Feeld’s £3.8m payout bucks the dating-app slowdown

The couple who founded Feeld are sharing in the dating app’s biggest shareholder payout yet, even as larger competitors struggle to keep users. Ana Kirova and Dimo Trifonov are among the shareholders receiving a £3.8m dividend, a distribution of company earnings, according to Guardian Business (direct). The payout follows a sharp rise in sales at a business that began by helping couples and singles find threesomes.

Revenue rose 32% to £64m, while pre-tax profit—the amount earned before tax—climbed from £9.3m to £11.4m. The dividend is well above the £600,000 reported in 2024, previously the largest in Feeld’s accounts. Those figures show a platform built around non-monogamous, queer and kinky users expanding while parts of the broader dating-app industry face fatigue with searching for relationships online.

An overseas business with UK roots

Accounts filed at Companies House, the UK’s company registry, attributed the sales increase to strong growth in users worldwide. Markets outside the UK generated £56m of the £64m revenue total, nearly 90%. Feeld identified Mexico and Spain as its fastest-growing regions. New York, Toronto and Paris led among cities, each posting user growth above 20%, the company said. The figures underline how heavily the UK-based business depends on an international audience.

Kirova and Trifonov launched the business as 3nder, pronounced “Thrinder”. A lawsuit from Tinder forced a change of name, but the renamed platform has since grown rapidly. The contrast with its larger rival is striking: Match Group, owner of Tinder, Hinge and OK Cupid, reported a 5% fall in user numbers earlier this year. Guardian Business described Feeld as appearing to attract some people from more conventional rivals, although the source provides no measure of that movement.

That wider appeal has also raised a question about identity. Reports suggest an influx of people with more conventional or monogamous preferences has softened Feeld’s edgy image. President Kyle Brennan instead framed its performance as evidence of changing attitudes to relationships, rather than simply a commercial success.

Brennan said the results reflected a wider shift towards greater openness, curiosity and personal choice in how people connect.

Paid features, and a security challenge

Feeld earns revenue from its Majestic memberships, which offer unlimited likes, the ability to see who has liked a member and more detailed filters for potential partners. It also sells additional “pings”, allowing users to express interest and send a message before both people have matched. Beyond the app, the company hosts in-person gatherings, including trivia nights and events where guests explain why others should date their friends.

Growth has come alongside a technology challenge. In 2024, London cybersecurity firm Fortbridge exposed weaknesses that could have allowed sensitive information—including messages, private photos and sexuality details—to be accessed or changed. Feeld said it investigated the issues raised on 3 March and fixed them by 28 May that year. It said there was no evidence that customer data had been accessed.

The company has invested £10.5m in technology upgrades over the past year. Its next test is whether it can sustain international user growth while managing the security demands of a service holding highly personal information. Overseas sales, paid features and the balance between a broader audience and Feeld’s original identity are the points to watch.