Allied Radio plc was a publicly listed radio company that operated, or held an interest in, several

Independent Local Radio Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. As a result of the buyouts and mergers permitted by the Broadcasting Act 1990, and deregulation resulting from the Communications Act 2 ...

contractors in the UK during the 1990s.

History

Allied Radio plc was created when the Crawley-based Independent Local Radio station, Radio Mercury plc merged with the Guildford-based ILR contractors, County Sound plc in August 1991.Third Mile Buys Radio Stations. ''The Times''. 24 August 1991, Business Section. The new company initially broadcast six stations to an area covering Guildford and Haslemere, (Ex-County Sound) Crawley and Horsham (Ex-Radio Mercury)Radio Mercury Station Info
This is ILR (Page No Longer Available, Retrieved from the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

). and Gatwick and Heathrow Airports (Airport Information Radio).Airport Information Radio
This is ILR (Page No Longer Available, Retrieved from the

). Live presentation on Airport Information Radio was stopped in favour of a pre-recorded service, on 18 November 1991,Airport Information Radio
This is ILR (Page No Longer Available, Retrieved from the

). and the station was closed by Allied Radio in February 1992.Two Radio Stations. ''Evening Standard''. 11 February 1992, p.12. The remaining stations were consolidatedMartin, Stephen, Wallace, Rob and Williams, Nigel (2008). ''We'll Always Be Here''. County Sound Radio. 4 April 2008. 9am-10am. (Available fro
TVI Website
). into an FM station, Radio Mercury FM, with County Sound Radio AM being the name for the combined AM service (although this became Mercury Extra within a year). Allied Radio held a stake in Midlands Radio plc, who owned BRMB, Mercia FM, Trent FM,

Leicester Sound Leicester Sound was an Independent Local Radio station which broadcast to Leicestershire. The station merged with two other East Midlands stations, Trent FM and Ram FM to form Capital FM East Midlands (part of Global's The Capital FM Network, C ...

, GEM AM and Xtra AM.XTRA AM – Classic Hit Radio 1152 & 1359
, MDS975. Midlands Radio plc was taken over by Capital Radio plc in 1993.Capital Radio plc
Encyclopedia.com. Birmingham

Country Radio Country radio refers to radio stations that play country music. Most country radio stations are commercial radio stations. Most country radio stations usually play only music which has been officially released to country radio by record labels. T ...

, who applied for the Birmingham incremental station licence (held at that time by Buzz FM) in February 1994, were backed by Allied Radio plc. Birmingham Country Radio were unsuccessful and the licence was awarded to Choice FM who went on air on 1 January 1995.The Rhythm of the City 102.4 Buzz FM
, MDS975. In April 1994, Allied Radio announced plans for a capital reconstruction and a rights issue. Shares were suspended at 10 ½ p, at the company's request, pending the publication of accounts and clarification of the company's financial position.Allied Radio Issue. ''The Times''. 6 April 1994, Business Section, p.24. Fortune 1458 AM went on-air on 20 June 1994 with Allied Radio increasing their stake in the company at the end of October 1994. Meanwhile, the Mercury stations were experiencing a sharp reduction in listeners (especially on the former County Sound frequencies) at the same time as the Guildford licences were due to come to an end. The new Guildford licence was won by the UKRD Group subsidiary; Surrey and North East Hampshire Radio Ltd, and Allied Radio sold the last seven months of its Guildford licence (originally due to end in April 1996) to the incoming company for £192,500 on 17 August 1995. Allied Radio was taken over by Independent Radio Group plc in March 1996.Independent Radio Group
UK Business Park(Page No Longer Available, Retrieved from the

Operations

Holdings

* Radio Mercury plc Independent Local Radio Contractor for Reigate and Crawley. * County Sound plc Independent Local Radio Contractor for Guildford and Haslemere. *Fortune 1458 LtdAllied Radio plc Mergers and Acquisitions
AlacraStore.com.
Nova 106. Independent Local Radio Contractor for Manchester. * Country 1035 (Originally London Country Radio) Independent Local Radio Contractor for London (Consortium Member). * Midlands Radio plc Independent Local Radio Group in the Midlands. *Birmingham Country Radio Birmingham Incremental Station Licence Applicant (Backers).

Staff

Included: * John Aumonier – Group Managing Director (1992), Non-Executive Director (1992 onwards)Appointments: Lep Links at an end. ''Financial Times''. 10 January 1992, p.30. * Martin Campbell – Station Programme Controller * Nicholas Change - Group Development Director (1992), Non-Executive Director (1992 onwards) * Andrew Dean – Sales Controller (1991–1995) * Tim GillAbout Ashford Local Radio
Ashford Local Radio (Page No Longer Available, Retrieved from the

). * Neil Macadam – Sales Controller (1995–1996) * Peter S Perry – Managing Director * Ken Pritchard-Jones – Chairman (1991–1994)County Sound Radio History and Simon Cummings
, MDS975. * Martyn Rose * Brian Rowbotham – Chairman (1994–1996)Advent Underwriting Ltd – Board of Directors : Brian Rowbotham
Advent Group. * Peter Saunders – Non-Executive Director * John Wellington – Group Programme Director * Dan Wright – Commercial ProducerDan Wright - Profile
LinkedIn.

Offices

Allied Radio plc was based at the original Radio Mercury studios at Broadfield House, Crawley.

Ownership

The French radio network, Europe 1 held a stake in Allied Radio plc.Snoddy, Raymond (1993). Radio Watchdog Gets Howls of Complaint: The Finances Behind the Controversial Award of the Capital’s Speech Franchises to London Radio News. ''Financial Times''. 5 October 1993, p.10.

Allied Radio plc Today

*Radio Mercury plc DMG Radio agreed to buy Radio Mercury plc (by then, Radio Mercury Ltd) from the Independent Radio Group plc on 20 November 1998 for £3.75 million.DMG Radio Australia to Acquire Radio Mercury
DMGT News Releases, Daily Mail and General Trust. The deal was completed after Radio Authority approval on 8 February 1999.DMG Radio Australia Acquisition of Radio Mercury Limited
DMGT News Releases, Daily Mail and General Trust. Fame 1521 became Breeze 1521 in 1999, an opt-out of Breeze 1359 and 1431 AM in Essex (also owned by DMG Radio). Mercury FM and Breeze 1521 came under the ownership of

GWR Group GCap Media was a British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group. The merger was completed on 9 May 2005. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Inde ...

in 2000.Consolidation of DMG Radio Australia into GWR Group plc
DMGT News Releases, Daily Mail and General Trust. GWR renamed Breeze 1521, for the fifth time in nine years, to Classic Gold Breeze 1521 in January 2001.Station Directory, Independer, SE
, Frequency Finder UK and Ireland. Later in 2001, Classic Gold Breeze 1521 was sold, yet again, to along with several other Classic Gold Stations to UBC.UBC to acquire GWR Stations
Media Week. Under UBC, the name was later adjusted to Classic Gold 1521.Blackmore, Tim (2005).
Letter to Ruth John at Ofcom
''. 24 November 2005 (Available fro
Ofcom
website). Mercury FM came under the ownership of GCap Media plc, when GWR Group plc merged with Capital Radio plc in May 2005.Whitehead, Jennifer (2005)
Capital and GWR to Rename Merged £700m Radio Group as GCap
''Brand Republic''. 18 March 2005 (Available fro
Brand Republic
website). GCap also reacquired the Classic Gold Network in April 2007 (these stations had originally been own by GCap predecessor GWR Group plc), renaming it simply ‘

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

’ on 3 August 2007.Wilkes, Neil (2007)
GCap Launches ‘Gold’ Network
''Digital Spy''. 25 July 2007 (Available fro
Digital Spy
website). Thus Classic Gold 1521 became Gold Sussex and Surrey. Mercury FM and Gold Sussex and Surrey were purchased owned by

Global Radio Global Media & Entertainment Limited, trading as Global, is a British media company formed in 2007. It is the owner of the largest commercial radio company in Europe having expanded through a number of historical acquisitions, including Chrysal ...

who acquired GCap Media plc on 31 March 2008.Welsh, James (2008
Global to Acquire GCap for £375m
''Digital Spy''. 31 March 2008 (Available fro
Digital Spy
website). Mercury FM was closed on 26 July 2010, and the former Mercury FM frequencies now broadcast a new service called Heart Sussex and Surrey.Plunkett, John (2010)
Global Radio to Halve Number of Local Heart Stations
''The Guardian''. 21 June 2010 (Available fro
Guardian
website). *County Sound plc After the sale to Surrey and North East Hampshire Radio Ltd, all services were renamed County Sound RadioThe History of Our Station
County Sound Radio (Page No Longer Available, Retrieved from the

). with the 96.4 FM service becoming 96.4 The Eagle on 4 January 1996, the 97.1 FM service becoming Delta Radio on 9 May 1996 and the 1476 AM service keeping the County Sound Radio name. The AM frequency was changed to 1566 kHz in 1999. Delta Radio merged with Wey Valley Radio in Alton in November 1998 and the station, renamed Delta FM, was sold to Tindle Newspaper Group. County Sound Radio and 96.4 The Eagle are still owned by UKRD Group and are now based at Dolphin House, Guildford.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Companies based in Crawley Radio stations in Sussex 1991 establishments in England