According to various sources including The BBC, Online dating giants Cupid Plc have reported a half year pre-tax loss of over £2.8 million. While revenues increased by over 12% their administrative costs skyrocketed by nearly 60%. So why have cupid got themselves all in a muddle?

There has been some speculation that this is a result of the claims of the company using fake profiles to entice new members.  It has been reported that the additional administrative costs have been a result of Cupid cleaning up their act. Their chief exec  Bill Dobbie said:

 “We have had a number of distractions in the first half of 2013; however, we have commenced a streamlining and refocusing of the business, which will provide us with an excellent opportunity going forward to take more of the opportunities the sector has to offer. We have a robust business and strong brands upon which to build.”

I have already mentioned the main “distraction” and the whole fake profile scandal but other have speculated that maybe the sale of their casual dating business was a big mistake. The casual dating market is worth hundreds of millions per year and Cupid had a large chunk of that with their portfolio of casual dating sites. Were they wrong to sell of their most profitable asset or was it an essential move to clean up their tarnished image.