Cupid CEO shows commitment to group with share purchase

Dating group Cupid announced Friday that its Chief Executive, Bill Dobbie, had on Thursday purchased 865,000 ordinary shares at 114.11p each, following a strong set of full year results out earlier in the week. The purchase cost him £987,052 and took his stake in the group to just under 14.68m shares, equal to 17.6% of the issued share capital. Dobbie said of the transaction: "Following such a strong set of results, my commitment to, and confidence in the Cupid business remains as strong as ever. "The business is built on solid foundations and we will continue to execute on our growth strategy. We have, and continue to make significant steps to achieve our objective of one million subscribers across 25 markets by 2017 and thereby doubling the size of the company."The group posted a 51% rise in revenue to £80.9m (FY 2011: £53.6m), while reported profit before tax rose 31% to £9.2m (FY 2011: £7.0m). Its cash position increased to £14.1m at the period end, from £7.8m a year earlier. Top Director BuysCupid (CUP) Director name: Mr William DobbieAmount purchased: 865,000 @ 114.11p Value: £987,052International Personal Finance (IPF) Director name: Mr Richard Moat Amount purchased: 15,000 @ 466.00p Value: £69,900Aga Rangemaster Group (AGA) Director name: Mr William B McGrathAmount purchased: 26,270 @ 86.83p Value: £22,810Aviva (AV.) Director name: Mr Michael Hawker Amount purchased: 5,000 @ 316.20p Value: £15,810Goldplat (GDP) Director name: Mr Russell LammingAmount purchased: 145,084 @ 10.25p Value: £14,871Aga Rangemaster Group (AGA) Director name: Mr Shaun SmithAmount purchased: 15,420 @ 86.83p Value: £13,389Top Director SellsKerry Group 'A' Shares (KYGA) Director name: Mr Stan McCarthyAmount sold: 7,500 @ € 49.26 Value: €369,424Kerry Group 'A' Shares (KYGA) Director name: Mr Gerry BehanAmount sold: 5,000 @ € 43.00 Value: €215,000NR