ITV in £120m bond plan

STRUGGLING broadcast giant ITV is looking to raise £120m to cut debt by selling bonds.

The maker of Manchester-based Coronation Street, already suffering from the effects of a slump in advertising revenues is also searching for a new chairman and chief executive.

Yesterday Altrincham-born Sir Michael Bishop, the former boss of airline BMI, rejected the chance to take over the chairmanship. Last month, ITV’s talks with ex BSkyB chief Tony Ball broke down.

In a trading update, the company warned revenue from advertising was set to fall by 3% in October from a year ago, but said it was outperforming rivals.

This represents an improvement on its last trading update in early August, when ITV forecast a 12% fall in quarterly revenues and a 7% drop in September.

The broadcaster also said it had decided not to sell its digital transmission business SDN, and has instead redeployed it as an asset for its pension scheme, which will ease the pressure to cut the deficit there.