Yorkshire radio station to be sold

GLOBAL Radio must sell Real or Capital radio in Yorkshire after falling foul of the regulator on its £70m acquisition of GMG Radio last year.

The Competition Commission said the deal, which involved the acquisition of Real and Smooth stations in nine areas, was likely to lead to higher advertising rates in seven of these locations.

A further seven stations must be sold in the North West, the East Midlands, Cardiff and South Wales, North Wales, the North East, and central Scotland. London and the West Midlands were cleared.

Pre-merger, Global Radio operated the Heart, Capital, LBC, Classic FM, Gold and Xfm radio brands across the UK, while Salford-based GMG Radio ran several stations under the Real or Smooth brands.

Simon Polito, chairman of the Global/GMG Radio inquiry, said: “Radio advertising prices are negotiated and smaller and medium-sized companies in particular rely on the presence of competing commercial stations in their local areas to negotiate a good deal.

“In each of the seven areas, the merger would mean the loss of either the only main competitor or one of the three main alternatives. These smaller advertisers would stand to lose most from this loss of rivalry. Requiring Global to sell stations to new owners in the affected areas will preserve competition and protect these advertisers’ interests.”