Local radio in sound health following investment

A Yorkshire group of radio stations is tuned for further success following investment from Finance Yorkshire.

Trax FM and sister stations Rother, Dearne and Ridings FM are all transmitted from studios in Doncaster and between them attract a weekly audience of more than 200,000 listeners.

A £50,000 Finance Yorkshire Business Loan is providing the business with the capital expenditure for a transmission system and installation in replacement of paying lease costs for a transmitter. The new transmitter site is located in the centre of Doncaster.

The four Yorkshire stations are part of the Lincs FM Group which operates other local stations, covering areas such as Humberside and Lincolnshire.

Finance Yorkshire has previously supported Trax FM to improve its studio spaces, facilitating the move to modernise the studios and update equipment.

Group Chief Executive Michael Betton said: “Having the transmitter under our control is much better and will enable us to further improve the quality of our programming and services to the local area.

“We believe radio, and especially local radio, has a fantastic future – it’s very compatible with modern day life and it performs a key role in cementing local communities. We provide a really local service which results in listeners having great enthusiasm for the area in which they live.”

Finance Yorkshire’s David Ward said: “Since its launch in September 1999, Trax FM has gone from strength to strength, driven by a team which is passionate about the service it can provide to local communities. With our support, Trax FM has the ambition and ability to attract additional commercial interest and further grow its audience share.”

To date, Finance Yorkshire has invested over £103 million in Yorkshire and Humber, enabling companies to increase their turnover by £366 million and attract a further £257 million from other private sector sources. Through this activity, Finance Yorkshire investment has helped those SMEs to create and safeguard more than 11,000 jobs in the region.

Finance Yorkshire provides seedcorn, loan and equity linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to meet their funding requirements for growth and development.

The project is supported financially by the European Union. It has attracted investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme, UK Government and the European Investment Bank. Finance Yorkshire is also supported by the Regional Growth Fund.

For more information about Finance Yorkshire, please visit www.finance-yorkshire.com or call 0300 030 6060.

Note: this news article is from Finance Yorkshire’s previous fund. Read more about Finance Yorkshire