Activist Gatemore requires YouGov to be bought after administration ‘missteps’

Gatemore Capital Management disclosed a position in YouGov on Wednesday as it broke cover to demand the firm be put up for sale.

The activist investor blamed a series of management ‘missteps’ for a share price decline of more than 70 per cent since the research and data analytics group’s all-time high of 1,600p in December 2021.

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

‘Challenges’ in YouGov’s European, Middle East and African markets led to a profit warning in June, while a full-year dividend hike last month was not enough to revive shares from a more than 60 per cent decline since the start of 2024.

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

The YouGov intervention follows previous Gatemore demands levied at London-listed firms this year.

YouGov shares are down more than 70% since their 2021 peak 

The activist called for Watches of Switzerland to quit the City for the US last month, while Gatemore’s long running campaign for the removal of Elementis boss Paul Waterman finally proved successful early this week.

Gatemore also highlighted YouGov’s membership of AIM as an ‘obstacle’ to share price rerating, and lashed out at the group’s executive directors who ‘collectively own less than 0.05 per cent of the company’s shares’.

The activist said YouGov is ‘an attractive business with a number of fundamental strengths’, but its share price does not reflect this.

Gatemore is not a top YouGov shareholder and its holding in the company is not of sufficient size to be disclosed. 

Gatemore managing director Liad Meidar

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

It called for YouGov to conduct a strategic review ‘with a view to unlocking value for shareholders’, with a full sale the ‘most direct path’ to doing so.

Gatemore managing director Liad Meidar said: ‘We are deeply confident in YouGov’s fundamental strengths and long-term potential.

‘However, urgent actions are needed now to help the Company chart a path towards realising its intrinsic value.

‘YouGov could thrive under new ownership, leaving behind its current governance issues and the malaise of being listed on AIM.’

YouGov has not responded to a request for comment. 

YouGov share have continued to struggle this year despite a busy global election schedule