plc is a
British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group. The merger was completed in May
2005 .
For the first five months the group was run by Ralph Bernard (ex-GWR) as Executive Chairman, and David Mansfield (ex-Capital Radio Group) as CEO. David Mansfield stepped down on the afternoon of September 19th 2005, with Ralph Bernard taking over both roles.
Capital Radio Group was, until May 2005, a
London -based
British radio group. The company was originally set up to operate a General Entertainment
Independent Local Radio service in
October 1973 .
Capital Radio was the second legal commercial radio station to launch in the UK, a few days after London news station
LBC . In the
1980s the station was allowed to operate separate services on AM and FM.
Changes to media ownership laws meant that Capital Radio Group was able to acquire other stations throughout the UK, becoming a powerful player in the UK's commercial radio industry; before the merger with GWR, Capital Radio Group controlled 22 analogue and 59 digital radio licences. In July 1998, Capital Radio Group bought the financially troubled "alternative" radio station,
XFM .
In the early 21st Century, Capital Radio Group expanded its range of FM stations, and also started broadcasting digital-only stations such as Capital Disney and Capital Life.
GWR Group was a
British Radio company with major assets including the nationwide station
Classic FM and an extensive network of independent local radio stations.
Between 1996 and 1999 GWR was a major shareholder in
London News Radio , which owned and operated London's
LBC and
News Direct radio stations. These stations were sold to
Chrysalis Radio in
2002 .
GWR was owned by
Daily Mail And General Trust Plc (majority share), various asset management firms,
Sir Peter Michael and other small shareholders. Until the merger, the group was chaired by
Ralph Bernard and its head office was in Passage Street,
Bristol .
GWR attempted to revolutionise local radio with its policy of branding its stations with similar phrases, initially "today's best mix" or "the best mix of the 80s, 90s and today." This allowed it to syndicate a number of programmes across its network of radio stations. It currently has four main syndicated programmes: Music Control (previously Core Control, weekdays 7pm to 10pm (and 7-9 on Fridays)), Late Night Love (Sunday to Thursday 10pm to 1am) presented by
Graham Torrington ,
Ministry Of Sound (previously Vibe Nation) presented by
Howard Ritchie (Friday and Saturday nights) and Sunday Revival (Sunday mornings). The stations are usually the commercial market leader in the areas in which they operate, and GWR enjoyed much financial success as a result.
