YouGov seeks to capitalise on upcoming US and UK elections

YouGov is seeking to capitalise on elections in countries including the US and UK next year, according to Steve Hatch, the newly appointed chief executive of the London-listed data analytics and polling group.

Shares in YouGov jumped more than 20 per cent on Tuesday, taking its value to more than £950mn after it reported a 77 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to almost £45mn for the year to July. Revenue rose 17 per cent year on year to £258.3mn, in line with consensus estimates.

Hatch said the group would target the US for the next stage of growth in the business, adding that the company at present had less than 1 per cent of the potential market in the country. 

YouGov works with consumer and tech brands as well as providing detailed political coverage in the US and UK of voting intentions. 

“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. There are over 2bn people voting over the next 12 months, many of which will turn to our platform to understand the world.”

In the UK, YouGov’s polling of voting intentions shows that the clear lead held by Labour did not change after the Conservative party conference last week, with a gap of 45 per cent intending to vote for the opposition party versus 24 per cent for the Tories. 

Stephan Shakespeare, co-founder and a leading shareholder in YouGov, earlier this year told the Financial Times that the company was considering listing in the US to help support its growth in the country. Hatch on Tuesday said YouGov was always reviewing its options but he declined to comment further. 

Hatch added that the company’s planned €315mn acquisition of GfK’s consumer panel business would also help the US strategy, with the deal expected to be completed this year after scrutiny by EU competition authorities. 

YouGov — as with companies in advertising and marketing — has experienced a fall in demand from technology clients over the past year. However, Hatch said these clients were now returning, with “an increase in the number of assignments we’re receiving”. YouGov on Tuesday said it remained confident in meeting current market expectations for its 2024 financial year.

Hatch, who was an executive at Facebook owner Meta until joining YouGov this summer, said: “When you’ve got the most sophisticated data organisations in the world appointing and expanding with YouGov, I think it’s a good sign of confidence about the offering that we have.”

He will use his first year in the role to work on the quality of its consumer panels, which provide its core data sets, such as targeting under-represented groups and expanding into different product categories.

YouGov carries out “panels” of consumer behaviour for brands, and Hatch said that GfK would add extra data on buying choices to go alongside its existing insight into intentions and attitudes.

YouGov is also building a niche in providing data on viewing data for streamers such as Netflix and Disney+, which will become increasingly important as these groups roll out advertising options.