THE Kent Messenger Group has strengthened its position in local radio broadcasting by acquiring two more radio stations in the north and west of the county.

The group has reached agreement with GWR Radio Ltd to purchase, for an undisclosed sum, the Mercury FM operations at Medway and Tonbridge.

The new stations will become part of KM Radio Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kent Messenger Group that already owns Neptune Radio 96.4FM, 106.8FM(Folkestone and Dover), TLR 107.2FM (Thanet) and CTFM 106FM (Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable).

The addition of the new stations will almost double KM Radio¹s reach to more than 146,000 listeners a week. Between them, the five stations provide more than 1.4 million hours of listening a week. (Source: RAJAR/IPSOS-RSL December 2001).

Kent Messenger Group managing director David Lewis, said: "We are delighted to welcome Mercury FM into our family of local radio stations. The development of locally focused stations is a key part of our media strategy.

"Each of our stations is a vital part of its community. The Mercury stations will be re-branded and promoted strongly. Since CTFM, TLR and Neptune came under KM Radio ownership, listener figures have increased and we look forward to offering the same quality service and opportunities to our new listeners and advertisers in Medway, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells."

Each of the KM Radio stations has its own independent news service, reporting on local issues, organisations, businesses and personalities.

The Kent Messenger Group has introduced an innovative Sight and Sound package that allows advertisers the choice of benefiting simultaneously from both its radio and newspaper media.

The frequencies of the newly acquired stations are: Mercury Medway 107.9FM and Mercury Tonbridge 96.2FM. As with its earlier radio acquisitions, the company will have to satisfy a public interest test by the Radio Authority.