First Day of Dealings on AIM

 

TIDMEZD 
 
RNS Number : 4637O 
Easydate plc 
30 June 2010 
 

Date:                           30 June 2010 
On behalf of:               Easydate plc ("Easydate" or "the Company") 
 
 
 
Easydate plc 
First Day of Dealings on AIM 
 
Easydate plc, the internet-based dating operator, is pleased to announce that, 
following its recent placing, its shares have been admitted to trading on AIM. 
 
The Company is raising approximately GBP10 million before expenses by way of a 
placing of 16,666,667 new Ordinary Shares and, pursuant to the placing, 
8,333,333 existing Ordinary Shares and Option Shares are being sold. 
 
10,000,000 new Ordinary Shares, 8,333,333 of the existing Ordinary Shares and 
the Option Shares, together with the Company's remaining existing Ordinary 
Shares are expected to be admitted to trading on AIM on 30 June 2010.  6,666,667 
new Ordinary Shares are expected to be admitted to AIM on 1 July 2010. 
 
In total, 33.31% of the Enlarged Issued Share Capital of the Company is being 
placed and, upon admission of both all of the new Ordinary Shares and existing 
Ordinary Shares and Option Shares, the Company's market capitalisation at the 
Placing Price of 60p per share will be approximately GBP45 million. 
 
Cenkos Securities plc, through its Edinburgh office, is acting as Nominated 
Adviser and Broker to the Company. 
 
Commenting on Easydate's Admission to AIM, Bill Dobbie, Chief Executive Officer 
said: "The internet dating sector is growing rapidly and we believe that the 
increased profile and additional funding our quotation on AIM brings will 
provide an opportunity for us to grow Easydate into a substantial global 
internet dating business. 
 
"The response we have had from the market during the placing has been 
tremendous. After a lot of hard work to get the Company this far, we are now 
looking forward to life as an AIM quoted company and the opportunities that will 
bring." 
 
Placing Statistics 
 
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+ 
| Placing Price                                    |          60 pence | 
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+ 
| Number of Existing Ordinary Shares in issue      |        56,798,360 | 
| prior to the Placing                             |                   | 
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+ 
| Number of New Ordinary Shares being issued       |                   | 
| pursuant to the Placing                          |        16,666,667 | 
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+ 
| Number of Existing Ordinary Shares and Option    |                   | 
| Shares being sold pursuant to the Placing        |         8,333,333 | 
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+ 
| Number of Ordinary Shares in issue immediately   |                   | 
| following Second Admission                       |        75,047,067 | 
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+ 
| Percentage of the Enlarged Issued Share Capital  |   33.31 per cent. | 
| being placed (including the Sale Shares)         |                   | 
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+ 
| Estimated gross proceeds of the Placing of New   |     GBP10 million | 
| Ordinary Shares (approximately)                  |                   | 
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+ 
| Estimated net proceeds of the Placing receivable |    GBP8.8 million | 
| by the Company (approximately)                   |                   | 
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+ 
| Market capitalisation immediately following      |     GBP45 million | 
| completion of the Placing at the Placing Price   |                   | 
| (approximately)                                  |                   | 
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+ 
| AIM 'ticker'                                     |               EZD | 
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+ 
| ISIN number                                      |      GB00B4NJ4984 | 
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+ 
 
 
 
For further information please contact: 
 
Easydate plc                                                              Tel: 
[phone] 
Bill Dobbie, CEO 
 
Cenkos Securities plc                                             Tel: +44 
(0)131 220 6939 
Ken Fleming/Jon Fitzpatrick/Alan Stewart 
 
Redleaf Communications                                        Tel: +44 (0)207 
566 6709 
Paul Dulieu/Mike Ward 
[e-mail] 
 
 
                          Summary of Key Information* 
 
Through its growing network of websites, Easydate Group 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. It 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.benaughty.com, www.cupid.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. 
 
Business Strategy 
 
Easydate Group's goal, as one of the UK's leading internet-based dating 
operators, is to increase revenues whilst improving overall profitability. 
Founders Bill Dobbie and Max Polyakov have a strong track record in creating 
successful, innovative technology products. This experience has been utilised to 
establish the technology platform of the Group, which helps the business to 
deliver its products and drive increasing volumes of web traffic to its 
websites. The Directors believe this assists the business increase the number of 
subscribers and its marketing knowledge of the demographics and interests of its 
users. The Directors' believe the Group's strategy in operating and expanding 
its websites and cross-selling and marketing these to its network of users 
provides brand and marketing leverage, increases awareness and familiarity 
within the Group's target audience and wider on-line community, all of which the 
Directors believe are key to driving the Group's successful expansion. 
 
The Directors plan to maintain and extend the Group's position as one of the 
UK's leading providers of internet-based dating services by pursing the 
following growth strategies: 
 
- Introduce new sites to the UK and to expand internationally 
- Maximise existing UK growth by encouraging visitors, registrants and members 
to become subscribers 
- Continue to develop outsourcing and ancillary revenues 
- Continue to increase our affiliate marketing network 
- Accelerate presence and growth in foreign markets 
- Acquisitions 
 
Competitive Strengths 
 
The Directors believe that the Group's core strengths lie in its: 
 
- User base: The Group's websites are significantly sized in the UK on-line 
marketplace, currently adding on average more than 300,000 new registrants and 
more than 200,000 new members each month. The Board believes that the Group's 
large established user base represents a significant advantage over new market 
entrants in the UK. 
 
- Large affiliate network: The substantial number of registrants in Easydate's 
marketing affiliate program allows the Group to market its brands beyond its 
established users by collaborating with other organisations which market the 
Group's services on their own websites. The Directors believe that the scale of 
the network reduces the Group's dependence on 'paid for' search results and also 
provides an advantage over competitors. 
 
- Innovative and scalable technology platform: The Easydate business has 
developed a robust, highly scalable technology platform over the last five years 
that allows Easydate to add new features and launch additional websites at a 
relatively low incremental cost and without significant capital expenditure. The 
Group's in-house Ukrainian-based technical and on-line marketing team provides 
the Group with a highly skilled, lower cost base which the Directors believe 
offers a medium term competitive cost advantage. 
 
- Effective, capable and internationally-oriented management team: Easydate's 
management team has developed internally as the business has grown and has 
expanded its capabilities in line with the Group's growth. The business has a 
track record of developing and retaining key staff. The Directors will seek to 
develop the management team commensurate with the growing requirements of the 
business, particularly as the Group expands in overseas marketplaces. 
 
The Market 
 
The worldwide market for dating services is estimated by the Directors to be in 
excess of US$1 billion and growing in the established US market at approximately 
3 per cent., in the UK at between 6 per cent. and 10 per cent. with emerging 
markets growing at a far higher rate. The Directors believe that this growth is 
being driven by wider usage of dating and social networking applications and 
increased access to the internet, in particular by using broadband connection 
and via mobile phones. In addition, the increasing number of one-person 
households and divorcees also contributes to the rise in interest in online 
dating. On-line dating is cost effective and convenient in comparison to more 
traditional methods of dating such as introduction agencies. An increasing 
number of individuals subscribed to online dating websites despite the recent 
recession in the UK. The Directors believe that this was due to a combination of 
the low subscription costs and individuals wishing to seek a relationship in 
difficult times. Whilst, in the Directors' opinion, there is increasing social 
acceptance in many geographical and demographic markets of online dating, the 
worldwide market outside the USA is currently at an earlier stage in its 
development. With the exception of a few large participants, the online dating 
market is largely fragmented, currently comprising many small private operators. 
 
Reasons for the Placing and Use of Proceeds 
 
The Directors consider that Admission will be an important step in the Group's 
development, will enhance its standing within its market place and will assist 
the growth in its business. In particular it will enable the Company, if 
required, to raise additional capital to support its strategic objectives as 
suitable opportunities arise. It is also expected to provide liquidity for 
investors through the ability to buy and sell Ordinary Shares, will provide a 
more diversified shareholder base and allow the existing Shareholders to realise 
part of their investment through the disposal of the Sale Shares as part of the 
Placing. 
 
The Directors believe that Admission will also provide opportunities for the 
Group to attract, retain and incentivise highcalibreemployees through the 
operation of Share Option Schemes and allow employees to participate in the 
future success of the Group. 
 
The Placing of the New Ordinary Shares will raise up to approximately GBP8.8 
million (net of expenses) for the Company. The Directors believe that a solid 
platform for growth has been achieved, and that the funds available to the 
Company from the Placing will enable the Group to continue to grow and to take 
advantage of new opportunities as they arise. In particular, the net proceeds of 
the Placing available to the Company, together with the Group's existing cash 
resources, will be utilised principally to fund: 
 
- an acceleration in the Group's acquisition programme; 
- the roll out of dating websites in commercially attractive foreign 
territories; and 
- the development and launch of new niche websites. 
 
The Company will use the remaining balance of the net proceeds of the Placing 
available to it for general working capital purposes. The strengthening of the 
Group's balance sheet with the proceeds of the Placing available to it will also 
enable the Group to consider gearing, if appropriate. 
 
Notes to Editors: 
 
Key milestones 
 
- Easydate's business was established in 2005 by Bill Dobbie and Max Polyakov; 
- Development of the businesses' innovative, scalable technology platform and 
launch of www.benaughty.com in 2007; 
- in March 2008, acquisition of www.speeddater.com, a leading operator of UK 
speed dating events; 
- in December 2008, acquisition of part of the mobile business of NetPlay TV 
Mobile Limited as the catalyst for the Group's mobile operations; 
- in late 2008, introduced outsourcing services and signed Allegran Limited as 
its first customer 
- expanded the business internationally in 2009 and currently generates revenues 
from subscribers in more than 10 countries; 
- in March 2010, the Company acquired the business and assets of Allegran 
Limited, the Daily Mail's online dating business which expanded the Group's 
existing portfolio to include the www.girlsdateforfree.com and www.loopylove.com 
websites; and 
- by April 2010, the Group had approximately 13 million individual profiles 
registered with it (compared with approximately 5 million individual profiles 
registered with it in June 2009). 
 
Board of Directors 
 
Bill Dobbie (aged 51), Chief Executive Officer 
Bill Dobbie is an experienced company director of technology based companies and 
left AIM-quoted iomart Group plc which he co-founded in 1998 after 6 years on 
the Board. Bill was instrumental in iomart Group plc's successful flotation in 
2000, and also its successful repositioning in 2004. He was Business Development 
Director for five years in his executive capacity at iomart Group plc. Prior to 
that Bill worked as a director of Scottish Telecom plc after his previous 
company, Teledata Ltd, had been acquired by Scottish Telecom plc in 1996. Bill 
was appointed Director of many of the companies Scottish Telecom plc acquired 
during his 2 years working there including Demon Internet. Before building and 
selling Teledata Ltd, Bill built up 10 years international experience in the 
computer industry with Unisys. He is also non-executive chairman of Maxymiser 
Limited, a leading web optimisation system, as well as a non-executive director 
of Tag Games Ltd and IDE Group Ltd. Bill holds an honours degree in Pure 
Mathematics from the University of St. Andrews and an MBA from Glasgow 
University. 
 
Max Polyakov (aged 32), Chief Operating Officer 
Max Polyakov gained a medical degree from the Medicine Zaporozhye State Medical 
University in the Ukraine before qualifying as a doctor. He then gained a 
business school qualification before building his first successful technical 
services company Alarit in the Ukraine. Max moved to the UK in 2004 to finish 
development of HitDynamics of which he was chief executive officer. This company 
was a provider of web analytics software allowing website owners to track 
traffic to their sites and ascertain which traffic sources deliver conversions 
to sales. HitDynamics was sold to Hitwise (now Experian) in 2006. He started the 
Easydate Group business with Bill Dobbie in 2005. Max is based in the Group's 
Edinburgh headquarters. 
 
Mark Doughty (aged 41), Finance Director 
Prior to joining Easydate in April 2010, Mark spent 4 years as chief financial 
officer, chief operating officer and company secretary of Australian Stock 
Exchange listed Jumbuck Entertainment Ltd, which supplies chat and dating sites 
to over 120 of the world's leading telecommunications companies. Jumbuck's 
products included Fastflirting, Powerchat, Mobilove, Mobiflirt and one of 
Australia's largest auction and car sales websites. Mark has many years 
experience with fast growing private and publicly listed international 
businesses. He has been chief financial officer of Edinburgh-based global web 
learning company The Interactive University and, for 6 years, was chief 
financial officer of AIM-quoted technology company Memory Corporation plc. Mark 
also co-founded a growing software business and spent several years with AWG Plc 
as head of finance for their property division, responsible for over GBP1 
billion in investment. Mark is a graduate of Heriot-Watt University in 
accountancy and finance and qualified as a chartered accountant in Scotland with 
PwC. He will be based in Easydate's Edinburgh headquarters from August 2010. 
 
George Elliott, (aged 57), Chairman and Non-Executive Director 
George Elliott is non-executive chairman of AIM-quoted Craneware plc, a leading 
supplier of revenue cycle software for the US healthcare industry and Corsair 
Memory Inc., a leading designer and supplier of high-performance components to 
the PC gaming hardware market, based in Fremont, California. George is also a 
non-executive director of AIM-quoted drug discovery company Summit Corporation 
plc, Oxonica plc, a developer of nanomaterials and Scotcloth Limited, a software 
developer. From 2000 to 2007, George was chief financial officer of Wolfson 
Microelectronics plc, a leading global provider of high performance 
semiconductors to the consumer electronics market. During his tenure, he oversaw 
the company gaining entry to the FTSE 250 Index. Prior to this, he was business 
development director at McQueen International Ltd (now Sykes), where he was 
responsible for strategic sales and marketing. George, formerly a partner of 
Grant Thornton, is a chartered accountant and is a graduate of Heriot-Watt 
University in accountancy and finance and is based in Edinburgh. George joined 
Easydate as independent Chairman and Non-Executive Director in May 2010. 
 
Martin Higginson (aged 47), Non-Executive Director 
Martin Higginson formed his first business at the age of 19, which he went on to 
sell to publishing giants, IPC Magazines. In 1987 Martin Higginson founded 
Megafone Limited, a company specialising in the delivery of premium rate 
competition services. This company was sold to Scottish Power plc in 1998. 
Within Scottish Power plc, Martin oversaw the integration of six newly acquired 
businesses into the interactive content business and, prior to the company's 
flotation under the new name of Thus plc, he was responsible for the company's 
internet and interactive businesses (including Demon Internet). He left Thus plc 
in July 2000 when he was Business Development Director responsible for mergers, 
acquisitions and business development across the Thus plc portfolio, and founded 
Monstermob, a company he floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2003. He is 
currently Chief Executive Officer of AIM-quoted NetPlayTV plc, the UK's largest 
interactive TV gaming company. Martin Higginson joined Easydate as a 
Non-Executive Director in December 2009 having previously been a Non Executive 
Director of companies in the IDE Group of Companies from 2008. 
 
 
*This summary should be read in conjunction with the full details set out in the 
Admission Document 
 
This information is provided by RNS 
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange 
   END 
 
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