At the end of August, Paul Flint and Jonathan Marston of KPMG were appointed joint administrators of Hirst, Kidd and Rennie Ltd, the company producing the Oldham Evening Chronicle, threatening the loss of all 49 jobs.

The weekday daily paper was established in 1854, and had expanded to produce four companion monthly free titles and three quarterly A4 magazines.

At the time, Paul Flint, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, commented:  ‘The company was faced with an increasing deficit in its defined benefits pension scheme in addition to the challenging trading conditions arising from the changing nature of the local media landscape.’

Now the paper has been sold to the radio station which broadcasts across Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside.

Revolution 96.2’s Managing Director, Matt Ramsbottom, said: ‘We are delighted to have completed the deal with KPMG who have been a pleasure to work with. Oldham Chronicle has been the newspaper in Oldham for 163-years, the history, heritage and archives are important and should be respected.

‘Printing the next edition of the Oldham Chronicle will not be without its challenges, we are working hard to pull together the various elements of the process, a significant amount of data and information was stored in the cloud and it may prove tricky to retrieve. However the passion, support and belief to bring back the newspaper by loyal readers and advertisers has been overwhelming.’

The deal means Revolution 96.2 has not only secured the future of the paper but it will also ensure that it remains part of Oldham, with the new offices being based in the heart of the town.

Flint said: ‘We are pleased to have found a buyer to take on the heritage of the Oldham Evening Chronicle and the ambition to restart production.

‘We wish Revolution 96.2 all the best with the new venture.’

Report by Pat Sweet