Bleakley Quits Impact

Tim Bleakley, managing director of The Wireless Group’s national sales house, Impact, has quit the company.

Bleakley left last Friday on “good terms” and will be replaced by Impact’s sales director, Jason Trout. Trout will oversee Impact’s 35 strong team and will take on responsibility for sales across talkSPORT and the 22 local stations affiliated to The Wireless Group.

Bleakley’s resignation has fuelled speculation that the long-term future of Impact is in doubt. However, a spokesperson for The Wireless Group was quick to dismiss rumours that the sales house is facing closure, saying: “That is nonsense. Everyone is very happy with the way Impact is performing.”

Bleakley, who joined Talk Radio as a sales director in 1997, was instrumental in the creation of Impact. TalkSPORT’s chief executive, Kelvin MacKenzie, said: “Tim was a great asset to the company as it developed.”

The news of Bleakley’s departure follows yesterday’s announcement that The Wireless Group is selling Wave 105 FM to Scottish Radio Holdings for £18m to finance the repayment of its remaining bank debt (see Wireless Offloads Wave 105 In Debt Clearance).

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