Dating group Cupid announced Friday that its Chief Executive, Bill Dobbie, had on Thursday purchased 865,000 ordinary shares at 114.11p each, following a strong set of full year results out earlier in the week.

The purchase cost him £987,052 and took his stake in the group to just under 14.68m shares, equal to 17.6% of the issued share capital.

Dobbie said of the transaction: "Following such a strong set of results, my commitment to, and confidence in the Cupid business remains as strong as ever.

"The business is built on solid foundations and we will continue to execute on our growth strategy. We have, and continue to make significant steps to achieve our objective of one million subscribers across 25 markets by 2017 and thereby doubling the size of the company."

The group posted a 51% rise in revenue to £80.9m (FY 2011: £53.6m), while reported profit before tax rose 31% to £9.2m (FY 2011: £7.0m).

Its cash position increased to £14.1m at the period end, from £7.8m a year earlier.


Top Director Buys

Cupid (CUP)
Director name: Mr William Dobbie
Amount purchased: 865,000 @ 114.11p
Value: £987,052

International Personal Finance (IPF)
Director name: Mr Richard Moat
Amount purchased: 15,000 @ 466.00p
Value: £69,900

Aga Rangemaster Group (AGA)
Director name: Mr William B McGrath
Amount purchased: 26,270 @ 86.83p
Value: £22,810

Aviva (AV.)
Director name: Mr Michael Hawker
Amount purchased: 5,000 @ 316.20p
Value: £15,810

Goldplat (GDP)
Director name: Mr Russell Lamming
Amount purchased: 145,084 @ 10.25p
Value: £14,871

Aga Rangemaster Group (AGA)
Director name: Mr Shaun Smith
Amount purchased: 15,420 @ 86.83p
Value: £13,389


Top Director Sells

Kerry Group 'A' Shares (KYGA)
Director name: Mr Stan McCarthy
Amount sold: 7,500 @ € 49.26
Value: €369,424

Kerry Group 'A' Shares (KYGA)
Director name: Mr Gerry Behan
Amount sold: 5,000 @ € 43.00
Value: €215,000

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Related share prices
Aviva (AV.) share price
Aga Rangemaster Group (AGA) share price
Kerry Group 'A' Shares (KYGA) share price
Goldplat (GDP) share price
International Personal Finance (IPF) share price
Cupid (CUP) share price