Emoa Group

Emoa Group Plc (LSE: EMOA) is a public limited limited conglomerate, with activities cheifly in the media industry, but also with other interests in communications, entertainment, leisure and catering. The company is most notable for its 60% shareholding stake in Network Six broadcaster, Emoa Television, which accounts for around 51% of its revenue. Emoa Group currently operates:


 * 62.5% of Emoa Television Ltd
 * 62.5% of Emoa Productions Ltd
 * 62.5% of Emoa North East Ltd
 * 62.5% of Mercia Television Ltd


 * 100% of Emoa Performance Ltd
 * 62.5% of Neptune Television Ltd
 * 100% of Emoa Media Ltd
 * 100% of Emoa Longsight Ltd


 * 15% of Aquidia Holdings Ltd
 * 15% of Caledonia Media plc
 * 10% of Carte Regal Media
 * 10% of Vanquish Broadcasting Ltd
 * 7.5% of Apollo Media plc
 * 100% of Emoa Radio
 * 100% of glizz Leisure plc

Board
The Emoa Group board consists of 13 members:
 * Chairman
 * CEO
 * Vice-Chairman / Emoa Group Financial Assistant

10 of which are non-executive directors:


 * NETV Managing Director
 * NETV Regional Operating Director
 * Mercia General Operations Manager
 * Mercia Subregional Leader(s)
 * Emoa Productions Managing Director
 * Technical Director
 * Emoa Group Financial Director
 * Emoa Group Peripheral Assets Manager
 * Emoa Television New Media, Commissioning and Licensing Director
 * Emoa Television Programming and Networking Director

Formal board meetings are held in the Cheviot Studios, Newcastle.

Under Emoa ownership, GTV was also represented by the board. The GTV Managing Director was only required to attend 5 of the 16 annual formal meetings, however the remainder were often fulfilled by video links. GTV possessed its own informal board of 5 managers. GTV's two executive representation was reduced to one in April 2009, and removed altogether in September 2009 after its purchase by Caledonia Media. Since CM is minority-owned by Emoa Group, it is now represented through the Peripheral Assets Manager, who also represents Glizz Leisure and other small shareholdings owned by the Group. Neptune was also represented under its own Team Leader who sat on the board until January 2010, when the position was re-defined as "Technical Director". Radio is the only asset not directly represented by a single board member.

History
Emoa Group, as Emoa Networks Ltd, was formed in 2001 by a number of Newcastle-based ICT technicians and focused on computer networking, online hosting and business telephony services accross the North of England. It became a publically listed company on 12 July 2003 as Emoa Networks plc. Through a long period of instability and lack of company focus, it merged with Neptune Television plc in 2006, although it was a takeover in-effect by Emoa Networks. Throughout 2006 and 2007, it re-emphasised its focus on the media industry, selling most of its network businesses (along with Neptune's advertising and technical arms), and moved from Carlisle to Newcastle in July 2006. Its name changed to Emoa Group plc in July 2007.

Emoa Group's core business is within television, but since 2008 it has branched out into the radio industry and in 2009, the entertainment and catering businesses. A major re-organisation in 2010 saw a number of subsidiaries moved within the group, and the creation of a new core subsidiary - Emoa Performance - which deals with administration and shared services for Emoa Television, Emoa Radio and Glizz Leisure. Emoa Performance itself is 100% owned by Emoa Group, however the Emoa Neptune arm within Performance is only held 62.5% by Emoa Group - a legacy of its former ownership by the Emoa Television consortium. Neptune is the oldest part of the business, dating back to 1990.

Emoa Group plc also holds minor shares in other Network Six broadcasters, Aquidia Holdings, V Group and Regal Media. Emoa Group's share in Emoa Television is currently at 62.5%. After the merger of Emoa and Neptune, Emoa Networks held an 80% share in Emoa Television, with the remaining 20% being held by EMAP plc (15%) and Cellcast Media Ltd (5%). In December 2006, Emoa Networks sold a further 20% to Armada Media and V Group jointly, before re-purchasing EMAP and Cellcast's shares in March 2007. 10% was then sold to Taff Media in April 2007, before a further 10% was sold to fourtsnmedia in July. Emoa Group then held 60% of Emoa Television until January 2009, when the company re-purchased Taff Media's 10% stake in Emoa Television, rising its share to 70%. It however later redistributed 5% of that total to foutsnmedia, and 2.5% to Armada, so therefore Emoa Group retains 62.5%, fourtsnmedia holds 15%, Armada Media holds 12.5% and V Group holds 10%.



In March 2009, Emoa Group purchased glizz Leisure plc, an entertainment business which operated 12 nightclubs and 2 multiplex cinemas across the UK, for an "undisclosed sum". Emoa has worked alongside glizz since 2006, as the company is the landlord of Emoa's Cheviot Studios site, formally a cinema (named Jupiter) and nightclub complex. Glizz owns the core nightclub brands Power/Lush (22 clubs), Cosmo (7 clubs), Atlantica (12 clubs) and Starbar (16 clubs), some of which were acquired following the 2010 purchase of British Entertainment Ltd (BEL). The purchase of BEL increased Glizz's venues to 57 nightclubs, 15 pubs and 2 multiplex cinemas, in addition to the Cosmo, Atlantica, Starbar, Navigator and Wildfire Pubs brands. Following the merger, the company has merged a number of similar Glizz and BEL brands, leading to a number of venues being converted, re-branded or sold to other companies.

In September 2009 following a re-structure at GTV which transferred ownership of the franchise to Caledonia Media, Emoa Television (as a subsidiary of Emoa Group) sold a 85% controlling stake of Caledonia Media to Forest Media.

Emoa Group unveiled its new corporate identity in May 2011, which will see all Emoa-branded businesses change to the new logo throughout mid-2011, starting with Emoa Productions and ending with Neptune in October 2011.