YouGov soars on predictions that it will reap the rewards of elections in the UK and US next year.
YouGov hopes to reap the rewards of elections in both the United States and the United Kingdom next year, its new boss has said.
The polling firm was founded by Stephan Shakespeare and former Conservative Party president Nadhim Zahawi in 2000 and is targeting the United States for the next stage of its growth as it has less than 1 percent of the market.
Chief executive Steve Hatch, appointed in August, said the company had had a “moment in time” with the looming US presidential election.
Shares in the company soared 22.9 per cent, or 158p, to 848p yesterday, with YouGov’s value surpassing £950m.
In demand: YouGov, founded by Stephan Shakespeare and former Conservative Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi (pictured) in 2000, is targeting the United States.
The company’s profits rose 77 per cent to almost £45m in the year to July, while revenue rose 17 per cent to £258.3m.
Hatch said: “We have momentum in the coming months with the US presidential election, which is obviously great for our revenue potential, but it’s also great for our brand in the market.”
Many of the 2 billion voters who will go to the polls over the next year “would turn to our platform to understand the world,” he added.
YouGov offers in-depth political coverage in the US and UK on political sentiments and voting intentions.
The company also said yesterday that its performance in the United States had been affected by “a slowdown in the technology sector during the period.”
But he added that the UK division had performed “well”, although there was “generally negative” sentiment.
YouGov experienced a pandemic boom in 2020 thanks to governments using the pollster to find out how Covid was impacting the public.
The company, however, did not address speculation that it might move its London listing to New York.
Founder and chairman Shakespeare had said in August that the company could move its primary listing to the United States or establish a secondary listing.
“The United States is the country that spends the most on marketing data,” he said. ‘They are the most intelligent. It’s a natural base.’ American markets were better at supporting businesses than the UK, Shakespeare added.
YouGov’s departure from the London market would be another blow for the City.
The London stock market has recently been snubbed by Cambridge-based chipmaker Arm’s decision to list in New York.
This has highlighted a sense of desperation on the part of the city to try to stop the exodus of companies that are moving their listings across the Atlantic.
