Cupid Founder Took Two Thirds Pay Cut

The former chief executive of Cupid, Bill Dobbie, saw his pay drop by two thirds before stepping down last December.

Dobbie, who was a founder of the Edinburgh-based dating company, was paid £597,000 in 2012 while chief executive.

This dropped to £199,000 for the 11 months he was in charge during 2013, according to the company’s annual report.

Dobbie continued in a non executive role, and is the company’s biggest shareholder, with a  20.61% stake.

Cupid’s total director wages fell from £1,210,174 in 2012, to £756,000 in 2013.

Dobbie was replaced by current chief executive, Phil Gripton, who was paid £18,750 in December, plus a £50,000 bonus.

Cupid recently reported a 2013 loss of £7.9m, compared with a profit of £9.2m in 2012.

Earlier in the month, investment group Kestrel increased their stake in Cupid, becoming their second biggest investor.

The group increased their holding to 14.49%, taking their total to 10.3m shares — worth around £4.6m.

The Guernsey-based group are now the second biggest investor in Cupid, behind Bill Dobbie.

This came after investor Toscafund offloaded their entire 16% share in the Edinburgh-based dating company last month.

In February, Cupid partnered with mobile search company Sprylogics to allow users to find, discuss and book activities in their local area, all within the app.