Activist Gatemore calls for YouGov to be sold after management ‘mistakes’

Gatemore Capital Management disclosed a position in YouGov on Wednesday when it came forward to demand that the company be put up for sale.

The activist investor blamed a series of management “missteps” for the share price drop of more than 70 per cent from the data research and analysis group’s all-time high of 1,600 pence in December 2021.

Investors in YouGov, co-founded by former foreign minister Nadhim Zahawi, have endured a torrid year despite a busy global election schedule.

‘Challenges’ in YouGov’s European, Middle Eastern and African markets led to a profit warning in June, while a full-year dividend increase last month was not enough to revive shares from a further fall 60 percent from the beginning of 2024.

Gatemore told the Sohn Investment Conference in London that YouGov had “eroded investor confidence” by failing to provide “sufficient and timely” financial guidance, while a lack of “clarity” has led to a “large gap between management plan and market consensus.

YouGov’s intervention follows previous Gatemore lawsuits imposed on London-listed companies this year.

The activist asked Watches of Switzerland to leave town for the United States last month, while Gatemore’s long-running campaign to oust Elementis boss Paul Waterman finally proved successful earlier this week.

Gatemore also highlighted YouGov’s membership in AIM as an “obstacle” to the share price reclassification, and hit out at the group’s chief executives who “collectively own less than 0.05 per cent of the company’s shares”.

The activist said YouGov is “an attractive company with a number of fundamental strengths”, but its share price does not reflect this.

Gatemore is not a major shareholder in YouGov and its stake in the company is not large enough to be disclosed.

YouGov’s website says its main shareholders are Liontrust Asset Management, Abrdn and Octopus Investments, which own 7.9, 7.4 and 6.1 percent of the company respectively.

It called on YouGov to carry out a strategic review “with a view to unlocking value for shareholders”, with a full sale being the “most direct route” to achieve this.

Gatemore CEO Liad Meidar said: “We are deeply confident in YouGov’s fundamental strengths and long-term potential.”

‘However, urgent action is now needed to help the Company chart a path towards realizing its intrinsic value.

“YouGov could prosper under a new owner, leaving behind its current governance problems and the discomfort of listing on AIM.”

YouGov has not responded to a request for comment.