Peter McPartlin is to leave his position as chief executive of Today FM, a job he has held for the last four years, the station’s owners, Communicorp, have announced.

Mr McPartlin said, in a statement, that the decision to leave was not one he had made “ lightly.” He said he wanted to explore new opportunities.

Gervaise Slowey, group chief executive of Communicorp thanked Mr McPartlin for his leadership of Today FM, saying he had overseen many important changes and the arrival of new talented presenters to the station.

Today FM is the largest independent radio station in the country with an audience of over 900,000 each week. Communicorp, owned by businessman Denis O’Brien, said it would announce a successor in the coming weeks.