LONDON'S SUGAR BABIES: THE SOUR TRUTH

An easy way to make money — or plain sordid? Claudia Cockerell meets the young professionals dating rich older men in exchange for cash, just to pay the rent

- Claudia Cockerell

Katie started going on dates in exchange for money for one reason: she had just moved into a flat in south London with friends, and needed extra cash to pay her rent. As a 25-year-old playwright with no fixed income, it was difficult to make ends meet. She signed up to a website called WhatsYourPrice, which bills itself as “the online dating shortcut” for rich men looking to date attractive girls. The premise is simple: men send women cash offers for a date, which they can accept, decline, or counter. If they agree on a sum, the money is exchanged when they meet.

Unlike traditional escorting, the first date is a meet-and-greet of sorts and there isn’t meant to be any pressure to have sex — which is why it appealed to Katie. “It meant that you could go on first dates with these guys, they buy you dinner at a nice restaurant and give you something in the region of £200 in cash,’ she explains. “Then you leave and never see them again.”

Katie is one of many young professionals and students in London who are seeking out wealthy men to help pay the bills. According to SpareRoom, the average price for a room in London is about £1,000 a month. This means young Londoners on entry-level salaries spend half their income on rent, making the idea of a benefactor more appealing than ever.

“Sugar” dating websites have been around for years. American entrepreneur Brandon Wade founded SeekingArrangement in 2006 because he was an MIT graduate on a six-figure salary who had no luck with women. The idea was to connect wealthy men (sugar daddies) with hot young women (sugar babies), who would be incentivised by the promise of lavish gifts, luxury holidays and an allowance.