NEWS: THE LOCAL RADIO COMPANY PLC SELLS LOSSMAKING WINCHESTER STATION 'WIN FM' FOR 400,000 by GRANT

GODDARD

www.grantgoddard.co.uk September 2006

The Local Radio Company plc [TLRC] has sold its Winchester station 'Win FM' for 400,000 cash. The station currently reaches only 9,400 adults per week and ranks seventh in a market of 69,000 adults where BBC national networks hold first, second and third place. In the nine months to 30 June 2006, Win recorded an operating loss of 135,000 on turnover of 126,000 and has liabilities of 898,000 since launching in 1999. Richard Wheatly, TLRC Chief Executive, said: We acquired Win FM as part of our original acquisition of Radio Investments. It has been significantly lossmaking over the last few years. In our interim statement, we said that stations that did not respond to profit improvement plans would be traded out of the group. This is the first such move, and we will continue to review our portfolio. We believe that the price of 2.4 times annual sales is a good one and reflects the considerable underlying value of the Companys assets. Since the announcement of our Interim results, the environment in the radio sector has remained challenging. July was a weak month for the market as a whole and, although we have seen some recovery in August, there is not yet any evidence of an overall improvement in the advertising sales environment. TLRCs share price has recently recovered to 18p from last months all-time low of 15p, although analysts anticipate the company will be acquired or merged, due to its disappointing performance.

[Submitted to 'The Radio Magazine', unpublished]

Grant Goddard is a media analyst / radio specialist / radio consultant with thirty years of experience in the broadcasting industry, having held senior management and consultancy roles within the commercial media sector in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Details at http://www.grantgoddard.co.uk

News: The Local Radio Company plc Sells Loss-Making Winchester Station 'Win FM' For 400,000 2006 Grant Goddard

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