In September 2004, ITV plc purchased STV Group's 25% stake in GMTV for £31 million,[REF] after being given the go ahead from the Office of Fair Trading, despite advertiser fears it could give ITV influence over pricing.
Rob Woodward became the new chief executive in 2007, and started a major reconstruction of the group by instigating a sell off of poorly performing assets,[REF] starting with Primesight being sold for £62m to a private equity firm [REF].