EXCLUSIVE: Joe Sugg and Caspar Lee‘s IMG-backed digital talent agency MVE has expanded in the UK by signing a head of talent.

Minnie Harding, one of a number who has recently left Simon Cowell’s agency YMU, has joined up with the London and LA-based outfit run by the popular YouTubers.

Harding will oversee talent in the UK, a roster of digital creators and presenters that includes the likes of fitness influencer Paige Summerton and ‘Teacher Series’ host Kyron Hamilton. Her past employers have included RCA Records and Adidas.

MVE SVP Dean Ondrus Coulson, who runs MVE US with Claudia Parrinello, said Harding “shares our talent first mindset and comes with a wealth of experience.”

Harding added: “The London and LA offices are best in class. I hold absolute confidence in the agencies continued success as trailblazers within the new media landscape and as representatives of the next generation of entertainment talent. In parallel with our ongoing delivery of providing transformational business for our clients and powered by MVE’s pioneering culture, I look forward to driving competitive advantage for those who are redefining stage and screen and the future CEOs of disruptor brands.”

MVE, which is backed by IMG, opened in LA last year, at which point it rebranded from Magravine. The MVE US roster includes fashion influencer Delaney Childs and Canadian LGBTQ+ content creator Myles Sexton. Sugg also runs a BBC Studios-backed production company, Final Straw Productions.

Harding, who was with YMU for nearly three years, is one of a number who have exited in recent weeks. Deadline has just revealed that Rebecca Dowell and Lizzie Barroll Brown have also departed, taking the likes of Munya Chawawa, Amelia Dimoldenberg, Rob Rinder and Angela Scanlon with them.