Avenues Dating: The Longest-Running Dating Agency Catering to UK Singles Over 50

The Short Version: Based in London, Avenues Dating offers senior singles another avenue to love. The bespoke dating agency fills members’ social calendars with personalized introductions and dynamic singles events. Whether you live in Yorkshire or Scotland, you can become an Avenues Dating member to meet authentic and compatible date prospects near you. It’s a uniquely safe and discreet way for seniors to date one another. A team of professional dating consultants thoroughly vets every member to make sure the network remains exclusive to relationship-oriented singles over the age of 50. If you’re single and thinking of getting back out there, you can enlist Avenues Dating’s matchmakers to help you find that special someone who will make you feel like a teenager again.

Online dating can feel like entering dangerous foreign territory for singles who have never navigated dating websites and apps before. All those flashy features and strange profiles can be overwhelming, and a lot of working professionals don’t feel comfortable exposing their personal lives on a public platform.

Seniors are especially vulnerable to online scams because they often don’t know what warning signs to look out for and can be targeted by identity thieves or other criminals. In 2016, the BBC reported that online dating scams reached a record high and impacted over 3,889 victims in the UK. So you not only have to worry about someone stealing your heart on a dating site; you have to worry about someone stealing your hard-earned money.

Joining a dating site can be a risky business for seniors. Fortunately, there’s another avenue available. Avenues Dating is a trustworthy dating agency for UK singles of a certain age. A hands-on team of dating consultants arrange one-on-one meetings and organize private events for members who are looking for another shot at love.

Avenues Dating has arranged hundreds of quality dates for senior singles.

Founded in 1993, Avenues Dating is the longest-running dating agency for relationship-oriented singles over 50. It offers a traditional matchmaking format with bespoke introduction, headhunting, and dating coaching services for clients who want to upgrade their dating experiences. They have taken on clients in Greater London, Scotland, Wales, Yorkshire, and other parts of England.

Professional Relationship Advisor Trelawney Kerrigan said the team takes a genuine interest in helping every client find his or her way to a happily ever after. These kindhearted folks don’t believe age should be a barrier to love, so they do everything possible to connect senior singles in lasting relationships.

“There’s nothing stuffy about older dating,” Trelawney said. “Our members are dynamic, exciting people who really value relationships and understand what it means to share their lives with someone.”

Avenues Dating maintains an active dating network exclusively for the UK’s senior singles. The matchmakers and dating coaches assist a wide range of people, from working professionals who value their privacy to retirees who don’t feel comfortable with online dating. The agency’s youngest client is 50, and the oldest client is 86.

Every potential client has to go through an interview process and background check before becoming a member of Avenues Dating. Unlike a dating site where anyone can create a profile and falsify personal information, the dating agency verifies that everyone is who they say they are and don’t have a criminal history. That keeps members safe as they meet strangers in the network.

Avenues Dating is a member of the Dating Agency Association, an independent watchdog group.

The matchmakers also collect some biographical details (their likes, dislikes, and relationship goals) from new members as well. They keep this information confidential and use it purely for matchmaking purposes. New members can expect their first match within three or four weeks of signing up.

During the introduction process, the matchmakers show members the profiles of potential matches and only give out contact information if both individuals express interest in going on a date. Once the matchmaker has made a match, she will give the gentleman a phone number and ask him to arrange the date, ideally within the next couple days.

Avenues Dating guarantees a minimum number of introductions during a 12-month membership, but the team often arranges more than that, depending on the client’s preferences and schedule. “When you’re dealing with humans, it’s not a factory,” Trelawney said. “We have a minimum to give people peace of mind, but we’ll be trying our hardest to find as many matches as we can.”

Sometimes the matchmakers get it right on the first go. For example, Lynne, a 63-year-old dater in Glasgow, hit it off with Peter, who was her first introduction, and three weeks later she put her Avenues membership on hold to see him exclusively.

Not everyone feels comfortable meeting a stranger one on one and striking up a conversation. It’s a lot of pressure to go on a date and sum up your life experiences (which, for senior daters, includes quite a lot) in the course of a dinner. Some daters don’t do well in interview-style dates and prefer the more open and free-wheeling atmosphere of a party to meet date prospects.

Avenues Dating caters to these social individuals by hosting frequent members-only events in and around London. You can mingle with a mature crowd and keep your options open as you chat people up throughout the evening. About 50 or 60 people typically turn out to the high-end events, so it’s a fertile dating ground for singles.

“My social life has been excellent since I joined. I go to so many social events.” — Norman, a 73-year-old who got in a relationship thanks to Avenues Dating

Right now, Avenues Dating events take place about once a month, but the team plans to increase the frequency of these events to give members more opportunities to socialize and fall in love.

Trelawney told us the Avenues Dating events instill a sense of community in members from all walks of life. “We want our events to grow so people feel part of something,” she said, “and these fears of isolation disappear.”

The dating experts at Avenues Dating have made it their mission to ensure that no one spends their golden years alone — and they’ve been effective so far. Over the last 15 years, the matchmakers have been responsible for many success stories of older couples finding love and getting married.

Don met Stella on his fourth introduction with Avenues Dating, and he called the team right away to say Stella was perfect for him. They have been together since 2011 and plan to spend the rest of their lives together.

Ray felt at his lowest low when his wife had an affair and left him alone at 60. “Through Avenues, I have now been matched successfully on 11 occasions and have enjoyed three really wonderful long-term relationships,” he wrote in a testimonial. “This is a thoroughly worthwhile and totally enjoyable experience for me.”

“We are grateful for all the work you carried out in helping us find each other.” —  A couple who met through Avenues Dating

“This has been a brilliant way of meeting people for me,” one client said about Avenues Dating. He got in a relationship after the dating consultants introduced him to a special woman named Eva. “I feel really pleased with my membership.”

“I was lost when I initially came to Avenues,” said Lynne, a 52-year-old from Windsor, Berkshire. She had gotten out of a violent marriage and was looking for a way to open her heart again and build confidence in the dating scene. She said the dating agency’s support system and social membership has been just what she needed. “The last 18 months with Avenues have been so much fun. I have enjoyed lots of dates and met some really nice men.”

The dating consultants work closely with singles to not only get them in loving relationships but also to get them feeling good about themselves again.

“Our clients really value relationships and understand what it means to share their lives. We’re learning a lot from them as well,” Trelawney reflected. “It’s a reality check about what’s really important in life.”

Online dating isn’t for everyone. Many discreet daters prefer to avoid such a hazardous dating environment and go for safer and more personalized alternatives. If you’re eager to get offline and meet real people with relationship potential, Avenues Dating offers a reliable and risk-free service — with no swiping necessary.

You can keep your privacy and still meet eligible men and women in your age bracket by joining this supportive matching agency. The high-end events and hand-picked introductions help daters enjoy the dating experience.

Whether you’re 50 and divorced or 75 and widowed, Avenues Dating gives you the chance to start again and make meaningful friendships and relationships with high-caliber individuals in the UK.

“Generally speaking, age is not a barrier to our clients,” she said. “They’re very youthful. They have hobbies, they travel, they have dynamic lives, and what they want is to find someone with that same spirit. They want to fall in love again.”