A Birmingham company that wants to create a lonely hearts website for people with genital herpes is raising £3.5m in an Ofex flotation.

The firm, Henderson Morley, is entirely focused on herpes. It is developing novel treatments for the disease, selling existing medicines and is planning an internet site of more than 3,000 pages for sufferers.

Chairman Andrew Knight described herpes as a "particularly distressing" problem which was often a barrier when people met for the first time.

He said that a lonely hearts service would help "remove the issue" and overcome any embarrassment.

As a whole, the company's website will be a "cross between a magazine, a reference book and a herpes-focused shop".

In time, Henderson Morley plans to sell medicines online.

The company is likely to be valued at £10m on joining the unregulated stock market. It believes it faces a huge market - one in five North Americans has genital herpes. The disease is thought to have similar prevalence in Europe, although screening is much less widespread.

A former property and nursing homes entrepreneur, Mr Knight established Henderson Morley four years ago with Ian Pardoe, a doctor researching herpes at the University of Birmingham.

The company is working on three treatments. They work by altering the electrical potential of the virus, preventing it from reproducing. Henderson Morley has two further drugs under development, which originate from plants.

Henderson Morley intends to charge browsers to enter its website, then channel the money towards drug development.

Mr Knight said people would be prepared to pay. "Some of these people are desperate," he said. "They've got symptoms which they are very worried about."

Many herpes carriers suffer from cold sores, ulcers, pain and depression with recurrences as often as every month. In more serious cases, the virus can cause blindness, shingles and cancer.

Once contracted, there is no way of getting rid of the disease. The virus is believed to be developing resistance to the most common existing treatments.

Henderson Morley's flotation is being handled by Griffiths and Lamb, the Birmingham stockbroker. The minimum subscription permitted is £1,000.

If successful, the placing will value Mr Knight's 37% stake in the company at £3.7m and Dr Pardoe's stake at £2m.