YouGov is hoping to reap the rewards of elections in both the US and UK next year, its new boss said.
The polling firm was founded by Stephan Shakespeare and ex-Conservative Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi in 2000 and is targeting the United States for the next stage of its growth – as it has less than 1 per cent of the market.
Chief executive Steve Hatch, appointed in August, said the company had a ‘moment in time’ with the US Presidential election looming.
Shares in the company soared 22.9 per cent, or 158p, to 848p yesterday, seeing YouGov’s value top £950million.
In demand: YouGov, which was founded by Stephan Shakespeare and ex-Conservative Party chairman Nadhim Zahawi (pictured) in 2000 is targeting the United States
Profits at the firm leaped 77 per cent to almost £45million for the year to July while revenue increased 17 per cent to £258.3million.
Hatch said: ‘We have a moment in time over the next few months with the US Presidential election – that’s obviously great for our revenue potential but it’s also great for our brand in the marketplace.’
Many of the 2bn voters who are set to head to the ballot box over the next year would ‘turn to our platform to understand the world,’ he added.
YouGov offers detailed political coverage in the US and UK of political sentiments and voting intentions.
The company also said yesterday that its performance in the US had been knocked by ‘a slowdown in the technology sector in the period’.
But it added that the UK arm had performed ‘well’ although there was an ‘overall 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 may 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 US or establish a secondary listing.
‘The US spends the most on marketing data,’ he said. ‘They are the most savvy. It is a natural base.’ US markets were better at supporting companies than the UK was, Shakespeare added.
YouGov’s departure from the London market would be another blow to the City.
The London stock market has recently been snubbed by Cambridge-based chipmaker Arm’s decision to list instead in New York.
This has underscored a sense of desperation for the City to try and stem an exodus of companies that are moving their listings across the Atlantic.
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