Contenders tune up for radio licence

FIVE groups are in the running to secure a licence to run a commercial radio station covering the midlands and the north-east.

The licence looks set to be hotly contested, with several well-known names from the media and leisure industry fronting bids.

Former Irish soccer international and current Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn is backing one consortium. His FM107 group is also backed by Midlands 103 station and Celtic Media, the Scottish publishing company which owns the Meath Chronicle and the Anglo Celt newspapers.