareholders in Goldhawk Productions, a unique production company specializing in
audio drama and fiction with a catalog of premium IP rights. The company is behind global
success formats such as Passenger List, Mumbai Crime, Life After, The Cipher, Tumanbay and
Restart. Goldhawk is PodX Group’s first investment in the UK.
Established by multi-award-winning husband-and-wife team John Scott Dryden and Ayeesha
Menon, Goldhawk Productions has become one of the most distinctive and successful audio
fiction production companies in the world. Goldhawk’s overriding mission is great storytelling in
sound. The company has made shows all over the world, and extensively in the US and India.
Several of its shows have had spin-off novels and been optioned to TV.
Goldhawk’s work has won recognition at major festivals around the world including the Webby
Awards, New York Festivals, Prix Europa, Writers Guild of Great Britain Awards, Peabody Awards,
BBC Audio Drama Awards and the Sony Awards,.
Current available fiction podcasts produced by Goldhawk include Passenger List, Mumbai Crime,
The Cipher, Life After, Tumanbay, TakeOver, and the recently released thriller Restart, set in the
world of video gaming. A new original thriller Young Blood, starring Geoffrey Arend, has just been
released by Audible.
John is a writer, director and executive producer. With an impressive track record creating shows
for BBC radio, he was hired by Panoply (now Megaphone) in New York as Head of Scripted
Content. Before that he had also been Head of Drama for RNZ, New Zealand. John is a recipient of
a Peabody Award and has made shows for Audible, PRX/Radiotopia, Wondery, iHeart and the BBC.
He created the fiction podcast Passenger List, a mystery thriller starring Kelly Marie Tran about a
plane that disappears mid-flight between London and New York, and the historical fantasy series
Tumanbay which ran for four seasons and led to two spin-off novels. His work for the BBC includes
the thrillers Severed Threads, A Kidnapping, Pandemic and The Reluctant Spy. He also co-created
and executive produced for BBC Sounds the hit YA fiction podcast The Cipher and recently
released Restart.
Ayeesha is a writer, creator and producer. Her modern-day adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities won
Best Adaptation and her Midnight’s Children won the Outstanding Achievement award at the
BBC Audio Drama Awards. She presents the podcast Mumbai Crime, a curated series of audio
thrillers from India, released by PRX/Radiotopia. Her credits include the original detective series
Undercover Mumbai for the BBC, Jungle Book, TakeOver, and her acclaimed audio adaptations of
Vikas Swarup’s best-selling novel Q&A (aka Slumdog Millionaire) and Naguib Mafouz’s The Cairo
Trilogy both of which won Sony Radio Awards.
Staffan Rosell, CEO and Member of the Board, PodX Group: ”Goldhawk Productions is a world
class production company pioneering in fiction podcasts. They have achieved massive global
success with formats such as Passenger List, Tumanbay and Mumbai Crime. We are incredibly
proud and happy to partner up with John and Ayeesha.”
Ayeesha Candida Menon, Director and Executive Producer, Goldhawk Productions: ”Audio
fiction may be the niche end of the podcasting industry but it’s also the fastest growing. Storytelling in
sound is so powerful and affecting when it’s done well – and it’s our passion. Joining PodX is an exciting
opportunity that will help us and our team connect with more listeners around the world.”
John Scott Dryden, Director and Executive Producer, Goldhawk Productions: ”Having been the
entire C-suite of Goldhawk till now I’m thrilled to be joining PodX, a network that puts creators at
its core. This is an exciting opportunity to help Goldhawk grow, connect with other creators, and
cement its position as one of the world’s leading makers of audio fiction.”
About PodX Group
PodX Group is a Stockholm-headquartered company committed to investing in international
podcast IP rights: offering financing, as well as support around business development,
internationalization and commercialisation to emerging podcast producers and creators.
PodX Group invests in podcast producers who create the best content, and takes on the role as an
active partner to jointly develop the podcast companies into leading producers in each market
and segment. Additionally, partner companies of PodX Group become part of a global network of
renowned podcast companies that enables collaboration and synergies across the group. PodX
Group is headquartered in Stockholm with employees in ten markets including Sweden, Germany,
UK, France, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Latin America.
PodX Group is founded by Patrick Svensk (founder of Kanal 5 in Sweden and international TV
production company groups Zodiak Media and Nice Entertainment), Staffan Rosell (previously
Nordic Head of Viacom, SBS Radio, Discovery Radio, and most recently CEO of Bauer Media, where
he founded the audio entertainment platforms Radioplay and Podplay), and Fredrik Said (global
expansion at Universum and Acast, leading Acast’s establishments in Mexico, Canada, and Ireland).
About Qarlbo
PodX Group’s main shareholder and financier is the Swedish investment group Qarlbo AB,
founded in 2007 by the EQT founder and Chairman Conni Jonsson and family. Qarlbo is an active
owner that builds and invests in long term trends, great talent and companies that make a
difference. One of Qarlbo’s largest investments is PopHouse Entertainment Group, co-owned with
the ABBA founder Björn Ulvaeus.
For more information:
Staffan Rosell, +46708821353.
Patrick Svensk, +46708660730.
Goldhawk Productions, hello@goldhawkproductions.org.