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Investors dump Cupid as online dating group slumps to heavy loss

Published: 12:35 02 Apr 2014 BST

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Cupid (LON:CUP) was shot down by investors after the online dating firm swung to a sizeable loss last year.

The struggling group registered an overall loss of £7.9mln in 2013 compared with a profit of £9.2mln the year before.

It said the transformation of the business is nearly complete as it focuses on its mainstream sites such as cupid.com and uniformdating.com.

Cupid sold off its ‘casual’ dating sites including benaughty.com and flirty.com last year in a move that will provide it with £26mln in cash over the next three years.

The overhaul was triggered by allegations the company created fake user profiles to attract new customers to sign up, even though the claims were not proven in an independent review.

Chairman George Elliott described the criticism as “deeply frustrating”, but said “the business has gained strength from it”.

Shares tanked 14% to 60p on the news.

Recently-installed chief executive Phil Gripton said: “After a year in which the business reached an inflection point, I have personally been able to review the business at every level. 

“After completing this assessment of the group, I have tremendous faith in the long-term future of Cupid Plc.  

“We are turning around and implanting solid foundations to our core dating division, transforming it into a sustainable, high quality, customer centric business.”


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