The book and the brewer part ways as Guinness records is sold

Trivial it is not. Guinness World Records, the definitive reference guide for collectors of incidental information, has been sold for £49m to a media company intent on cashing in on the book's worldwide reputation.

Gullane Entertainment, the driving force behind Thomas the Tank Engine, Captain Pugwash, Sooty and Art Attack! wants to broaden the range of television programmes linked to the name, including more live record-breaking events.

The company also wants to increase the number of licensed products directed at the brand's core market of boys aged eight to 13. Since 1955 the guide has been a mine of interesting, but often irrelevant, information ranging from the person who has eaten the most live cockroaches in a minute to the fastest ketchup drinker.

Gullane bought the Guinness World Records business, which includes the British Book of Hit Singles, from the food and drinks group Diageo after the companies spent the weekend locked in negotiations to complete the deal. Diageo, which also owns the brewer Guinness Ltd, declared in March it wanted to sell the title, saying it was no longer a "core interest".

The sale marks the first time the book and the brewer have not been owned by the same company. Only the Bible, the Koran and Mao Zedong's Little Red Book have sold more copies than the World Records publication. A source at Diageo said the sale was "the end of an epoch for record breaking".

The Guinness Book of Records was created in 1955 when the McWhirter twins, Norris and Ross, were commissioned by its originator, Sir High Beaver, at the time the managing director of Guinness.

The book has since parted company with Norris McWhirter, who became famous as the all-knowing presenter of the BBC children's series Record Breakers.

With a turnover of about £23m and profits of about £6m, sales of the book are mostly just before Christmas and are particularly strong in the United States and in Japan.

The annual reaches more than 70 million customers in 82 countries, and is published in 24 languages.

William Harris, the chief executive of Gullane, said: "Guinness World Records is an outstanding property, which significantly enhances Gullane's position as a family entertainment studio. Intellectual property like this does not come up very often. It's a global brand with a global reach and that's why we were so keen to get hold of it."

Diageo's finance director, Nick Rose, said: "We're confident that Gullane will provide Guinness World Records with the right platform for its further development." Guinness World Records is likely to the first in a line of disposals by the food and drink multinational. Other brands the company may sell include its Burger King franchises and Oddbins high street off-licences.

Guinness World Records has about 50,000 records in its files and employs a team of 13 full-time staff.