The British press likes to call him Ginger Spice. He plays up to the jokey nickname by flirting with his listeners, arriving to present his breakfast programme on Virgin Radio with three minutes to spare.
And when his hangover is just too much to cope with, Chris Evans doesn't bother turning up for work at all. But that may change now that he has bought a controlling share of Virgin Radio for a cash-and-shares bid of £85 million sterling.
The acquisition made for a very disappointing week for London's Capital Radio, which put in a bid of £87.5 million for Virgin Radio in May. The Capital offer, accepted by Richard Branson, was referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) to approve the deal but when the MMC became involved the agreement was not legally binding.
Capital Radio, with interests in restaurants and radio stations in the south-east of England, had hoped the MMC would approve the deal but the delay in coming to a decision was blamed, in part, this week for Capital's loss. Now Capital is urging the MMC to publish its report so that its executives can reassure investors the company does have a successful strategy for expansion.
Negotiations between Evans and the former owner of Virgin Radio, Richard Branson, opened a few weeks ago soon after Evans began a five-year contract to present the station's breakfast programme.
Evans had expressed an interest in buying a radio station to add to the portfolio at his own company, Ginger Group, which produces the Channel 4 programme, TFI Friday, which is also presented by him. Mr Branson said he accepted the offer because of "the maverick in me".
Under the terms of the Virgin Radio deal Evans will have a controlling interest of 55 per cent in a new company, Ginger Media Group, combining Virgin Radio and his own company, Ginger Group. The latter has been valued at £30 million.
The involvement of Apax Partners, which advised and financed Evans in the bid for Virgin Radio to the tune of £23 million, means GMG could well be floated on the London Stock Exchange in four or five years time. Apax Partners and Mr Branson will each receive a 20 per cent share of GMG while GMG's senior management and new chairman will hold a further 10 per cent of the company. GMG's executive directors will be drawn largely from Virgin Radio's current senior management team.
In advance of the Virgin deal, Evans is reported to have bankrolled it by signing with Channel 4 for a reported £30 million three-year contract under which he will provide 42 TFI Friday shows a year during 1999, 2000 and 2001.
He is also said to be developing new projects including a golfing programme, and will herald Channel 4's New Year for the first time with TFI 1998 on New Year's Eve.
Evans has also mortgaged Ginger Productions to bankers Paribas for the loan of £42.5 million which makes up Ginger's share of the Virgin deal.
In practical terms, Evans says he intends to go "all out to do everything we can to improve the station. New talent is very important. So it's up to me while I'm still young enough, because when I am 40 I won't know who the `in' people are either".
His humour and unpredictability belie that Evans is a shrewd businessman. "My current business is worth £33 million," he says. "Is this a guy who is out of control? I don't think so."
Evans recognises that he has a low-credibility rating among City financiers. "When people meet me, their expectations are so low that it can only help me. Even if their expectations are simply normal, I am better than that," he says.
But his backers at Apax Partners and Virgin Radio seem convinced of his abilities. The chief executive of Virgin Radio, David Campbell, said this week Evans might seem like a "wild person, but in reality he has grown up, and he's not really like that".
The future for Virgin Radio under Evans is far from assured. He intends to build up the television production side of Ginger and has plans to move into film production. He plans to "shape and develop the [Virgin Radio] business, attract new talent and guarantee the future success of the station", but he must also turn around its debts of £40 million if he is to be judged a success. Evans believes he can "easily double" the value of Virgin Radio, estimated at £80 million. He says: "I don't trust anybody like I trust myself."
