Report: Five paid £20m for stake in Top Up

Five paid £20 million to take a 20% stake in Top Up TV, Broadcast has revealed.

The broadcaster announced last month that it had made a "strategic investment" in the pay provider but declined to divulge the level of its involvement.

The deal values Top Up, launched by former Sky execs David Chance and Ian West in 2003, at £100 million.

Five's stake in the service will allow it to launch a series of spinoff channels - two are planned for 2006 - using the Top Up capacity. Initially the space for the spinoffs is expected to be created using the same new compression technology used by National Grid Wireless earlier this year but Five will also get first look at any new spectrum that becomes available when pay channels exit the service.