Cupid Share Discussion Threads

[saucepan] 29/8/2013 19:36

nolens volens: thanks for troubling to reply. Sorry if, as it seems, I did not post my last exit. I am sure you are familiar with the importance of cutting losses quickly and letting profits run. That way, even if 50% of calls are wrong, one should still end in profit. I try to practice that discipline as best I can and I do recall that my last trade of CUP was an unsuccessful one.

Personally, I have no problems with bears - it takes two perspectives to make a market and I welcome genuine two-sided debate. I do, of course, object to manipulation and dirty tricks to scare others out.

Best of luck with your own trading of CUP.

[robotface] 29/8/2013 19:05

What's wrong with paying for your kid's education?

[nolens volens] 29/8/2013 17:41

Saucepan,

Regarding your 3565, I am delighted for you. My own experiences here since the results in March this year have been more mixed and fairly insipid overall. I do have a good memory and did see your memorable name once before on here during my life time. You posted in May that you had gone long but I looked back (person with no life) and couldn't find anything else during my life time here which is all I care about - selfish me. What I really needed here was a big strong man to warn me of the devastating bear raid that was to come on the afternoon of 22nd March and/or to reassure me thereafter that things were gonna be alright. By the time of my birthday and the tv programme in late July, I'd kind of worked out what was the best course of action at any particular time for myself.

You should post more often. Genuine cup supporters like J777J need your input.

[megalabtech] 29/8/2013 16:50

Did anybody see the recent panorama on the bbc1 called tainted love .It was all about Cupid and how they get members of staff to talk live to internet daters these were whistleblowers who were digusted by cupids business practices and had left the company to seek work elsewhere.What they were doing was inserting jpg images from anyones picture on the internet filling in details and then making out these people existed and got members of staff to talk to the genuine members both male and female customers (members) of the dating site.Well worth a look at if still available on the bbc i player.The ex-workers for cupid said the internet dating business was so competitive they were encourage to go along with this practice to keep their jobs.So my theory is that sales will over time crumble with cupid due to there dodgy business practices.BUYERS BEWARE WOULD NOT TOUCH THESE SHARES WITH A BARGE POLE OR ANYTHING ELSE FOR THAT MATTER.YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED ON YOURS HEADS BE IT !!!!!!!

[sumitos] 29/8/2013 16:49

Hello All - I'm interested in this share. It seems to me to be bombed out on the back of shorting by EK and his minions, in the same way that QPP suffered, but looks like an interesting business and the diversification adds to my interest.

[j777j] 29/8/2013 16:38

Son? Clearly working class.You have neither work, nor class.

Another bitter brit.Lol

[ramsey11] 29/8/2013 16:31

Ramp it up son... Keep talking

[j777j] 29/8/2013 16:14

Gee thanks for the concern.


peoplewithnolife.com

[nolens volens] 29/8/2013 15:59

J777J - Don't get your knickers in a twist. I said it would be news to some and I might even give Roomwise some frequent business - will you? I'm neither a ramper nor a deramper and not a trader like the bulk of the people on these bbs including yourself.

Not my job to go about researching and posting stuff as I'm not shorting nor invested in this share currently. Just maintaining an interest and only really dropping in here now and again as it can be a very one sided bb. Take care.

[j777j] 29/8/2013 15:27

Results in just under 3 weeks.Massive shorts will close before then causing another spike.

4% of the company being shorted or so.


Plenty of news to come.


Watch this space.

[saucepan] 29/8/2013 15:26

If you are interested, search this thread over the past couple of years to see how I have stepped in and out at various intervals, in most cases very profitably. No need to be concerned on my part.

Potentially a triple bottom on the chart that could prove very rewarding.

No guarantee I have called it correctly this time, but I know where my stops will be and the potential risk/reward from here looks very compelling IMHO.

[j777j] 29/8/2013 15:20

Old stuff?Why have you never mentioned it then?


Many will be pleased to know their company is busy working on new ventures.


A second fund has now become major shareholders along with Toscafund.

Both presumably looking to add to holdings further.


ramsey,well he is just mad I called iofina the hype that it is and the shares have fallen 50% since then.

[nolens volens] 29/8/2013 14:47

ramsey11

Unfortunately I rather agree as it's all pretty old stuff but will be news to some.

Wonder if Saucepan Man is an Enid Blyton character who wears a saucepan on his head - will he or she be needing a tin hat though that's the question.

[ramsey11] 29/8/2013 14:33

Waffle waffle waffle

[j777j] 29/8/2013 14:03

The Scotsman in November

Bill Dobbie's Cupid diversifies from dating into property

CUPID, the internet dating firm launched by serial technology entrepreneur Bill Dobbie, is diversifying from its "Be Naughty" and "Flirt" brands by moving into the property market.


The Edinburgh-based group's new website, Roomwise, allows customers to rent out rooms, whole flats or even caravans and tents.

Cupid will use its database of more than 62 million users to market the properties as part of its plans to use its IT infrastructure to move into new business areas.

Dobbie said: "We think it's a big opportunity for people in the UK to benefit from our marketing expertise.

"This kind of network will bring tremendous value to 
local communities and travellers throughout the world."

Cupid said that it had spent less than £100,000 developing Roomwise, which it described as being "a very early-stage project in beta testing".

But the firm said that it had decided property was a "good fit" with its existing marketing and technical skills after looking at "a number of emerging social web areas".

Brian Gruber, who came up with the idea for the website and who is acting as its general manager for Cupid, said: "The project grew out of my own travel experiences."

Gruber explained that, whenever he travelled, he could only choose well-publicised options, such as hotels. But then he would meet people staying in much nicer accommodation they had found through "a friend of a friend".

"I want to get all those 'through a friend' properties on Roomwise, no matter how big or small," Gruber added.

News of Cupid's expansion into the property sector comes just weeks after the company extended its online dating presence through the takeover of specialist website Uniform Dating for £7 million.

The Aim-quoted group raised a further £3.6m through a share placing to finance September's deal, which followed hot on the heels of its €3.7m (£2.9m) acquisition of French online dating company Assistance Genie Logiciel in July.

[saucepan] 29/8/2013 14:03

Thanks. Some nice research :-)

[j777j] 29/8/2013 13:58

Some press on Roomwise.com



140K properties to explore on RoomwiseMarch 6, 2013

Just when we felt things couldn't get any better, we managed to increase the number of properties on Roomwise.com even more. Thanks to our partnership with Wimdu we can now offer you the best places to stay anywhere in the world.

Rewrite Jules Verne's 'Around the World in Eighty Days and explore the world on your terms. Roomwise will quickly help you pick any of our 140,000 amazing rooms or flats.

Have a look at some of our amazing properties:

Fancy Brazil?
hxxps://www.roomwise.com/landing/country/brazil
or perhaps Greece?
hxxps://www.roomwise.com/landing/country/greece


Roomwise hits 20K propertiesJanuary 25, 2013

With Roomwise hitting the milestone of a whopping 20,000 rooms and flats, we can now offer you the best travel experience ever. No matter where you want to go or what activities you're interested in, Roomwise has the perfect solution for you.

Thanks to our partnership with Belvilla we can now offer you the best places to stay throughout Europe.

20,000 different properties on display for you, just one click away. We're certain you'll find what you're looking for!

Keen to find out more?

Have a look at some of our UK properties:

hxxp://www.roomwise.com/landing/country/uk


Fund your holidayDecember 15, 2012

Noticed our homepage lately? Seasonally appropriate, don't you think?

But it's not just about baubles, fairy lights and puddings; we're talking about funding an entire holiday! Whether "holiday" makes you think Christmas or Gran Canaria, the point is an active Roomwise listing could easily fund either or both.

It's simple: identify a space you want to rent out and take some nice photos of it. Then go create your account and listing on roomwise.com and decide what you want to charge guests and when you want them to come.

You could fund a holiday, and make some new friends along the way!


Roomwise in the Scotsman
November 13, 2012

Roomwise has be receiving more and more press coverage lately. And we have to say: don't mind if we do!

The latest piece we've been pleased to see about us was in last Monday's Scotsman, in which the Edinburgh-based broadsheet's Business Correspondent Peter Ranscombe discussed our relationship with our friends over at Cupid Plc and the high expectations associated with Roomwise.

According to Ranscomb's piece, it's all about good accommodation and good people: taking an experience normally associated with staying with friends and offering it, online, to the Roomwise community. We're not going to argue - that's what we do!

Thanks for the coverage Scotsman!

[j777j] 29/8/2013 13:33

Oh,connections.I assume it is one of their pets projects along with other Cupid lab stuff.Probably too small for them to mention yet.

What is really interesting is they appear to have accommodation in some other major UK cities up and running.Just type in a search in the home page.
The other thing is the search is ready to allow global cities and places.I am assuming,this is all to come.

I think what will emerge is a very different company over the next year or two.
You have a very successful,highly driven entrepreneur at the helm.Iomart plc,one of his great success stories.Also they are backed by a lot of cash and cash flow including £750,000 a month for the next 38 months from the sale of casual dating assets and some serious fund managers.
Today a new one joined.



This is more on Airbnb a privately held US co.


hxxps://www.airbnb.com/

Vitals


Company
Established: August 2008
Headquarters: San Francisco
Our Offices: San Francisco, London, Paris, Barcelona, Sao Paulo, Copenhagen, Moscow, Hamburg, Berlin, Milan, Singapore

Metrics
over 10 million nights booked
over 300,000 listings worldwide
over 33,000 cities
192 countries
over 600 million Social Connections


You can see this is a massive marketplace.

[saucepan] 29/8/2013 11:36

J777J

I am intrigued: how or where did you discover the connection between Cupid and Roomwise? (I have not seen anything that Cupid have announced).

Thanks for highlighting!

I find this a very encouraging piece of diversification. Coupled with the institutional buying announced today, I have decided to dip my toe back in the water here.

[j777j] 29/8/2013 10:37

hxxp://www.roomwise.com


Looks like another Cupid project,similar to airbnb.


Wondering if the plan is to roll this out.

They get a 12% cut for every transaction.



Roomwise is a trading name of Cupid plc. Cupid plc is a public limited company registered in Scotland with company number SC368538 and having its registered office at 23 Manor Place, Edinburgh EH37DX. Any reference to we/us/our/Cupid is to Cupid plc hereinafter.



Travellers love Roomwise because they can get a better accommodation experience at a cheaper price. We expand the possibilities of your trip, within a trustworthy community of like-minded people. Property owners love Roomwise because we deliver a large amount of quality traffic to their listings. You can make money easily and you can manage everything by yourself without paying unfairly huge amounts to property management agencies.

Sign up and help us build this exciting concept in the UK!

Roomwise is always free to use for hosts. We make money by charging a transaction fee:
For a completed transaction we take a 12% fee from the traveller's booking price. Hosts are always able to adjust their pricing to recoup this margin.

[j777j] 29/8/2013 08:12

Good game good game

[j777j] 29/8/2013 07:37

"For years, decades even, mainstream investors have been allocating capital to ever larger and more liquid assets. One consequence of this trend – acute lack of investment in quoted smaller companies – has created pricing anomalies and a classic value-driven, contrarian opportunity."

"Kestrel Opportunities acquires significant holdings in high quality, profitable smaller companies that we identify as undervalued. We then work closely with management teams to unlock latent value and so deliver long-term capital growth for our investors."





18 march 2013




Kestrel Investment Partners (Kestrel) announces that it has reached its target of raising £50 million of new capital for the Kestrel Opportunities fund. Due to the fund's limited capacity, it is now closed to new subscriptions.

Max Royde, Chief Executive of Kestrel, says: "We are very pleased to have reached our target capital raise which is a testament to the success of our strategy and the performance of the Kestrel Opportunities fund to date.

There are still plenty of exciting investment opportunities for us and we look forward to investing our remaining cash over the coming months and generating attractive returns for our clients.

Now that the fund is closed to new subscriptions, we will do our best to satisfy any future demand by matching up buyers with existing investors as and when they decide to sell shares".

[j777j] 29/8/2013 07:28

New major shareholder on board.




Cupid PLC

29 August 2013
TR-1: NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTEREST IN SHARES(i)

1. Identity of the issuer or the underlying CUPID PLC
issuer
of existing shares to which voting rights
are
attached: (ii)
---------------------------------------
2 Reason for the notification (please tick the appropriate box or boxes):
An acquisition or disposal of voting rights Yes
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------
An acquisition or disposal of qualifying financial instruments
which may result in the acquisition of shares already issued to
which voting rights are attached
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------
An acquisition or disposal of instruments with similar economic
effect to qualifying financial instruments
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------
An event changing the breakdown of voting rights
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------
Other (please
specify):
------------------ -------------------------------------------------------------- --------
3. Full name of person(s) subject Kestrel Opportunities, a cell of Guernsey
to the Portfolios PCC Limited
notification obligation: (iii)
------------------------------------------------
4. Full name of shareholder(s) As in 3 above
(if different from 3.):(iv)
------------------------------------------------
5. Date of the transaction and date 23 August 2013
on
which the threshold is crossed
or
reached: (v)
------------------------------------------------
6. Date on which issuer notified: 28 August 2013
------------------------------------------------
7. Threshold(s) that is/are crossed Above 3%
or
reached: (vi, vii)
------------------------------------------------



8. Notified details:
A: Voting rights attached to shares (viii, ix)
Class/type Situation previous Resulting situation after the triggering
of to the triggering transaction
shares transaction

if possible
using
the ISIN
CODE
------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Number Number Number Number of voting % of voting
of of of shares rights rights (x)
Shares Voting
Rights
----------------- ----------------- -------------- ------------------------- --------------------------
Direct Direct (xi) Indirect Direct Indirect
(xii)
----- ------ ------- -------- -------------- ------------ ----------- ---------- --------------
Ordinary
Shares
of 0.1p each
ISIN
GB00B8PR3G81 1,800,500 1,800,500 2,140,500 2,140,500 Nil 3.02% Nil
----------------- ----------------- -------------- ------------ ----------- ---------- --------------


B: Qualifying Financial Instruments
Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
Type of financial Expiration Exercise/ Number of voting % of voting
instrument date (xiii) Conversion Period rights that may rights
(xiv) be
acquired if the
instrument is
exercised/ converted.
--------------- -------------------------- ------------------------- ------------------------
None
--------------- -------------------------- ------------------------- ------------------------

C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial
Instruments (xv, xvi)
Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
Type of Exercise Expiration Exercise/ Number of voting % of voting rights
financial price date (xvii) Conversion rights instrument (xix, xx)
instrument period refers to
(xviii)
------------- ----------------- -------------- ----------------------- ----------------------------
None Nominal Delta
------------- ----------------- -------------- ----------------------- -------------- ------------


Total (A+B+C)
Number of voting rights Percentage of voting rights
------------------------------------------------------------
2,140,500 3.02%
------------------------------------------------------------



9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or
the
financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable: (xxi)


Proxy Voting:
10. Name of the proxy holder:
---------------------------
11. Number of voting rights proxy holder will
cease
to hold:
---------------------------
12. Date on which proxy holder will cease to
hold
voting rights:
---------------------------


13. Additional information: Notification using the total voting
rights figure of
70,992,499
14. Contact name: Niall Stirling
---------------------------------------
15. Contact telephone number: 0131 526 3600
---------------------------------------



This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange