Can money buy you love?

Feb 12 2008 by Emma Pinch, Liverpool Daily Post

As more people struggle to meet the perfect partner, Emma Pinch reports on an exclusive dating agency for the seriously rich where you need £1m to join

MOST of us love to gloat over the romantic travails of unlucky-in-love celebs. Because for every Posh and Becks, there’s a Paul and Heather. For every man magnet like Angelina, there’s a lonely Jennifer.

In the immortal words of Sir Paul McCartney – and he would know – money just can’t buy you love.

But Cheshire’s rich, glamorous and lovelorn are having a good shot at disproving that theory.

Seventy Thirty is an uber-exclusive dating agency specially set up to find partners for the seriously rich. You have to have £1m to join and the largest share of its members, outside London, comes from the moneyed lanes of Cheshire.

In return, a battery of psychologists and fitness trainers are on hand to whittle you into perfect dating material.

The company was set up in February, 2005, by Susie Ambrose, an addictions and relationships psychotherapist, who was looking for a “really top- end service” to refer wealthy but single clients to. She discovered a gap in the market and set about creating Seventy Thirty with two psychologist colleagues, and it now has 3,000 members on its books.

Clients undergo detailed psychological profiling to find out what makes them tick, and to address issues such as insecurity or adjusting to sudden wealth, which might be impeding their chances of success.

They also have a database of prospective partners handpicked from exclusive social and business gatherings, who might not have made a million but are well on their way to the top, and who are most definitely not gold-diggers.

Seventy Thirty gets its name from the work/life balance of your typical self-made millionaire.

Says Rachel MacLynn, psychologist and head of membership: “Someone living in the city who works very hard during the week and then spends the weekend playing golf or on his boat, or at home in the country, doesn’t have time to go out into the singles market or in a bar on their own, because there’s so many other things to do with his or her time.

“Or they might meet someone, find she’s good looking, gets on really well in the short-term, but a lot of our members are looking for the long-term partner. Discovering whether you want the same things out of life usually take three to six months to find out.

“We explore their upbringing, background, lifestyle and relationship goals, and get to the core of their attitudes and beliefs right at the beginning.

“Some people don’t value wealth but they do value hard work. They might be the CEO of a company but have had a tough upbringing and paid their way through university through lots of horrible jobs, and place emphasis on the struggle someone has had to get where they are.”

Generally, the men on their books want to meet a woman who is physically attractive, slightly younger, intelligent and grounded with a complementary level of success.

But they often come with an inflexible lifestyle.

“They have a great job, a great home and a lot of people may have been married or have children from other relationships which they are very involved with,” Rachel explains.

Women look for someone of up to five years older, successful, strong, chivalrous and who is going to make them feel cared for.

Terry McMahon, 33, from Nantwich, set up a recruitment business shortly after leaving university, which she describes as “very profitable”. While she was earning money for the exclusive address and high performance car, her friends were getting married.