Radio UK Holdings has given back the licence they won to serve Plymouth. The company, owned by Macquarie Bank Limited, won the licence in March 2006 and was expected to launch as Diamond FM next year. Rival bidders took the case to the government after the award objecting to the decision.
Ofcom are now re-advertising the licence. Original bidders for the licence were Armada FM (UTV Radio), Drake FM, Plymouth Live and Radio Plymouth.
Diamond FM's website, which previously advertised jobs at the station, is now unavailable. The Australian owned company won the licence with the help of former Emap boss Tim Schoonmaker, and despite repeated assurances that it still wanted to launch the station, the industry questioned the future of the group in the UK radio market.
The Macquarie application can be viewed [link=http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ifi/rbl/car/ifmapps/plymouth/diamondfm.pdf]here[/link] in PDF format.