Trax FM

Business Loans Case Study

The Lincs FM Group is one of the country’s leading commercial radio station operators, comprising of eight stations across Yorkshire and the Midlands. They include Trax FM and sister stations Rother, Dearne and Ridings FM.

The company

Trax FM and its sister stations are transmitted from studios in Doncaster and between them attract a weekly audience of more than 200,000 listeners. The stations cover towns including Barnsley, Rotherham, Wakefield and Doncaster.

The challenge

The business wanted to stop paying lease costs for a transmitter and invest in a new transmitter site in the centre of Doncaster.

Finance Yorkshire Involvement

A £50,000 Business Loan provided Trax FM with the capital expenditure for a transmission system and installation in replacement of paying the lease costs.

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

The investment rationale

David Ward, portfolio manager at Finance Yorkshire, 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.”

Future expectations

Lincs FM 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.”

Note: this case study is from Finance Yorkshire’s previous fund. Read more about Finance Yorkshire