Stephen Lansdown, co-founder of Bristol-based investment platform and wealth manager Hargreaves Lansdown, is reportedly backing a major new venture by ex-Sun editor Kelvin Mackenzie to launch two new radio stations.

The project, which will be headed by former talkSPORT chief executive and ex-Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie, will launch CitiTalk and CitiSport radio stations in 2018, according to the respected radio industry website Radio Today.

Stephen Lansdown, who is the owner of Bristol City FC, will back Kelvin MacKenzie’s the new two speech stations in London which will broadcast on AM and DAB. One will focus on sports talk and the other on general news topics and debate. The venture will also receive the backing of Nigel Wray, who owns the Saracens rugby club and Richard Murray, Charlton FC director. 

The RadioToday website reported that the sports radio channels’ medium wave frequency will be 558 AM and the project was recently given permission to begin broadcasting through airwaves by Ofcom.

Financial Planning Today contacted Steven Lansdown but was unable to obtain a response in time of publication. Any future response from Mr Lansdown will be added here.

Together with Peter Hargreaves, Mr Lansdown co-founded Hargreaves Lansdown, one of the most successful financial services firms set up in the UK in the past 30 years. 

The company, based in Bristol, provides financial products and services to 1m clients and is a FTSE 100 company. Mr Lansdown, who was award the CBE earlier this year for services to financial services and sport in the Bristol area, is widely reported to have a net worth of over £1bn. He now lives in Guernsey.

Both he and Mr Hargreaves remain major shareholders in HL but have stood down from executive roles in recent years.

The Financial Planning firm recently joined the Association of British Insurers as its first platform provider member.