Cupid will sell its remaining dating businesses for £3m, it was announced today.
The Edinburgh-based company plan to sell UniformDating.com, Cupid.com and LoveBeginsAt.com to Tradax IP Licensing, Together Networks Holdings and Together Networks.
This will mean Cupid is no longer involved with any dating businesses, and will become an investment company.
The Chairman of Cupid, George Eliott, said: “After a number of fundamental changes in the dating market, we instigated a rapid strategic review of the dating business.
“The Board believe that today’s announcement represents the solution which protects the best interests of shareholders, by providing much greater certainty over the Group’s cash balances and deferred consideration and removing substantially all costs from the Group.
“The Company will effectively become a well capitalised cash shell with approximately £18 million that can be utilised for new opportunities in line with our proposed investing policy or returned to shareholders.”
Cupid will be renamed as Castle Street Investments.
The company sold its casual businesses – including BeNaughty.com and flirt.com – last year for £45.1m, to co-founder Max Polyakov.
Today Cupid announced in order to receive a faster payments of the £20m still owed from this deal, it will take just £12.5m, by 15th December.
This year, Cupid reported a loss of £3m for the first half of the year, compared to £2.8m in 2013.
Revenues from continuing operations fell by over half to £7.2m.
The move to sell will mean the closing of operations in the UK, France, US, and Ukraine.
Around 180 employees are expected to be made redundant.
The selling of the businesses will still go to a shareholder vote on December 23rd.
Read more information about the sale on the London Stock Exchange site here.