Online dating site Cupid approached by third parties

Someone's checking out the assets of Cupid, the online dating site, and could be interested in hooking up.

The group behind UniformDating.com and LoveAgain.com today told investors it had received “a number of recent approaches” for its casual dating sites such as benaughty.com and flirt.com, and added that it was “exploring the proposed opportunities with these third parties”.

The interest comes after Cupid responded to reports this year that it sent users expressions of interest from fake profiles to lure them into paying for a subscription.

Today, at Cupid’s annual meeting, chairman George Elliott said an independent review into its member database and operating practices instigated by the board will be completed by the end of the month.

He added: “The group has also undertaken a further, separate review by a leading legal team.” It recommended clearer guidelines for customer services staff, and told Cupid to make it more obvious when its own staff were engaging with customers.

“This should allay any concerns with regards to the staff profiles that are in place and help to detect and identify any issues,” Elliott said.

Cupid admitted higher spending on customer service and marketing in the first six months would hit short-term profits. It also expects underlying earnings for the six months to July to come in at about £2.5 million, down from £5.9 million a year earlier.