Bob Geldof, the activist and former Boomtown Rats frontman, is one of the most famous people living in Britain. But his business career, which has run alongside his other activities, is less well known – although efforts to make money have been a constant throughout his 56 years.

Today, Mr Geldof’s principal commercial interest is television. He is a co-founder, a nonexecutive director, and a 7 per cent shareholder in Ten Alps, the TV production group behind ventures ranging from Teachers TV, a specialist channel aimed at educationalists, to Brook Lapping, the documentary maker that has made programmes such as The Death of Yugoslavia.

Although Ten Alps is run by Alex Connock, a partner, Mr Geldof’s influence is considerable. It was felt yesterday when Ten Alps launched the Peace Channel, a new network aimed at “bringing online video and user-generated content to global conflict resolution”.

Unlikely to be a major money spinner, the Peace Channel will exist online only, featuring videos devoted to a mixture of news about conflicts and debate forums. Content initially available includes a report on the resolution of the conflict in Kenya last year, with an interview with Raila Odinga, the Prime Minister, who emphasises the importance of compromise in saving Kenya.

That initative may not be obviously a route to riches but Ten Alps has grown rapidly since its foundation in 1999, lifting turnover to £81.4 million in the past financial year, growing through a mixture of acquistions of smaller rivals and winning government contracts for activities such as Teachers TV. But the company is far from Mr Geldof’s first business venture.

The Irishman toyed with setting up a classified newspaper, called Buy and Sell, in Dublin back in the 1970s. In the end he channelled his energies into the creation of the Boomtown Rats instead, enjoying a decade of musical success before Band Aid and Live Aid came along. He helped to found the production house Planet 24, maker of the Big Breakfast and The Word, in 1992, selling it to Carlton Television. Deckchair.com, an online travel agency, followed. Briefly valued at £15 million, Deckchair was hit by the dot-com bust and in the end it was offloaded, making Mr Geldof and his fellow backers little money.

Always entrepreneurial, Mr Geldof has told interviewers that he was a surprising admirer of Margaret Thatcher, although the Peace Channel may not quite the former Prime Minister’s idea of business.