Dyke’s Granada Holdings May Cause Conflict Of Interest

Greg Dyke, the incoming director general of the BBC, is facing pressure to sell his shares in media and hospitality group Granada, following criticisms that the holding represents a conflict of interest.

According to press reports today, Dyke has been given until April to relinquish the stake in Granada, which is expected to fetch around £6 million. Dyke has been forced to sell holdings in a number of commercial media groups ahead of taking the top post at the BBC at the end of this month.

It is expected that the former chairman of Pearson Television will want to hold on to the Granada shares until April as they are currently gaining value. Granada has written to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) seeking permission to make a takeover bid for either Carlton Communications or United News & Media (UNM).

Carlton and UNM have already agreed their own merger, but a similar investigation into this by the OFT is likely to take longer than Granada’s proposal. This may give Granada the opportunity to scupper the Carlton/UNM deal before it is allowed to be completed.

BBC Television Centre: 020 8743 8000 Granada: 020 7620 1620