An internet company made two venture capitalists five times their money in just 18 months, realising the dream that thousands of entrepreneurs entertained during the dot-com mania.

Start-up investors Beringea and Matrix Private Equity backed Espotting Media, a UK online advertising service set up by two former schoolfriends in 2000, when it was worth £22m (€32m). It was sold for £97m to FindWhat.com, a Nasdaq-listed company.