Now, however, it looks as if one of the country's main sporting newspaper, the Racing Post, and one of its main radio operators, Chrysalis Radio, will end up in Irish hands within weeks.

Earlier this week, the British radio industry was stunned to discover that Lydian Capital Partners, an investment vehicle backed by Irish tycoons JP McManus, John Magnier and Dermot Desmond, was the private equity house that was locked in exclusive negotiations to buy Chrysalis since the start of this month.

Race for the 'Post' The revelation came just weeks after another Irish investment firm, FL Partners, led by former IBI corporate financiers Peter Crowley and Neill Hughes, emerged as the leading contender in the race to purchase the Racing Post.

The two bids have left many puzzled as to the investors' motives, particularly as none of them has previous media experience, with the exception of former Racing Post editor Alan Byrne, who is backing FL Partners' bid for that title.

Indeed, neither company has shown the slightest interest in investing in the media in the past.

Lydian Capital Partners recently just missed out on buying the Jurys Inn chain of hotels, while FL Partners' sole big investment to date has been the acquisition of a bedding firm.

According to one prominent British media source, however, the two companies' interest in the media can easily be explained in financial terms, particularly Lydian's bid for Chrysalis.

"Media assets are good cash generators, especially radio, where once you've covered all your base costs, it's all jam, which is a great from a business perspective, " he said.

If you look at both companies from a strictly financial perspective, it was apparent that they fitted Lydian's and FL Partners' investment model, he said. "These are companies that, while they are attractive, they are too small for the big private equity houses of this world but they fit well in Lydian's category."

It is believed Lydian expects to pay around 260m for Chrysalis, which fits neatly into the company's stated goal to invest in European businesses worth between 30m and 600m. FL Partners is expected to pay 280m for the Racing Post, which is also understood to be within its investment targets.

The source also added that it was possible the two companies were attempting to invest in British rather than Irish media assets because they represent better value for money. For instance, Emap is seeking around 200m for its three Irish stations whereas, if successful, Lydian will get a larger radio group for just 80m more.

"It's the equivalent of buying several Irish Emaps. Chrysalis is the third-largest radio player in the UK and it owns Heart FM brand, one of the leaders in London, " he said.

While most British media players are simply intrigued by the Irish companies' activities, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has already emerged as a vocal critic of the bids, particularly FL Partners' attempt to buy the Racing Post.

Asset-stripping According to Barry Fitzpatrick, the NUJ's newspaper organiser, the Irish firms are merely asset-strippers with no long-term commitment to the businesses involved.

"Every time investors acquire a media business here, they always make noises about long-term investments, but in reality they always follow the same pattern: they sell off some of the assets, cut costs and load it up with debt, " he said.

Fitzpatrick believes one of the main reasons why Lydian, FL Partners and other private equity interests are acquiring British media assets is the country's unusually weak employee-transfer regulations.

Various loopholes in the legislation in this area mean investors can buy companies without having to guarantee the terms and conditions of their staff. The Racing Post's owner, Trinity Mirror, has already indicated to staff that their pension scheme will be altered by its new owner who, even if FL Partners' bid fails, is likely to be another investment concern.

Reaping the gains Even if the investors do initially guarantee the conditions, according to Fitzpatrick, they can undertake a business reorganisation within a year or two of acquiring the assets, allowing them to change working conditions such as shift patterns without employees having any legal recourse.

"Essentially, there's no transfer regulations with any teeth and the opportunities for British unions to resist sales are very limited, " he said.

According to one Irish analyst, however, it is likely the two investment firms are more interested in cash returns than making fundamental changes to the businesses.

According to Philip O'Sullivan of Goodbody Stockbrokers, the two firms will probably appoint professional managers and simply reap the gains.

"Their main concern would be cash generation. They need to get sufficient cash to start covering their debt so they can withdraw from the firm within three to five years, " he said.

O'Sullivan said the main attraction of media assets to investors was that they tended to be low-risk investments in the long term.

"Private equity won't take a punt on high-risk sectors, whereas the media is a solid business even though advertising can be volatile in the short term, " he said.

At the moment, however, both Lydian and FL Partners are tightlipped. Neither company would comment on their bids, although sources indicated that both are expected to be concluded soon.