French radio group NRJ may be winding up to its first move into the UK radio market, according to a report in today’s Financial Times. The paper says that NRJ’s founder and chairman, Jean-Paul Baudecroux, believes he could teach a thing or two to the UK’s radio operators.
Analysts at ABN Amro say that the UK market offers NRJ a slightly higher growth rate: French radio growth is expected to slow this year from 13.6% to 4%, whilst the UK radio market grows at 5% (down from 14.4% last year).
However, ABN says that whilst NRJ has little debt, its ability to raise cash for an acquisition is relatively limited.