IDE.L Regulatory News (IDE)

Cupid plc

Equity fundraising

The Board of Cupid plc (AIM: CUP), a leading UK online dating company, is pleased to announce that Peel Hunt has, on behalf of the Company, raised £12 million in a placing of ordinary shares of 2.5p each ("Ordinary Shares") (the "Placing") with new and existing institutional investors. Of this total, £5 million has been raised via a placing of approximately 4.5 million new Ordinary Shares ("New Shares"), and £7 million has been raised via a placing of approximately 6.4 million existing Ordinary Shares ("Existing Shares") held by Bill Dobbie, and Max Polyakov (through Opalta Limited) (together the "Selling Shareholders"), all at a price of 110p per share. The Placing has been fully underwritten by Peel Hunt.

The net proceeds from the placing of the New Shares will be used to pursue the Company's acquisitive growth strategy. Recent acquisitions continue to perform well and the Company continues to review a number of further potential opportunities in Europe, including in France and Germany and expects to make an announcement in due course. The placing of the New Shares will also bolster the Company's cash reserves, strengthening its position when negotiating future acquisitions.

Bill Dobbie, Chief Executive of Cupid plc, said:

"We remain delighted with Cupid's progress and this placing will enable us to continue our acquisitive strategy and further strengthen our position. Trading remains exceptionally strong with revenues in the first quarter of the financial year reaching record levels since the Company commenced trading. I am pleased to report that we continue to perform very well in North America, fuelling our international growth and growing in line with our expectations.

"We have identified a number of new opportunities that we believe will enable us to continue our strong growth and international expansion. The money raised via this placing will enable us to capitalise on these opportunities and continue to deliver value for our shareholders.

"The placing has enabled the Company to broaden its institutional shareholder base which will help improve the liquidity in the shares going forward. We warmly welcome our new institutional shareholders and, at the same time, I would like to thank our existing shareholders for their continued support at what promises to be an exciting time for the Group."

Details of the Placing

On behalf of the Company Peel Hunt has raised approximately £5 million (before expenses) by the issue of 4,545,454 Ordinary Shares (the "Placing Shares"). The 4,545,454 New Shares represent approximately 6.0 per cent. of the issued share capital of the Company prior to the issue of the New Shares, which is within the existing directors' authority to allot shares free of pre-emption rights.

Application has been made for the New Shares, which will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing Ordinary Shares , to be admitted to trading on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange ("Admission").

Within the terms of the placing agreement entered into between Peel Hunt, the Company and the Selling Shareholders ("Placing Agreement"), Peel Hunt has conditionally placed the Placing Shares with institutional investors at a price of 110 pence per share. It is anticipated that dealings in the New Shares will commence at 8:00 a.m. on 12 April 2011. The Placing is conditional, inter alia, upon Admission becoming effective and the Placing Agreement becoming unconditional in all respects by no later than 8:00 a.m. on 12 April2011 or such later date (being not later than 8:00 a.m. on 26 April2011) as the Company and Peel Hunt may agree.

Following the placing of the 6,363,636 Existing Shares, Bill Dobbie, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, will hold 24.7 per cent. of the enlarged issued share capital and Max Polyakov, Founder and Director of Business Development, will hold 23.1 per cent. of the enlarged issued share capital.

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Notes to Editors

§ Cupid plc (formerly Easydate plc) listed on AIM in June 2010 and is a leading provider of online dating services

§ Cupid has built a base of over 13 million registrants and over 9 million members in 29 countries (those countries with over 1,000 members), with a growing proportion of members coming from outside of the United Kingdom.

§ Cupid offers a wide variety of online dating services allowing members to interact with each other and access the content available on the Group's websites. These websites are intended to appeal to dating users of diverse ages, cultures and social interest groups. The Group's most heavily visited websites include www.cupid.com, www.flirt.com, www.benaughty.com, www.girlsdateforfree.com and www.datetheuk.com. The Group also promotes the niche brands www.datingforparents.com, www.speeddater.com and www.maturedating.co.uk.

§ The majority of services are also available via Apple and Android App Stores for mobile users as well as through their own Facebook apps - eg. http://apps.facebook.com/cupidcom and http://apps.facebook.com/benaughtynow.

§ Further information on the Company can be found at www.cupidplc.com.