on the stock exchange in the early part of 1995. Wheatly sold Viva AM which was losing £100,000 a month before the sale for £3 million to Mohamed Al-Fayed as part of his cost-cutting plans. After 15 months of being branded as JFM, in the autumn of 1995 the name reverted to Jazz FM after Wheatly asked the Radio Authority for approval to change the name of the station back from JFM to Jazz FM. The change back to Jazz FM was reported to have cost £900,000. Golden Rose Communications opened a jazz themed restaurant, Cafe Jazbar in Liverpool in April 1997. The restaurant was operated under a joint venture with Regent Inns. A travel service in partnership with Thomas Cook Group and British Airways was also set up. There were plans for jazz retail outlets named "Jazshops" to sell CDs and merchandise. In December 1997, Golden Rose Communications planned to make a bid for Melody 105.4 FM which failed. The station was purchased by EMAP and rebranded Magic 105.4 FM. Beginning in 1998, Jazz FM wanted to expand its operation across the UK. The station made bids to run stations on FM frequencies in Central Scotland, the North East of England, South Wales, Yorkshire, the West Midlands, and Glasgow. Jazz FM withdrew from bidding for an FM licence in the East Midlands because chief executive Richard Wheatly believed that a dance station would secure the licence. The East Midlands FM licence was awarded to Saga 106.6 FM which started broadcasting in 2003. Jazz FM did become a member of the MXR consortium and did launch on DAB multiplexes operated by MXR as well as Switch Digital multiplexes in London and Central Scotland. The station signed a deal with Clear Channel Communications in February 1999. The deal not only invested £3 million into the station but also allowed Jazz FM to advertise on unused advertising billboards. On 12 December 1999, Golden Rose Communications changed its name to Jazz FM plc. In January 2002, Jazz FM plc made a £20 million bid for London talk radio station London News Radio. The bid was backed by the Guardian Media Group (GMG) and Clear Channel International. If the bid had succeeded, the station would have combined London News Radio's operations with its own to save money. The station was later sold to the Chrysalis Group for £23.5 million. In May 2002, GMG made