The Ofex-quoted Ritz Music Group, which is the record label for Daniel O'Donnell, has acquired a London radio station, Country 1035, to be used as a promotional vehicle for its stable of artists.
Mr Paddy Prendergast, Ritz chief executive, said yesterday the station would be an important element in the development of the two record labels which Ritz owns - Grapevine and Ritz Records.
He said Country 1035 was a London-wide country music station "in the strictest sense of the word" but would be playing popular country & western artists such as The Mavericks, Shania Twain and Leann Rimes. "We want to broaden the format to reflect the way country music has broadened," he said.
Mr Prendergast refused to divulge how much was paid for the station which was owned by the media group, Cie Luxembourgeoise de Telediffusion (CLT).
Ritz is expected to announce results today showing a turnover figure of about £8 million sterling with profits of more than £500,000 following its acquisition of Grapevine, in which Mr Prendergast was a majority stakeholder, for £3 million last year.
Mr Prendergast said the company would be seeking a full listing on the London Stock Exchange in spring rather than before the year's end. "Market conditions in general are not good enough right now.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/VR3765MFOBH2NMV2QNICYDF67M.png)