GCap Media has today
announced it has acquired a majority stake in welovelocal.com, the UK?s local business directory and social networking service. Welovelocal.com officially launched nationwide in December 2007.
Radio network GCap made an offer of £450,000 GBP for the deal which was accepted by
welovelocal.com founders Duncan and Max Jennings. GCap has further made promise to pay a total of £150,000 over the next few weeks, subject to deliverables being met.
Fru Hazlitt chief executive of
GCap comments on the deal says ?Welovelocal.com is a business in its infancy but is already showing excellent audience growth. We will be able to accelerate this growth in a way that reinforces our connection to our local communities. We will integrate its listings and reviews into our Capital 95.8 and One Network sites, enhance and support the on-air experience across these stations and develop
welovelocal.com into the leading user generated reviews site in the UK.?
GCap are the largest commercial radio network in the UK with over forty radio stations including Capital 95.8, XFM and Classic FM. GCap will combine welovelocal.com?s network with its own local radio brands to enhance the broadband strategy announced by the company in February 2008.
Duncan Jennings, co-founder of welovelocal.com, ?This is the first deal of its kind to really leverage an established media company's audience in order to grow a market leading user-generated community website. Welovelocal.com has grown enormously in the few short months since our nationwide launch. We now have the opportunity to build on this early success and hit a critical mass of local business reviews through collaborating with GCap's millions of listeners. This will set us apart from our competitors and significantly increase our advertisers' exposure."
?This (the majority stake of welovelocal.com) will allow us to build commercially attractive online communities of interest, to exploit our local presence and access new classified revenue streams,? concludes Hazlitt.
GCap has been in acquisition talks with Global Radio UK since January 2008. Global must make a firm intent to buy GCap by 26 March 2008. GCap rejected the initial offer from Global Radio UK of £1.90 per share in January and then again an offer of £2.02 (per share) in February.