Capital on slide after loss of Tarrant

CAPITAL Radio's profits plunged by 18% last year as it lost its star breakfast presenter Chris Tarrant and surrendered to Heart its slot as London's leading commercial radio station.

The group, which owns a further 20 stations as well as flagship 95.8 Capital FM, had already warned investors that its revenues had fallen by 4% to £115m in the year which ended in September.

But the £5m drop in profits before tax and exceptional items to £22.8m took them to the lower end of City forecasts.

Chief executive David Mansfield said that in London Capital FM still has more listeners than Heart even if the fact they listen for less time means that it has a lower audience share.

'We are confident that the management and programming changes at 95.8 Capital FM will reclaim listening hours in the long term,' he said.

'With greater visibility and positive revenue forecasts for the current quarter, we remain cautiously optimistic of early signs of an improvement in the advertising market as a whole.'

Mansfield added that outside London the Century network in the North of England had increased in listeners and revenues.