Linkedin Corporation (LNKD) Reaches 10M Members in U.K.

Linkedin Corporation (NYSE:LNKD), the social networking site that has been exceeding market expectations ever since its IPO, announced early Wednesday that it has achieved a significant membership milestone in the U.K., as now 10 million people – or about 80 percent of working professionals in the empire, it is estimated – have accounts on the professional networking site.

In a release announcing the milestone – sent directly to Insider Monkey – Linkedin Corporation (NYSE:LNKD) European Managing Director Ariel Eckstein said, “Reaching 10 million members in the UK shows that skilled workers believe our community is vital to their careers. Every day, our members are adding information to their profiles, sharing important views and insights, connecting to one another, building their networks and getting access to a world of potential contacts, business partners, investors, employers and employees.”

It is estimated that more than 8,000 active groups in the U.K. are on the Linkedin Corporation (NYSE:LNKD) site, with London, Birmingham, Reading, Edinburgh and Manchester serving as the most-popular locations of U.K. users. Company directors make up more than 400,000 users on the site, while teachers comprise more than 50,000. Katie Ledger, co-author of “And What Do You Do? 10 Steps to Creating a Portfolio Career,” said, “When it comes to raising your professional profile and ensuring that you get noticed by the key players in your sector – if you’re on LinkedIn, you’re much more likely to be on the radar.”

Worldwide, Linkedin Corporation (NYSE:LNKD) boasts nearly 200 million users. It may be significant for investors to note such saturation of the U.K. marketplace by Linkedin, and perhaps may be a clue to the developing and growing momentum with the site, especially as its utility in the current slow economy produces jobs leads and opportunities for users. Certainly someone like hedge-fund manager Chase Coleman of Tiger Global Management LLC is paying attention, especially considering he raised his stake in the company 10-fold during the June quarter over his previous position, to nearly $353 million at the end of June.