YouGov Regulatory News (YOU)

6 Mar 2008 11:11

YouGov PLC06 March 2008 6 March 2008 YouGov plc (the "Company") YouGov, Numis and FOUR Capital to launch research-driven hedge fund YouGov plc, the UK's leading online market research agency, announced today thatit has signed heads of agreement with Numis Corporation PLC and FOUR CapitalPartners Limited to form a joint venture hedge fund designed to exploitinvestment opportunities identified by YouGov's proprietary, real-time consumerresearch capability. Numis will lead fund raising activities, provide investmentresearch and execution services to the joint venture; and, FOUR Capital'sexperienced professionals will identify investments that exploit YouGov'sconsumer insights. YouGov's demonstrable accuracy has led to it being commissioned to conductresearch for a growing number of financial institutions wanting to test tradingideas with real world market research. This led to the creation of YouGovAlphain August 2007 which supplies a number of fund management companies withmarketplace assessments of stocks and sectors. The joint venture with Numis andFOUR Capital will build on YouGovAlpha's UK and US success. At a time whenmarket conditions are difficult, the joint venture partners believe that thefund's distinctive approach will be attractive to a broad range of investors andplan to raise a first fund later in the year. Stephan Shakespeare, YouGov Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer, will alsobe CEO of the new company, working closely with the professionals within thepartnership at Numis and FOUR. Based on their confidence in the new jointventure, a number of YouGov directors will be investing in the fund. Nadhim Zahawi, co-founder and CEO of YouGov said: "The creation of this jointventure is the natural and logical extension of the success YouGov has had inproviding the investment community with accurate research. YouGov's uniquemarket insights will provide investors with a genuine point of differentiationat a time when markets are challenging; exactly the time when investors need tobe confident in their trading strategies. The shared vision, professionalism anduse of the partners' complimentary skills will ensure this unique propositionwill deliver maximum benefit." Stephan Shakespeare, co-founder of YouGov and CEO of the new company, said: "Forthe last year I have been heavily focused on achieving ever greater precision inmeasuring changing consumer behavior and gaining insights which can inform goodinvestment decisions. YouGov has demonstrated its consistent accuracy inpredicting elections - well, the financial markets are like having an electionevery day." Enquiries: YouGov plc Stephan Shakespeare 020 7012 6000 Numis Bill Trent 020 7260 1333 FOUR Capital Chris Rodgers 020 7776 5703 Financial Dynamics Charlie Palmer / Nicola Biles 020 7831 3113 Grant Thornton Corporate Finance - Nominated Advisor Gerry Beaney / Colin Aaronson 020 7383 5100 Brunswick Gill Ackers / Helene Zaugg 020 7404 5959 Notes to Editors: Founded in May 2000, YouGov is a professional market research agency pioneeringthe use of the Internet and information technology to collect higher-qualityin-depth data for market research and public consultation. Numis is an independent investment banking and stockbroking business. It aims tobecome the investment bank and broker of choice for high quality London-quotedmid and small cap companies. Thomson Extel Survey Awards voted Numis the leadingbroker, research, execution and corporate access provider for quoted companieswith market capitalisations of less than £1bn. FOUR Capital Partners Limited ("FOUR") is a specialist UK equity fund managementbusiness and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. FOUR was established in 2006 and is majority owned by its founding partners, TedWilliams, Chris Rodgers, Tom Carroll and Derrick Dunne. FOUR's distinctiveinvestment approach is designed to generate strong investment returns withouttaking undue risks. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange