Coolabi Acquires Licensing Agency

LONDON, October 24: The
British kids’ and family brands outfit Coolabi has acquired the independent
licensing agency Licensing By Design (LBD), home to several British animation
classics, including Ivor the Engine.

Coolabi now has the
licensing and merchandising rights to three properties created by the team of
Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin: Ivor the Engine and The Clangers, which still air regularly on British television,
and Bagpuss, 13 episodes that
aired throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Licensing By Design’s stable also
includes Girl du Jour, The Burps, The Jasmine Factory and Lickle Ted.

Fran Huxley, the
managing director of LBD, will continue to work on these properties as a consultant
on a part-time basis with Coolabi.

Jeremy Banks, the chief
executive of Coolabi, said: “The coupling of much-loved and still highly
popular characters with the brand-management skills, energy and enthusiasm of
the Coolabi team is, I believe, a powerful combination that will serve these
characters well in the licensing market. The potential of such great names as Bagpuss, Ivor the Engine and The Clangers is enormous. We are delighted to welcome them and
all the high-quality properties from the Licensing By Design portfolio into the
Coolabi family.”

—By Mansha Daswani