As has been widely predicted since Anthony Cheetham came aboard, Toby Mundy, chairman and publisher of Grove Atlantic London (GAL) has announced a restructure designed to "provide the company with the resources and the strategy to take its place amongst the leaders in the UK's independent publishing sector."

Morgan Entrekin, CEO at Grove Atlantic Inc. (GAI), who has been the majority shareholder, is selling "a portion" of his shares, but will remain "a significant minority shareholder and trading partner." Entrekin will continue to sit on the board of the London company. Mundy believes the sale will "confirm GAL's status as a self-standing independent, rather than a subsidiary of its U.S.-based parent."

Entrekin’s shareholding is replaced, at least in part, by capital from Allen & Unwin Australia, another successful indie. But "the company has secured substantial additional finance for the development of Atlantic Books and its newly founded fiction imprint Corvus." Corvus is presided over by Nicolas Cheetham, publishing director and son of Anthony Cheetham, whose role as an executive director of Atlantic was confirmed by Mundy in July, ending months of speculation. For Cheetham to be so involved in a company and not also to be an investor would be unlikely, particularly since, for Atlantic, "an important priority over the next three years will be the development of the Corvus imprint," which published its first title, Fay Weldon's Chalcot Crescent, on September 15. The plan now is a program "of up to 48 titles per annum in 2010," a dash for growth which is the hallmark of all Anthony Cheetham endeavors.

Mundy also announced that Ravi Mirchandani, architect of the company's biggest success, the Man Booker-winning White Tiger, joins the Atlantic board in his current role as editor-in-chief. Commercial director Daniel Scott is also a board member, as is Cheetham senior.

Said Mundy, "Atlantic Books has prospered within the Independent Alliance and it remains an important part of our world; now the business is strengthened significantly by these new relationships with Allen and Unwin and Grove/Atlantic Inc., the finest independent publishers in Australia and the United States. With my outstanding colleagues here, and partners around the world, I think we are well placed for the next phase of the company's growth."

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