Annual Report and Accounts
2009
YouGov Annual Report and Accounts 2009 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Contents
Overview
02 YouGov at a Glance
04 Chairman’s Statement
06 Chief Executive Ofﬁcer’s Report
08 Our Corporate Strategy
09 Operational Integration
10 BrandIndex
Business Review
12 Our Hubs
17 Client Case Studies
20 Chief Financial Ofﬁcer’s Report
Management and Governance
22 Board of Directors
24 Directors’ Report
27 Remuneration Report
29 Corporate Governance Report
32 Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities
Financial Statements
33 Report of the Independent Auditors (to the Members of YouGov plc)
on the Consolidated Financial Statements
34 Consolidated Income Statement
35 Consolidated Balance Sheet
36 Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
37 Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
38 Principal Accounting Policies of the Consolidated Financial Statements
48 Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
70 Report of the Independent Auditors (to the Members of YouGov plc)
on the Parent Company Financial Statements
71 Company Balance Sheet
72 Principal Accounting Policies of the Company Financial Statements
74 Notes to the Company Financial Statements
Additional Information
79 Notice of Annual General Meeting
Hi!
Aloha YouGov 01
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
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你好
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Hallo
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Ciao!
Holá!
YouGov is the authoritative measure of public opinion and consumer
behaviour . It’s our ambition to supply a live stream of data and insight
into what people are thinking and doing all over the world, all of the time,
so that companies, governments and institutions can better serve the
people that sustain them. YouGov is
now one of
the top 25
research
agencies in
the world
02 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
YouGov at a Glance
23.5%
33.0%
7.8%
19.0%
16.7%
UK
Middle East and North Africa
Germany and Central Europe
Scandinavia and Northern Europe
North America
We now have a panel of
2,216,000
people worldwide
YouGovPolimetrix
Region: North America
Ofﬁces: Palo Alto, New York,
Princeton, Washington
Revenue: £3,455,000
Panel size: 1,488,000
Number of employees: 31
Revenue by Region
YouGov
Region: UK
Ofﬁces: London
Revenue: £10,470,000
Panel size: 266,000
Number of employees: 90 YouGov 03
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
YouGovPsychonomics
Region: Germany and Central Europe
Ofﬁces: Cologne, Berlin, Vienna
Revenue: £14,606,000
Panel size: 122,000
Number of employees: 172
YouGovZapera
Region: Scandinavia and Northern Europe
Ofﬁces: Copenhagen, Helsinki, Malmö,
Oslo, Stockholm
Revenue: £7,393,000
Panel size: 143,000
Number of employees: 71
YouGovSiraj
Region: Middle East and North Africa
Ofﬁces: Dubai, Dammam, Jeddah, Riyadh
Revenue: £8,398,000
Panel size: 197,000
Number of employees: 49 04 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Chairman’s Statement
“We have continued
to gain market
share reﬂecting the
compelling nature of
the YouGov offering.”
The 12 months to 31 July 2009
(YouGov’s ﬁnancial year) has clearly
been a very challenging period both
for the economy as a whole and
speciﬁcally for the market research
industry which has experienced
revenue declines to a greater
degree than in previous recessions.
Against this difﬁcult background,
our business succeeded in growing
reported revenue by 10% to £44m
in this last ﬁnancial year although this
represented a fall of 3% in constant
currency terms. This performance,
when compared to the sector’s larger
research groups who reported revenue
declines in 2009, suggests that we
have continued to gain market share
reﬂecting the compelling nature of
the YouGov offering.
Our normalised operating proﬁt was
£3.1m compared to £8.7m in the prior
year . Although this performance was in
line with the expectations set at the time
of the interim results, it is nonetheless
disappointing to report a fall in proﬁt
after eight years continued revenue
and proﬁt growth. The primary reason
for this was the expansion of our
headcount during 2007/08 in
anticipation of higher revenue growth
which did not materialise due to the
subsequent economic slowdown.
In simple terms we let our cost base
get ahead of our income.
As announced in April, we have been
implementing measures to improve
proﬁtability by scaling back investment
in non-core activities and reducing
costs in areas which were not
delivering expected revenue growth.
We expect annual savings of £2.5m
from these actions.
The Group’s balance sheet remains
strong and at the year-end our net cash
balances were £12.5m, compared to
£12.3m at 31July 2008. This will allow
us to support ongoing investment in
new market research products.
The Board remains committed to
growing YouGov’s market share and
focused on investment for future growth.
It therefore does not recommend the
payment of a dividend.
YouGov is a relatively young company
which has been a pioneer in the ﬁeld
of online market research. We have
grown very rapidly and the shock of
the credit crunch and recession has
caused us to pause and take stock.
Over the past year we have had three
main goals:
 to improve ﬁnancial controls
and forecasting;
 to focus on speciﬁc geographies
and market sectors; and
 to invest in improved technology,
panel engagement and
management.
In pursuit of these objectives we have
made a number of senior management
appointments and investments which
are detailed in the Chief Executive
Ofﬁcer’s Report on pages 6 and 7.
In the UK, YouGov has a very strong
brand which is widely recognised for
successful, accurate political opinion
polling and this has opened the doors
for our much larger commercial market
research activity . We are investing to
build similar levels of brand recognition
in our other markets with a view to
repeating the successful UK model
on an international basis.
Roger Parry
Chairman
12 October 2009 09
08
07
06
05
44,322
40,390
14,303
9,472
2,942
YouGov 05
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Operational Highlights
 Good progress in developing the business, despite tough market conditions
 Roll out of global technology platform will improve operational
capabilities and support development of next generation of products
 Developing the next stage of online research – continuous ﬂow of real-time
data customised to each client
 BrandIndex now available in all geographies and gaining traction with major
brand owners. This reﬂects beneﬁts offered by real-time research data
 Ongoing innovation at hub level with launches of new syndicated products –
Recession Tracker , DebtTrack and DongleTrack
 Reputation for accuracy further reinforced by polling results for
the US Presidential Elections
 Actions taken to reduce costs in areas which were not delivering
expected revenue growth
 Group management team strengthened
 Recent US acquisition performing well
 Well positioned to beneﬁt from continuing growth in online research
Key Financials
 Turnover up 10% to £44.3m (2008: £40.4m)
 Normalised operating proﬁt of £3.1m (2008: £8.7m)
 Normalised proﬁt before tax of £3.9m (2008: £9.5m)
 Reported loss before tax of £0.7m (2008: proﬁt £4.0m)
 Normalised earnings per share of 2.7p (2008: 9.1p)
 Revenue per head increased by 20% to £107,000 from £89,000
 Good operating cash generation – improved to £5.3m (2008: £3.1m)
 Balance sheet remains strong – net cash increased to £12.5m
as at 31 July 2009 from £12.3m as at 31 July 2008
Key Performance Indicators
Turnover (£000)
09
08
07
06
05
3,086
8,695
5,620
3,862
961
Normalised Operating Proﬁt (£000)
09
08
07
06
05
413
452
96
59
19
Headcount
09
08
07
06
05
107
89
149
161
155
Revenue Per Head (£000)
09
08
07
06
05
2.7
9.1
6.4
4.5
1.2
Normalised Earnings Per Share (£000) 06 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Chief Executive Ofﬁcer’s Report for the year ended 31 July 2009
YouGov has made good progress in
developing its business despite the
tough market conditions. We are now
a leading global research provider as
recognised by our being ranked for
the ﬁrst time in the industry’s listing:
Honomichl Global Top 25.
In pursuing our strategy we have
focused on four key themes in the
development of our global capabilities.
These are:
 establishing an integrated
global technology platform;
 leveraging our geographic
spread with clients and our
range of skills and experience;
 improving ﬁnancial controls
and strengthening Group
management; and
 innovating in real-time research.
Over the past two years, we have
invested approximately £1.8m in
developing and rolling out our global
technology platform. Its unique survey
and panel management applications
were developed originally by our
US business and will be in use in
all our hubs by the middle of 2010.
We believe that this will give YouGov
a “best of breed” integrated online
research platform and will support
seamless global research operations
enabling, for example, a researcher
in Cologne or London to directly
organise and run a survey across
all of YouGov’s panels without local
manual interventions.
Taking the best elements from each
of our hubs has allowed us to enhance
our ability to innovate and to provide
accurate and fast data to clients
around the world. Consistent with this,
BrandIndex, our proprietary tracker
of brand performance, is now available
in the US, Germany, the Middle East
and Scandinavia as well as the UK. We
recently launched an enhanced version
which combines the technological and
survey expertise of our US hub with the
customer experience and feedback
gained in the UK. Having a US presence
has also enabled us to grow BrandIndex
sales signiﬁcantly with a number of
US based international brand owners
and advertising agencies becoming
subscribers this year . We plan further
enhancement and internationalisation
of this product in response to demand
from global companies.
We have extended our highly successful
Omnibus service beyond the UK with
an international version which has
already proved popular with clients.
We are also planning to follow the
successful UK model by launching
local Omnibus services in several of
our hubs.
Our new branding brings together all
of our hubs under the YouGov banner
and describes our customer proposition
as being to tell our clients “what the
world thinks”. Our wider geographical
reach has also allowed us to tender
for and win larger , international
mandates that would not previously
have been available to the Group.
Recent such projects include surveys
for a global digital media business,
a South East Asian Government and
the European Commission.
YouGov’s successful UK model is
based on using our polling skills to
build our brand and technical
credibility , develop innovative research
products and our sector expertise so
as to address the strategic research
needs of large corporate and public
sector organisations. Our acquisitions
have extended our geographical
coverage and in the case of Germany,
added existing sector capability,
notably in ﬁnancial services. We have
begun to apply our model to the US
market where we enhanced our
reputation for accurate political polling
in the 2008 Presidential Elections and
continue to run a weekly poll on behalf
of The Economist. We also took a ﬁrst
step to extend our commercial custom
research capability in the US through
the acquisition of Clear Horizons.
The business is performing well and
has been renamed YouGov Marketing
Insights, reﬂecting its focus on
providing clients with information
which helps them to plan and deliver
their marketing strategy .
These developments over the past
two years have together succeeded
in expanding the scale and complexity
of research projects that the YouGov
Group can bid for and win.
We also focused this year on improving
our ﬁnancial controls and the quality
of our reporting and forecasting as
well as on harmonising the Group’s
key business processes. Although
this could not prevent external factors,
such as the deterioration of market
conditions, from affecting our business,
these improved systems and controls
made us better able to respond to
challenges when they arose and to
plan and implement corrective actions.
To help us to improve operating
performance across the Group and
deliver the beneﬁts of scale we
appointed Lars Lund-Nielsen, the former
CEO of our Scandinavian business,
to the new role of Group Operations
Director . We have also appointed Ted
Marzilli, head of our US BrandIndex
team, to the new position of Global
BrandIndex Director so as to drive the
product’s sales to global clients and
co-ordinate regional sales through
our hubs around the world.
As we continue to integrate the
previously acquired businesses,
we have further strengthened our
management team through internal
promotions. Andreas Schubert has
been appointed as CEO of our German
business and Ms Iman Annab has
become CEO of our Middle East
business. The head of our UK data
products business, Sundip Chahal, has
moved to the Middle East as its Chief
Operating Ofﬁcer to help accelerate
the development of our online products
business there. These moves were in
line with the succession plans made
at the time that both businesses were
acquired. We are nurturing the talent
pool within the Group and aim to
provide our people with exciting career
development opportunities within the
YouGov family . A long-term incentive
plan has been put in place to ensure
that the interests of all senior staff are
focused on delivering shareholder value. YouGov 07
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Panel Development
The YouGov panel is at the heart of all of
our businesses and we have continued
to invest in and develop it to ensure
that we maintain a representative, high
quality international panel. We have
drawn on nearly ten years of panel
engagement in the UK as well as the
skills and experiences of our acquired
hubs to improve and internationalise
our research products and services.
The development of multiple ways that
people can exchange opinions and join
communities online makes engagement
with proprietary panels even more
critical to delivering high quality
market research. This will become an
increasing differentiator in the future
and thus we continue to enhance our
panels to increase our research
capabilities, both in new geographies
and specialist panels.
As at 31 July 2009, the Group’s online
panels comprised a total of 2,216,000
panellists (deﬁned as the number of
panel registrations), an increase of 24%
over the total of 1,780,000 as at 31 July
2008. The panel sizes by region were:
Panel size Panel size
at 31 July at 31 July
Region 2009 2008
UK 266,000 222,000
Middle East &
North Africa 197,000 142,000
Germany &
Central Europe 122,000 52,000
Scandinavia &
Northern Europe 143,000 126,000
US 1,488,000 1,238,000
Our US panel was increased signiﬁcantly
ahead of the 2008 Presidential Elections
allowing us to be able to provide a
representative sample for polling in each
of the 50 States. We continue to expand
our panel in the Middle East to establish
critical mass in each of the territories
allowing us to support our data products
across the region. The German panel
has been created from nothing in little
over 18 months. It is already more than
capable of supporting BrandIndex and
Omnibus and is being further
developed to support the transition
online of more of our business.
Current Trading and Prospects
The Board expects that the current
challenging economic conditions will
continue as clients keep a tight hold
of expenditure. However , the Group
is now operating with a lower cost base
and a greater level of focus. We are
also conﬁdent that the innovations
we are bringing to market will enhance
our prospects.
Over the past year , we have built the
foundation on which we will now launch
the next stage of online research.
Dynamic sampling will greatly increase
the efﬁciency of our data collection
allowing us to extend the breadth and
detail of what we measure. Advanced
data mining will yield greater practical
value from that, combining this real-
time ﬂow of data with in-depth
knowledge of our two million strong
panel. This will allow us to provide
clients with new analytical tools with
which to understand their markets and
inform their strategies, even as their
campaigns are in progress.
This is YouGov 2.0, marking a signiﬁcant
advance in action-focused research
with a suite of tools to manage brands
in an ever faster moving world. We are
as excited about this next phase as we
were when we ﬁrst set out to challenge
the old methodologies.
So we believe that YouGov’s brand,
ability to innovate and proven online
research skills will enable us to grow
our customer base and continue to
win market share. In the short term,
we will also ensure that we exploit the
individual strengths and market position
of each of our hubs.
With a cash generative business
model, cash on the balance sheet and
an excellent and growing professional
reputation, YouGov is well positioned
to deliver growth and generate
attractive future returns.
Nadhim Zahawi
Chief Executive Ofﬁcer
12 October 2009
“We continue to
innovate and invest to
ensure that we are best
placed to capitalise
on industry trends.” 08 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Our Corporate Strategy
The internet has changed society:
how we communicate; how we shop;
and how we think. It has changed
the relationship between businesses
and customers, between politicians
and voters, between audiences
and performers. Attention has been
simultaneously fragmented and
enriched. Singular routes have become
multiple networks, limited information
has become bewildering data overload.
As Quick As Thought
Stephan Shakespeare
Chief Innovation
Ofﬁcer and
Co-Founder
It’s all about interactivity . Just consider
one trend in the world of entertainment
that most of us still can’t imagine:
the computer gaming industry now
generates more revenue than the music
and the movie industries combined.
Passive consumption moves to
interactive play .
All this has transformed the opportunity
for market research, and yet we remain
an industry that clings to the past.
Most of the time, most of us still prefer
slightly modiﬁed versions of what
we have always done, rather than
embracing the revolution. Even the
innovators have held back, nervous
about the possibilities. But change
happens ever faster; this is the time for
radicalism. And YouGov is becoming
more radical.
At YouGov , our core strength and our
unique offering has been accurate,
useful, cost-efﬁcient timely data:
real-time information ﬂow derived from
large numbers of interviews with an
engaged, representative panel. And
this is optimised for quality, speed and
cost by using the internet, and by
relating to our panel through a brand
that represents consumer democracy .
We are focusing on the development
of new products that push out the
frontiers of this, to place us ﬁrmly into
the very fabric of the new social media.
Every moment of every day, people are
listening and talking and sharing ideas,
but traditionally polls have been
occasional snapshots rather than a
continuous reel. We are now ramping
up our commitment to interactivity, to
crowd-sourcing, to stream-of-data that
is measurable and structured to help
people understand what is happening
in the here-and-now.
The smartest technology, the most
advanced data mining, and our special
position in the media, will bring YouGov
to the pioneering forefront of consumer
research, as well as giving us a prime
position in the public sphere. Our
investment in our Palo Alto centre
speaks to our determination to lead the
second phase of the research revolution
to give our clients a continuous
marketing edge. The YouGov mission
enters its second phase. YouGov 09
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Operational Integration
Global Operating Efﬁciencies
In my new role as Group Director of
Operations I am responsible for helping
all our hubs to improve operational
efﬁciency and effectiveness and thus
to increase our operating margins.
Working closely with Michel Floyd, our
Chief Technology Ofﬁcer , my aim is
to ensure that we deliver the expected
beneﬁts from our investments in
technology by harmonising operational
processes and procedures across
the Group in all parts of our business
value chain. This includes: marketing;
sales management; client account
management; research methods; and
operations and panel management.
One priority for me this year is to deploy
the same IT and production platform
in each hub, which will increase our
operational efﬁciency and productivity .
We are also standardising and
centralising the management of
our online panels which will reduce
our recruitment and incentive costs.
Improving our sales approach and
offerings will increase revenue per
head and total Group revenue.
Enhancing Our
Operational Capabilities
Lars Lund-Nielsen
Group Director
of Operations
Global Technology Platform
YouGov’s primary goal in technology
is to enable us to support continual
innovation in our core business
functions including the way that we
conduct our online surveys, engage
with our panel and provide real-time
information to our clients. The second
is to support process efﬁciency to help
maximise returns to our shareholders.
Being able to innovate and tailor our
systems to our precise needs and
those of our clients is an essential
element in maintaining our advantage
as one of the most innovative leaders
in global online market research.
We have therefore opted to design
and build our key survey and panel
management applications using our
own world class software team. In our
experience, commercial survey
systems are not sufﬁciently ﬂexible
or capable of being enhanced fast
enough for our requirements.
As we develop new innovative products
we are striving to make them as real-
time as possible while minimising the
labour required to deliver them.
This approach is essential to scaling
the Company . An important step this
year is that all YouGov hubs are being
integrated onto a single online research
platform called “G”, which supports
the full range of online survey research
techniques and panel management,
many unique to YouGov . “G” is based
on software originally developed for
YouGovPolimetrix in the US and permits
us for example, to collect and deliver
BrandIndex data daily in 11 different
regions automatically .
Uniform back-ofﬁce systems notably
those supporting sales, marketing and
customer relationship management and
ﬁnance are also being deployed in all
hubs replacing the various systems
used by the acquired companies.
Michel Floyd
Chief Technology
Ofﬁcer 0
50
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
-50
0
50
-50
0
50 -50
0
50 -50
0
50 -50
0
50 -50
0
50 -50
100
50
0
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-100
Region: US Sector: Internet sites Demographic Filter
Scoring: Standard
Moving Average: 30 days
Age 18-34
Value
23/06/2009 15/07/2009 06/08/2009
Bing
29/08/2009
Chart
15
12
9
6
3
0
Filters Data Summary
Index
Buzz Attention
Impression Value Quality
Reputation Satisfaction Recommend
10 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
BrandIndex
In this example, Microsoft
Bing’s brand health Index
increases, driven by
increases in its Value
score over the most
recent 90-day period.
BrandIndex tracks consumer
perception of seven key
attributes independently so
that clients can identify key
areas for improvement and
subsequently measure the
effectiveness of any strategic
actions. An Index score is
also provided, which is the
average of all the attributes
excluding Buzz. Buzz is
excluded so that its effect
on the overall proﬁle (Index)
can be measured.
Clients can choose which
brands and sectors to view,
over what time period and
their preferred chart type.
By setting brand and sector
level benchmarks, clients
can easily check their
brand’s performance in
the context of key markets.
The data can also be
segmented by demographics
as required.
The BrandIndex dashboard provides
senior executives with an easy to
read report card on brand health. YouGov 11
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
BrandIndex is YouGov’s ﬂagship
syndicated service. It leverages YouGov’s
strategic advantages of proprietary
online panels and superior technology
to deliver real-time consumer research.
In effect, BrandIndex provides
clients with a daily dialogue with
consumers – current as well as
potential customers. This revolutionary
daily brand intelligence service provides
unparalleled insights into key brand
performance indicators such as
Satisfaction, Quality and Value.
BrandIndex enables clients to create
better advertising, marketing and
promotional campaigns and monitor
their effectiveness in real-time, thus
allowing for course corrections while
they are still relevant. With tens or
even hundreds of millions of pounds
invested in major campaigns, being
the ﬁrst to know if a campaign is having
the intended impact or not is critical
to our clients. Additionally, the large
number of brands covered allows
clients to benchmark themselves
against thousands of directly and
indirectly competing brands, both in
their local and international markets.
The value of BrandIndex is perhaps
best demonstrated by the range of top
tier global brands that have become
clients. These now include Microsoft,
McDonald’s, Nintendo, Lidl and HSBC.
Leading global advertising and media
agencies such as OMD, Universal
McCann and Mediacom are also
leveraging BrandIndex to provide
actionable information to their clients.
This year we have strengthened our
ability to attract multinational clients
by creating a global leadership
team to drive global strategy and
development for the service and ensure
BrandIndex is harmonised across
borders. YouGov’s new global survey
platform will support BrandIndex and
increase its advantages compared to
other brand tracking products, many
of which are still collected on a
country-by-country basis.
We are continually seeking to enhance
the BrandIndex service. Over the next
year , we will use YouGov’s ability to
proﬁle our panellists on hundreds of
attitudinal and behavioural measures,
to enable clients to hone in on the
consumer groups that matter the most
to them and their brands.
We also intend to provide clients with
additional opportunities to explore
movements in their brand’s health
in greater detail, for example with
additional surveys. This will help us to
scale the global BrandIndex business
by utilising the same high quality online
panels as the core service to generate
incremental revenues. We are also
considering geographical expansion
in BrandIndex coverage in response
to client requests to measure their
brands in their key developed and
emerging markets.
BrandIndex
Ted Marzilli
Global BrandIndex
Managing Director 12 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Our Hubs
YouGov
UK
“The world is getting faster and
people want answers today – they
don’t want to wait. And this is what
YouGov is about; providing up to
date information that is available
when people need it. We are
building this thinking into all that
we do.”
Business Overview
YouGov UK provides a full quantitative
and qualitative service to clients.
Its sector specialist consulting teams
serve ﬁnancial, media, technology and
telecoms, FMCG and public sector
markets; its products division provides
BrandIndex and the fast turnaround
Omnibus service. This offer is rooted
in the UK panel of over 250,000
members. YouGov dominates media
polling and is one of the most quoted
research agencies in the UK.
Review of 2008/09
Our UK business achieved revenues
of £11.1m. Although this represented
a 12% reduction compared to the
previous year , the revenue mix achieved
this year represents a ﬁrmer base
for future growth. A signiﬁcant factor
was the much lower revenue from the
provision of primary data to investment
fund managers due to the crisis in
the ﬁnancial markets. However ,
our Omnibus service continued to
grow and expanded its range with
international and UK regional services.
The newer area of sector-focused
research has developed its reputation
further and added new clients so that
its revenue grew by 21% on a like-for-
like basis.
A number of new syndicated products
were introduced. These include
DebtTrack, which helps ﬁnancial
institutions to understand how
consumers are managing their personal
ﬁnances and DongleTrack, which tracks
users and purchasers of mobile
broadband products and services.
We were also appointed to the Central
Ofﬁce of Information roster which will
provide further opportunities for growth
in our public sector business.
Major clients this year included Asda,
Costa Coffee, Google, News
International and P&O.
Plans for 2009/10
In the UK, our brand is already well
recognised and the focus for the
current year is to use this to increase
our market share of research projects
that address customers’ strategic
needs while also continuing to grow
our data products business.
In the public sector , pressure
on public spending and growing
acceptance of online research, as
evidenced by our appointment to the
Central Ofﬁce of Information roster ,
should help to increase demand for our
services. We will continue to expand
our international Omnibus services and
our range of syndicated products. We
have demonstrated with DongleTrack
how our panel gives us a competitive
advantage in tracking the attitudes
and behaviours of niche markets
and provide information to companies
and products that serve these.
Tim Britton
CEO
YouGovStone
YouGovStone, based in the UK, is a
specialised opinion research company,
a joint venture between YouGov plc and
Carole Stone. It has developed Carole’s
highly successful networking business,
to create its own international panel of
over 4,000 opinion leaders. This provides
detailed insights to clients into what
opinion leaders think about key issues
of the day . YouGovStone frequently
holds debates based on its research.
Recent clients include global
businesses such as SAB Miller and
Unilever as well as governments and
voluntary sector organisations.
Earlier this year , Carole established
TheStoneClub, an invitation-only, part
social, part business club whose events
brings its members together with leading
business, political and media experts
to discuss business and social issues
of concern to them. YouGov 13
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
YouGovSiraj
Middle East and North Africa
Business Overview
YouGovSiraj is the region’s most quoted
research company, whose brand is
trusted for its impartiality and accuracy .
Its reputation has been built upon quality
of expertise and research. This is due
to its understanding of the local market
achieved through the employees’ many
years of experience in the Arab world
as researchers, consumers and
marketers. YouGovSiraj speaks the
language and understands the cultural
and socio-political context of its panel
of nearly 200,000 members and seeks
to represent them and their needs.
Review of 2008/09
In the Middle East, overall revenues
grew by 10% to £8.4m from £7.7m
in the previous year . They fell by 13%
in local currency terms due to the
previously anticipated reduction in a
major long-term contract. The regionally
generated business continued to
develop as planned and achieved
revenue growth of 42% in £ terms,
13% in local currency . We continued
to develop our online panel, now
covering 18 countries in the region.
This is helping us to become a leader
in online Arabic language research and
to bring our international products to
the region. BrandIndex was launched
this year and will soon be followed by a
regional online Omnibus. Following the
successful UK model, partnerships with
leading regional media in the United
Arab Emirates, including The National
newspaper , have helped to increase
awareness of the YouGov brand in
the region. We are also expanding
geographically . Our operation in
Saudi Arabia has gained signiﬁcant
new clients for both quantitative and
qualitative research.
“The past year has shown that more
than ever we must be able not only
to provide data in a faster and more
meaningful way , but more importantly
provide vital information that shakes,
shapes and moves decisions.”
Plans for 2009/10
The Middle Eastern market offers many
opportunities as further geographic
research markets open up for us to
increase our brand presence and use
our online products to generate more
revenue from our panel.
Our growing quantitative offering,
coupled with our strong qualitative
heritage provide the tools and the
understanding to help our local and
international clients understand the
Middle East region which continues to
become more open and sophisticated
as a commercial marketplace.
Our recently established presence
in Saudi Arabia will enable us to grow
our business in the region’s largest
market and we are also well positioned
to assist international businesses
to exploit the growing commercial
opportunities in Iraq as its economy
develops. We are introducing YouGov’s
online products to the region and
developing our Arabic language media
links to complement our capabilities
to undertake online research in Arabic
across 18 countries.
Iman Annab
CEO 14 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Our Hubs
YouGovPsychonomics
Germany and Central Europe
“In the next year and beyond we
will systematically expand YouGov’s
brand and continue our role as
innovators in the German market.
Our long-term customer
relationships and reputation for
quality and expertise will help
us to maintain the growth of our
custom research business while
we leverage YouGov’s online
experience and technology
platform to create demand for and
grow our real-time data services.”
Business Overview
YouGovPsychonomics is one of the top
ten market research agencies and a
pioneer of online research in Germany .
It provides a full range of quantitative
and qualitative market research
services as well as specialising in
organisational and employee research.
YouGovPsychonomics works across
a range of markets, including the
insurance and retail banking sectors
for which it undertakes leading
annual customer satisfaction studies
and frequent surveys analysing key
markets, segments and customers.
Other specialist areas include
healthcare, service quality assessment,
insurance business consulting and
Great Place to Work which evaluates
workplace relations and helps
businesses to improve these.
Review of 2008/09
Revenue in Germany grew by 23%
to £14.8m from £12.0m the previous
year with 6% growth achieved in local
currency terms. This was a strong
performance in a market where
many competitors suffered real
revenue declines and demonstrated
the strength of our customer base,
especially in the retail ﬁnancial services
sector and our specialist employee
research and satisfaction practices.
Our online offering is developing
rapidly , supported by strong panel
recruitment with the German and
Central European panel more than
doubling since this time last year .
Approximately 25% of revenue is
now derived from online surveys.
Improving margins remains a priority
in Germany . Pricing pressure in the
market and investment in the new
online teams meant that the net margin
remained static this year although the
Government’s scheme for subsidising
reduced working hours enabled us
to reduce costs in the short term.
Longer-term savings will result
from restructuring of the back ofﬁce
and the decision to focus on the
core German market and cease
development of the online business
in Central and Eastern Europe.
The Group’s customer management
and ﬁnancial systems applications
are being rolled out in Germany .
In September 2009, I stepped up to the
role of CEO from COO in succession
to Professor Horst Müller-Peters, the
co-founder of the German business.
Plans for 2009/10
In Germany, the use of online research
has been held back by incumbent
suppliers promoting ofﬂine methods.
We will continue to apply YouGov’s
experience and learning so as to
provide lower cost, faster research in
a market which will be moving online.
With our panel now covering over
100,000 members in Germany, we
will be expanding our fast turnaround
research offering services with an
Omnibus service, similar to YouGov
UK’s, as well as growing BrandIndex
sales following the successful launch
of the German version in the past
year . We will continue to build our
leadership position in ﬁnancial services
using our advanced custom research
tools and methodologies, as well
as developing online data products
for employee research, such as
PeopleIndex.
Andreas Schubert
CEO
Great Place to Work Institute
Great Place to Work helps companies
to improve corporate performance and
raise the quality of work life for their
employees. The results are published
through the annual “Best Workplaces”
and “Best Companies to Work For” lists.
In Germany these are run in association
with Handelsblatt (the leading business
newspaper) and the Federal Ministry of
Labour and include over 100 companies
from a range of industries.
YouGovPsychonomics operates the
Great Place to Work business in
Germany and Austria under a licence
agreement with Great Place to Work
Institute, based in California. YouGov 15
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
YouGovZapera
Scandinavia and Northern Europe
Business Overview
YouGov Nordic and Baltic is an online
research business whose panels cover
over 140,000 members in Denmark,
Sweden, Norway, Finland, Poland
and Estonia. Its clients range across
numerous business areas, with FMCG,
media and healthcare representing
the largest share of revenue, and the
public sector the main growth area
during the past year .
Review of 2008/09
Revenues in our Scandinavian
operations grew by 14% to £7.4m
from £6.5m but fell by 2% in local
currency terms. Although the business
continued to win new international
clients such as Coca Cola and
Kellogg’s, market conditions were very
tough with strong price competition
impacting gross margins. In addition,
the relative depreciation of the Swedish
and Norwegian currencies compared
to the Danish currency further reduced
proﬁtability as most of the operating
costs are incurred in Denmark.
This led to the regional business
making an operating loss in the year .
Signiﬁcant measures have been taken
to reduce costs in the sales teams
and the back ofﬁce so as to improve
future proﬁtability .
“In 2009/10 we will continue
our journey towards maximising
the client experience, by getting
tools and employees into even
better shape for delivering inspiring
and fact-based decision support
for clients.”
Plans for 2009/10
In Scandinavia, where the market
is already largely online we aim to
increase the proportion of larger
and higher value projects as well as
to improve margins through further
operational efﬁciencies.
We will also build on our strengths
within the healthcare sector in Denmark
to become a leading Nordic supplier of
healthcare decision support, as well as
putting great effort into further growing
our client base within the public sector
by introducing product concepts
speciﬁcally for this business area. We
will continue to grow BrandIndex sales
and introduce other YouGov products
and services into the region.
Ole Haghfelt
CEO 16 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Our Hubs
YouGovPolimetrix
North America
Business Overview
YouGovPolimetrix is the leading online
polling ﬁrm in North America. Using its
panel of over 1.4 million members and
sophisticated statistical methodologies,
it provides corporate, media, academic
and non-proﬁt clients with a unique
combination of data, analytics and
insight. In the 2008 US Presidential
Election, it surpassed nearly every
other poll, both telephone and internet,
with its level of accuracy .
Review of 2008/09
Our US operations grew revenue by
25% to £3.5m from £2.8m. In local
currency terms, the revenue fell slightly
by 4% as second half performance
was affected by recessionary budget
cutbacks following a strong ﬁrst half
performance which had beneﬁted from
the US Presidential Elections. Our new
US BrandIndex team, based in New
York has been actively promoting
the product’s beneﬁts among the
advertising and marketing community
and their trade media. This has led
to signiﬁcant sales among US based
global agencies and brand owners
such as OMD (part of Omnicom),
Universal McCann, Domino’s Pizza
and Microsoft. Given that this is a
subscription product these sales
should be reﬂected in revenue growth
next year .
The acquisition of Clear Horizons in
April 2009 has been a successful ﬁrst
step in our strategy of building up
our commercial market research
practice by acquiring businesses
with established client bases so as
to strengthen our brand among US
research buyers and generate synergy
beneﬁts from the use of our US panel.
Clear Horizons is a Princeton, New
Jersey based research ﬁrm
specialising in branding, customer
satisfaction and new product market
research. The business is proﬁtable
and combines strong technology sector
expertise with advanced analytics skills
and a commitment to online research.
Its contribution in the ﬁrst four months
after acquisition was in line with its
business plan.
Our US IT development team has
been instrumental in the development
of our new “G” technology platform
and works closely with our UK IT team
under the leadership of the Group
Chief Technology Ofﬁcer , who is based
in our Palo Alto ofﬁce.
“YouGov’s blend of technology,
methodology and insight is
attracting the attention of US
market research buyers as they
focus increasingly on issues of
data quality . Many companies
talk about predictive analytics,
but we’ve demonstrated a record
of predictive accuracy , both in
the US and the rest of the world,
that no other full service research
company can match.”
Plans for 2009/10
In the US, where we have now
established an excellent research
engine and a reputation for quality
and accuracy among the academic
community, we will continue to seek
opportunities to scale up our
commercial market research business.
We are poised for rapid growth as
the US economy emerges from the
recession. In 2010, we will build on
BrandIndex’s emerging position among
US brand owners and marketing and
advertising agencies as the authoritative
source of data which can transform
the way that they plan and execute
marketing campaigns. Our new
Marketing Insights division (formerly
Clear Horizons) will help us to grow our
corporate market research revenues
next year . We will continue to seek
opportunities to expand these further
through targeted acquisitions, new
hires and syndicated product launches,
especially in attractive niche markets,
such as health and technology . This will
enable us to leverage our panel assets
and operating capabilities so as to
grow our margins from an increased
base of business.
Douglas Rivers
CEO YouGov 17
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Client Case Studies
UK
DongleTrack – Multiple Clients
DongleTrack is a syndicated research
product designed and run by YouGov’s
UK Technology & Telecoms team.
It monitors the mobile broadband market
in the UK and its corporate subscribers
include TalkTalk Group, T-Mobile, 3,
Vodafone, Ericsson, Orange and BT .
From an almost standing start
18 months ago, there are now over
three million mobile broadband users
in the UK. DongleTrack uses YouGov’s
ability to identify niche groups and
pinpoint early technology adopters
thus enabling us to monitor the take-up
and usage of mobile broadband as it
establishes itself in the market place.
DongleTrack provides mobile operators
with a detailed understanding of the
attitudes, reasons for purchase, usage
behaviour and satisfaction with service
of existing and potential customers.
It enables subscribers to understand
how USB modems are affecting the
ﬁxed line broadband market and rival
connectivity technology (in particular
WiFi). In short, dongle sales are
growing; DongleTrack explains why,
to whom and for what reason.
The product offers quarterly reports
based upon online, quantitative
research with 3,000 YouGov UK
panellists. The sample comprises 2,000
mobile broadband users and a further
sample of 1,000 online respondents
representative of the UK population.
“We have found
DongleTrack to be
an invaluable source
of information when
planning our strategy
in this fast moving
marketplace”
Claudia Strauss, Senior Research Manager ,
T-Mobile UK
How We Help Our Clients 18 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Client Case Studies
Germany
European Commission
Directorate-General for Health
and Consumers
The Directorate-General for Health and
Consumers (European Commission)
aimed to evaluate cross-border
e-commerce in the European Union. For
this ambitious task YouGovPsychonomics
executed an online mystery research
study and for that purpose combined
two core competences: an outstanding
capability of comprehensive mystery
research projects and the expertise
and infrastructure in online research.
Mystery shopping is a market research
tool for measuring the quality of retail
services. Mystery shoppers appear
as normal customers attempting to
purchase a product and subsequently
provide detailed reports or feedback
about their experiences. In this study,
190 mystery testers from all member
states of the European Union were
acting as normal consumers who
completed an online purchase up to the
last point before the ﬁnal conﬁrmation.
The study met three predominant
objectives, informing the Directorate-
General for Health and Consumers of:
the extent to which consumers use real
cross-border e-commerce alternatives
compared with domestic e-commerce;
the extent to which cross-border
e-commerce has the potential for
consumers to make savings compared
with domestic purchasing; and the
compliance of traders engaging
in cross-border e-commerce with
basic consumer protection regulation
requirements compared with
domestic commerce.
US
Nutrisystem
Nutrisystem is one of the United States’ leading providers of weight loss and
weight control products. Nutrisystem single handedly pioneered the “at home,
commercial” weight loss category . Nutrisystem’s weight management programme
consists of offering pre-packaged foods to weight loss programme members
directly through the internet and telephone.
Nutrisystem came to YouGov Marketing Insights to test a variety of opportunities
to sustain its future growth. Speciﬁcally , they had four completely new programmes
that they wished to test with consumers to discover: which programmes showed
the highest subscription potential; which consumer targets are most interested in
the respective programmes; the optimal way to position the programmes; and how
to best build the business case.
To achieve these aims YouGov Marketing Insights utilised the powerful assets
provided by the YouGovPolimetrix panel to perform a quantitative survey among
three sub-segments of diet-orientated consumers. The survey assessed the
strength of the four test concepts in addition to identifying the core ideas essential
to bringing each concept to market.
“We had to cover a lot of ground in this project in a fairly short
timeframe. We were testing four programmes with three
different consumer groups and then had to compare all the
results to our current offerings to make sure we were driving
incremental sales. YouGov never missed a beat. Their Marketing
Insights Group knew exactly how to design and ﬁeld the
research and the YouGovPolimetrix panel over delivered every
quota group we speciﬁed. They also delivered the project on
a very aggressive timetable. Their work has helped us get way
ahead of the curve in our new product efforts and has led to
some real winners for us.”
Laura McMillan, Head of New Product Development, Nutrisystem YouGov 19
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
United Arab Emirates
Khaleej Times
Khaleej Times was the ﬁrst English
language newspaper to be launched
in the United Arab Emirates in 1978.
It decided to coincide the completion
of its 30th year with a brand and
design re-launch to reinvigorate
the newspaper’s appeal. Consumer
research was deemed central to such
a high proﬁle exercise. Therefore
YouGovSiraj conducted a research study
with the following primary objectives:
gauge reader motivations and needs
from English dailies in the UAE; assess
inputs for product reinvention and
improvement; and measure current
perceptions of Khaleej Times versus
competitor newspapers.
A joint qualitative and quantitative study
was designed, covering 12 focus
groups, ﬁve in-depth interviews and over
1,400 quantitative interviews (nearly
1,200 of them online), all in the UAE.
As a result, the Khaleej Times
management took the brave step
of updating the newspaper and its
masthead to give it a bolder , more
contemporary look and modifying the
layout and content of the paper , to
make it more relevant and user friendly .
Given its willingness to listen to its
consumers, it seems rather appropriate
that the new slogan for Khaleej Times
is “Keeping track of change”.
“The research helped us identify
and focus on our core strengths
as a newspaper and make it more
thought provoking and engaging
for readers. Our trust in YouGovSiraj
was rewarded when the revamped
Khaleej Times registered a
steep rise in new subscriptions
and it continues to attract
readers from outside its traditional
readership base.”
Stefanie Patel, Marketing Manager , Khaleej Times
“It is incredibly valuable to us
that this large and complex
study was carried out so
quickly . YouGov’s methodology
also makes it easier to target
consumers who would
normally be difﬁcult to reach
for research purposes. That is
a huge advantage.”
Sara Berger, Senior Brand Manager , Findus
Sweden
Findus
In the spring of 2009, sales in Sweden of ready-to-eat (RTE) frozen meals began
to decrease rapidly . Findus, a leading international frozen food company, came
to YouGov to gain a better understanding of the declining market. The client had
a number of hypotheses for why sales were falling but needed a thorough market
analysis to test these.
A large qualitative study was conducted online, comprising eight consumer
groups. These were divided into those who had maintained their consumption of
frozen RTE meals and those who had not. There was a good mix of heavy, medium
and light users so that the study could dig deeper into differences and causes.
The discussions were carried out as “bulletin boards”, which took place over three
days. Sara Berger , Senior Brand Manager at Findus commented that: “It was
exciting to follow the discussions in real-time and it simultaneously gave us the
opportunity to ask follow up questions when new issues emerged.”
YouGov Sweden then undertook an online quantitative study to verify the qualitative
study ﬁndings. A total of nearly 3,000 consumers participated and from these a
sample took part in a concept and package design test to trial new variants within
the product line. 20 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Chief Financial Ofﬁcer’s Report for the year ended 31 July 2009
“We have refocused
and cut costs;
going forward the
business is supported
by a strong balance
sheet and good
cash generation.”
Income Statement Review
Group turnover for the year to 31 July
2009 increased by 10% to £44.3m,
compared to £40.4m in the prior year .
On a constant currency basis, revenues
declined by 3%. Details of each hub’s
performance are given on pages 12
to 16.
The Group’s gross margin fell from
83% to 76%. This was due in part to
more intense price pressure in a
number of geographies resulting from
the economic environment and to a
higher proportion of projects involving
external suppliers. Operating expenses
increased by 22% largely due to the
recruitment of additional staff which
took place over the preceding year .
These costs represented 70% of
revenue compared to 63% in the year
to 31 July 2008. As a result, normalised
operating proﬁt¹ fell by 65% to £3.1m
compared to £8.7m in the previous
year . Normalised proﬁt before taxation²,
which includes net interest income,
fell to £3.9m from £9.4m. Normalised
earnings per share³ correspondingly
fell to 2.7p from 9.1p. The reported
result before taxation, after charging
amortisation and exceptional items
showed a loss of £0.7m compared
to a proﬁt of £4.0m in the year ended
31 July 2008.
1 Normalised operating profit is defined as
Group operating profit (before amortisation
and exceptional items) after adding back
one-off costs associated with the integration
of acquired entities and IFRS transition costs.
2 Normalised profit before tax is defined as
Group profit before tax after adding back
amortisation, share-based payments, imputed
interest, exceptional items and one-off costs
associated with the integration of acquired
entities and IFRS transition costs.
3 Normalised earnings per share is calculated
based on the post tax result derived from the
normalised profit before tax.
Cost Reductions
In our Interim Statement in April 2009,
we announced a range of cost saving
initiatives. These included reductions
in the sales and back ofﬁce resources
in Scandinavia, closure of the ofﬁce
running the Austrian and Central
European online development and
restructuring of the UK custom
research teams. These measures led
to a reduction of some 30 posts across
the Group which are taking effect
between April and December 2009.
In addition, in Germany, staff working
time was reduced under the
Government’s “Kurzarbeitergeld”
scheme for a period. These measures
will together reduce costs on an annual
basis by approximately £2.5m with
£0.3m of these savings having already
been achieved in the year to 31 July
2009. Associated restructuring costs
of £0.8m have been incurred in the
year under review and classiﬁed as
exceptional costs.
These initiatives contributed to the
Group’s staff numbers (full-time
equivalent) falling to 413 at 31 July 2009
compared to 452 at 31 July 2008. As a
result, revenue per head increased by
20% to £107,000 from £89,000 in the
year ended 31 July 2008. YouGov 21
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Cash Flow
The Group generated £5.3m in cash
from operations (before paying interest
and tax) (2008: £3.1m) and paid out
£4.8m in investing activities (2008:
£19.3m) (including £0.6m on the
acquisition of Clear Horizons, £2.2m
in deferred consideration payments
for previous acquisitions and £2.8m
on capital expenditure).
Taxation
The Group had an overall tax credit of
£0.8m compared to £2.1m (after prior
year adjustment of £0.8m in respect of
schedule 23 share option deductions)
in the year ended 31 July 2008. The
total tax credit comprised a current tax
charge of £0.4m (2008: credit of £0.1m)
and a deferred tax credit of £1.2m
(2008: £2.0m).
Balance Sheet
Net assets have increased by £6.4m
to £67.1m at 31 July 2009 compared
to £60.7m at 31 July 2008. £5.3m of
this increase was due to the effect
of currency appreciation compared
to £ Sterling. Current assets fell by
Analysis of Operating Proﬁt and Earnings per Share:
31 July 2009 31 July 2008
£000 £000
Group operating profit before amortisation
of intangibles and exceptional costs 2,715 7,867
Normalisation adjustments:
One-off IFRS transition costs – 288
Integration costs 371 540
Normalised operating profit 3,086 8,695
Share-based payments 271 311
Imputed interest 158 318
Net finance income 404 108
Share of post tax (loss)/profit in joint venture (47) 23
Normalised profit before tax 3,872 9,455
Basic (loss)/earnings per share (0.6) 5.8
Diluted (loss)/earnings per share (0.6) 5.3
Normalised earnings per share 2.7 9.1
Integration costs are one-off in nature and relate to the global rebranding undertaken for all of the
acquired entities and the cost in association with aligning the German business to the YouGov model.
£3.9m largely due to a reduction in
trade receivables. Debtor days fell
signiﬁcantly to 70 days from 88 days
due especially to improved collections
on some large contracts. Current
liabilities also fell by £8.2m due mainly
to a reduction in deferred consideration
of £5.6m of which £1.6m related to
a payment made in November 2008
in respect of Zapera. At the year end,
our net cash balances were £12.5m,
compared to £12.3m at 31 July 2008.
The acquisition of the trade and assets
of C. Horizons LLC (“Clear Horizons”)
was ﬁnalised on 24 April 2009. The
initial consideration paid was $0.8m
(£0.6m). This could rise to a maximum
total purchase price of $2.8m (£1.9m)
if certain ﬁnancial targets are met over
the three years ending 30 April 2012.
Alan Newman
Chief Financial Ofﬁcer
12 October 2009 22 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Board of Directors
From left to right: Roger Parry, Nadhim Zahawi, Stephan Shakespeare, Alan Newman, Peter Bazalgette, Nick Jones YouGov 23
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Roger Parry
Non-Executive Chairman
Roger is also Executive Chairman of Media Square plc,
the marketing communications group, and Non-Executive
Chairman of Future plc and Mobile Streams plc. He is
Chairman of Shakespeare’s Globe Trust. Roger was a
journalist with the BBC and ITV and a consultant with
McKinsey & Co. He was CEO of More Group plc and
Chairman and CEO of Clear Channel International. Roger
was educated at the universities of Oxford (Jesus College)
(M.Litt Economics) and Bristol (BSc Geology). He is the
author of three books: People Businesses; Enterprise;
and Making Cities Work. He is a Visiting Fellow of
Oxford University .
Nadhim Zahawi
Chief Executive Ofﬁcer and Co-Founder
Nadhim is responsible overall for the corporate direction of
YouGov , and has operational control for both organic growth
and the prospective acquisition strategy . Before founding
YouGov , Nadhim was European Marketing Director for Smith
& Brooks Limited with responsibility for merchandising brands
such as Warner Bros, Disney and Barbie. Nadhim was also
a Councillor with the London Borough of Wandsworth and
a Parliamentary Candidate and has in-depth experience
of public sector consultation and research within local
government. He has a BSc in Chemical Engineering from
University College, London.
Stephan Shakespeare
Chief Innovation Ofﬁcer and Co-Founder
Stephan is responsible for YouGov’s commercial
development and strategy , including creating new research
methodologies. Previously , Stephan was an educationist
and writer . He was founding Principal of Landmark West
Preparatory School in Los Angeles and he has written
extensively on education policy for a variety of national
newspapers. Stephan is a shareholder of PoliticsHome.com
and ConservativeHome.com. He has an MA in English
Language and Literature from Oxford University .
Alan Newman
Chief Financial Ofﬁcer
Alan has considerable experience in the media and
communications sectors. He has been a Partner with
Ernst & Young LLP and KPMG LLP where he led the TMT
sector ﬁnancial management consulting practice. Alan’s
previous corporate management roles include International
Finance Director of Longman and Group Development
Manager of MAI plc (now United Business Media). He has
an MA in Modern Languages (French and Spanish) from
Cambridge University .
Peter Bazalgette
Non-Executive Director
Peter Bazalgette is a media consultant specialising in
television and digital entertainment. He is Non-Executive
Chairman of two of Sony’s television divisions in the UK,
Non-Executive Director of MyVideoRights and Nutopia and
also a member of BBH’s Advisory Board. Peter is also a
former Board member of Channel 4 and was Chief Creative
Ofﬁcer of Endemol, where he personally devised several
internationally successful TV formats and brought Big Brother
to the UK. Peter serves as Deputy Chairman of the National
Film and Television School and of the English National Opera.
Peter graduated with a BA in Law from Cambridge University
in 1976.
Nick Jones
Non-Executive Director
Nick Jones is currently CFO of Achilles Group, the global
provider of sustainable procurement services. Prior to this,
Nick was Global Head of Finance for Reuters plc where
he also led the integration of Thomson and Reuters. Nick
has held senior ﬁnancial roles in technology and media
businesses in the UK, the US and Europe including Virgin
Media, Phillips Electronics and RR Donnelley . He is a Fellow
of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and
holds a BA(Hons) in Accounting and Finance. 24 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Directors’ Report for the year ended 31 July 2009
The Directors present their report and the audited ﬁnancial
statements for the year ended 31 July 2009.
Principal Activities
YouGov carries out online research using proprietary
software to produce accurate market research, political and
media opinion polling and stakeholder consultation. The use
of internet-based research enables YouGov to produce
accurate research using larger sample sizes while keeping
costs lower than traditional research companies that use
telephone and face-to-face interview techniques.
Business Review
The business review is discussed on pages 12 to 21.
Financial Summary
The ﬁnancial summary is discussed on pages 20 to 21
of the Chief Financial Ofﬁcer’s report.
Future Developments
Future developments are discussed in more detail in the
Chairman’s report on pages 4 to 5.
Post Balance Sheet Events
Post balance sheet events are discussed in more detail
in note 30 on page 69.
Directors
Directors at any point during the year and at any point up
to the date of this report were:
Nadhim Zahawi
Stephan Shakespeare
Alan Newman appointed 11 August 2008
Katherine Lee resigned 8 August 2008
Panos Manolopoulos resigned 11 August 2008
Roger Parry
Peter Bazalgette
Nick Jones appointed 2 June 2009
Anthony Foye resigned 1 June 2009
Directors’ Interests in Shares
The interests of the Directors in the shares of the Company
on 31 July 2009 and 31 July 2008 were as follows:
31 July 2009 31 July 2008
Number Number
of shares of shares
Nadhim Zahawi
1
10 10
Stephan Shakespeare
2
10,939,110 10,939,110
Alan Newman 25,000 n/a
Katherine Lee
3
52,000 52,000
Panos Manolopoulos
4
200,365 200,365
Roger Parry 25,000 25,000
Peter Bazalgette 200,945 200,945
Nick Jones – n/a
Anthony Foye
5
240,065 140,065
1 In addition Nadhim Zahawi has an interest in 10,029,100 shares in the
Company through his family trust, Balshore Investments, as detailed on
page 25.
2 Includes five Ordinary Shares held by Stephan’s wife, Rosamund.
3 As at the date of her resignation from the Board on 8 August 2008.
4 As at the date of his resignation from the Board on 11 August 2008.
5 As at the date of his resignation from the Board on 1 June 2009.
Directors’ Interests in Share Options
Number of
Ordinary Shares Holding Exercise Exercise
Name under option period period price
Nadhim Zahawi 359,447 Three Ten years Nil cost
years from
release
Stephan
Shakespeare 359,447 Three Ten years Nil cost
years from
release
Alan Newman 267,281 Three Ten years Nil cost
years from
release
Total 986,175
The share options detailed above have been issued under
the Company’s LTIP . Further detail is provided in the
remuneration report on pages 27 to 28.
No Director had, either during or at the end of the year ,
a material interest in any contract which was signiﬁcant
in relation to the Group’s business. YouGov 25
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Employee Involvement and Communication
The Company has continued its practice of keeping
employees informed of matters affecting them as employees
and the ﬁnancial and economic factors affecting the
performance of the Company .
Applications for employment by disabled persons are given
full and fair consideration for all vacancies in accordance
with their particular aptitudes and abilities. In the event of
employees becoming disabled, every effort is made to retrain
them in order that their employment with the Company
may continue.
It is the policy of the Company that training, career
development and promotion opportunities should be
available to all employees.
Employees are encouraged to own shares in the Company,
and many employees are shareholders and/or hold options
under the Company’s share option schemes including
the newly launched LTIP scheme. Information about the
Company’s affairs is communicated to employees through
regular management meetings, our newsletter , intranet and
social events.
Policy on Supplier Payments
The Company aims to pay all its suppliers within a reasonable
period of their invoices being received and approved,
provided that the supplier has performed in accordance
with the relevant terms and conditions. At 31 July 2009 the
number of days credit taken for purchases by the Company
was 19 days (2008: 34 days).
Substantial Shareholders
At 31 July 2009 the following had notiﬁed the Company
of disclosable interests in 3% or more of the nominal value
of the Company’s shares:
Name Shareholding
Fidelity Investments 11,819,251 12.22%
Stephan Shakespeare
1
10,939,100 10.58%
Balshore Investments
2
10,029,100 10.37%
JO Hambro Capital Management 5,953,713 6.16%
T Rowe Price Global Investments 4,548,796 4.70%
Baillie Gifford 4,430,500 4.58%
BlackRock Investment Management 4,227,830 4.37%
Invesco Perpetual 3,260,000 3.37%
Jupiter Asset Management 3,054,029 3.16%
1 Includes five Ordinary Shares held by Stephan’s wife, Rosamund.
2 Balshore investments is the family trust of Nadhim Zahawi, an Executive
Director of YouGov plc.
Key Performance Indicators
Key performance indicators are discussed in more detail
on page 5.
Financial Risks
The ﬁnancial risks facing the Group are discussed in more
detail on pages 30 and 31.
Research and Development
The Group’s research and development activities centre
on the development of producing bespoke software solutions
to support and advance our online capabilities. In the year
ended 31 July 2009 £0.3m was charged to the income
statement (2008: £0.4m).
Social Responsibility
The Company recognises the importance of respecting and
supporting the communities in which it operates and, thus,
improving the positive impact of business in society .
Ethical Behaviour
YouGov expects its employees to exercise high ethical and
moral standards at all times whilst representing the Company . 26 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Directors’ Report for the year ended 31 July 2009
The Environment
The Company recognises that the wise use of resources
delivers both environmental and ﬁnancial beneﬁts. As part
of our overall approach to Corporate Responsibility we aim
to promote the maintenance of a healthy environment through
responsible and sustainable consumption and production.
Our operations are predominately ofﬁce based, and here we
try to minimise our impacts where practicable. As part of this
policy we:
 ensure that all waste is stored and disposed of responsibly ,
and recycle where possible;
 ensure that paper used comes from reputable managed
forests; and
 comply, where required, with the Packaging
(Essential Requirements) Regulations and the Packaging
Waste Regulations.
Health and Safety
The Company takes all reasonable and practicable steps
to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of its employees
and recognises its responsibilities for the health and safety
of others who may be affected by its activities.
Diversity in the Workplace
The Company is committed to providing a working
environment in which its employees are able to realise their
potential and to contribute to business success irrespective
of gender , marital status, ethnic origin, nationality , religion,
disability, sexual orientation or age.
Charitable and Political Contributions
Donations to charitable organisations amounted to £1,025
(2008: £15,850).
Donations to political organisations amounted to £nil
(2008: £nil).
Insurance of Company Ofﬁcers
The Company has maintained insurance throughout the
year for its Directors and ofﬁcers against the consequences
of actions brought against them in relation to their duties
for the Company .
Going Concern
Having made enquiries, the Directors have a reasonable
expectation that the Company has sufﬁcient resources to
continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.
For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern
basis in preparing the accounts.
Auditors
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP were appointed auditors
on 11 December 2008 in accordance with section 388(1)
of the Companies Act 2006. Special notice pursuant to
section 388(3) having been given, a resolution to reappoint
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors will be proposed at
the Annual General Meeting to be held on 3 December 2009.
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting of the Company will be held
on 3 December 2009 at our ofﬁces at 50 Featherstone Street,
London EC1Y 8RT .
Alan Newman
Chief Financial Ofﬁcer and Company Secretary
On behalf of the Board
12 October 2009 YouGov 27
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Remuneration Report for the year ended 31 July 2009
The Remuneration Committee comprised at 31 July 2009 two
Non-Executive Directors, Peter Bazalgette and Nick Jones.
Remuneration Report
A resolution will be put to the shareholders at the Annual
General Meeting to be held on 3 December 2009 inviting
them to consider and approve this report. The remuneration
report is unaudited.
Compliance
The constitution and operation of the Committee is in
compliance with the principles and best practice provisions
as set out in the Combined Code as if it were followed and
full consideration was given to these in determining the
remuneration packages for the Executive Directors for 2009/10.
This is not a remuneration report as deﬁned by Company law.
Policy on Remuneration of Executive Directors
The Remuneration Committee reviews the performance of
Executive Directors and sets the scale and structure of their
remuneration and the basis of their service agreements with
due regard to the interests of shareholders. In determining
that remuneration the Remuneration Committee seeks to offer
a competitive remuneration structure to maintain the high
calibre of its Executive Board. The Committee believes that
maintaining the Company’s business growth and proﬁt record
requires an overall compensation policy with a strong
performance-related element.
The main components of the Executive Directors’
remuneration in the year ended 31 July 2009 are:
1. Basic Salary
Basic salary for each Director is determined by the
Remuneration Committee taking into account the performance
of the individual and external market data. The Committee’s
policy is to review salaries annually .
2. Share Options
The Company believes that share ownership by non-business
owner Executive Directors strengthens the link between their
personal interests and those of the shareholders in respect
of shareholder value.
Long Term Incentive Plan (“LTIP”)
As announced on 11 May 2009, the Long Term Incentive
Plan has been established, in which Executive Directors
and senior managers of the Company and its subsidiaries
are eligible to participate.
Under the rules of the LTIP , participants will be conditionally
awarded nil cost options to acquire shares. The number of
such shares will normally be calculated by reference to a
percentage of the participant’s salary and the Company’s
closing share price on the date of the Preliminary
Announcement of the Company’s annual results. The shares
subject to the LTIP awards will be released to the recipients
at the end of a holding period, normally three years, subject
to their continued employment and to the Company’s
achievement of certain targets for earnings per share
growth and Total Shareholder Return.
The total number of LTIP shares expected to be awarded
conditionally in the year ended 31 July 2009 to participants
in the Scheme will be approximately 2 million. These include
conditional awards to the Executive Directors of the
Company as set out in the Directors’ report on page 24.
Directors’ Service Contracts
Nadhim Zahawi is employed by the Company as Chief
Executive Ofﬁcer under the terms of a service agreement
dated 18 April 2005, working ﬁve days a week for a salary of
£195,000 per annum. The contract has no ﬁxed term and is
terminable by 12 months in writing by either party . Under the
contract, Nadhim is entitled to 25 paid working days holiday
each year . He is subject to non-competition covenants for
a period of six months and non-solicitation covenants for a
period of 12 months following termination of his employment
with the Company and to a conﬁdentiality undertaking that is
without limit in time.
Stephan Shakespeare is employed by the Company as Chief
Innovations Ofﬁcer under the terms of a service agreement
dated 18 April 2005, working ﬁve days a week for a salary
of £195,000 per annum. The terms of Stephan’s contract
are identical to those of Nadhim. 28 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Remuneration Report for the year ended 31 July 2009
Alan Newman is employed by the Company as Chief
Financial Ofﬁcer under the terms of a service agreement
dated 5 June 2009, working ﬁve days a week for a salary
of £145,000 per annum. The contract has no ﬁxed term
and is terminable by six months in writing by either party .
Under the contract, Alan is entitled to 25 paid working days
holiday each year . He is subject to non-competition and
non-solicitation covenants for a period of six months following
termination of his employment with the Company and to a
conﬁdentiality undertaking that is without limit in time.
Roger Parry is engaged by the Company as a Non-Executive
Director and Chairman on the terms of a letter of appointment
dated 6 February 2007 terminable on 30 days’ notice from
either party . Roger receives a fee of £80,000 per annum.
Peter Bazalgette is engaged by the Company as a Non-
Executive Director on the terms of a letter of appointment
dated 2 March 2005 terminable on 30 days’ notice from
either party . Peter receives a fee of £30,000 per annum.
Nick Jones is engaged by the Company as a Non-Executive
Director on the terms of a letter of appointment dated
2 June 2009 terminable on 30 days’ notice from either
party . Nick receives a fee of £30,000 per annum.
Save as set out above, there are no existing or proposed
service contracts between any of the Directors and the
Company or any member of the Company .
The total aggregate remuneration (including beneﬁts in
kind and pension contributions) paid to the Directors by all
members of the Company for the year ending 31 July 2008
amounted to £737,000 (2008: £682,000).
No Director has or has had any interest in any transaction
which is or was unusual in its nature or conditions or which is
or was signiﬁcant in relation to the business of the Company
and which was effected by the Company either: (i) during the
current or immediately preceding ﬁnancial year; or (ii) during
any earlier ﬁnancial year and which remains in any aspect
outstanding or unperformed.
Policy on Remuneration of Non-Executive Directors
The remuneration of the Non-Executive Directors is set by the
Board as a whole.
Directors’ Emoluments
Directors’ emoluments including beneﬁts in kind and pension
contributions paid by the Company during the ﬁnancial year
are displayed below.
Nadhim Zahawi, Chief Executive Ofﬁcer , during the period
was conditionally awarded nil cost options to acquire
359,447 shares as part of the Company LTIP . The charge
to the income statement in respect of these in the year ended
31 July 2009 was £12,750.
Stephan Shakespeare, Chief Innovations Ofﬁcer , during the
period was conditionally awarded nil cost options to acquire
359,447 shares as part of the Company LTIP . The charge to
the income statement in respect of these in the year ended
31 July 2009 was £12,750.
Alan Newman, Chief Financial Ofﬁcer , during the period
was conditionally awarded nil cost options to acquire
267,281 shares as part of the Company LTIP . The charge to
the income statement in respect of these in the year ended
31 July 2009 was £9,500.
Panos Manolopoulos, the former Managing Director
International Development, at the start of the period had
share options over 283,455 Ordinary Shares at an exercise
price of £0.18 per share. Panos retained these share
options, all of which were exercisable, when he resigned
as a Director on 11 August 2008.
Katherine Lee, the former Chief Financial Ofﬁcer of the
Company, at the start of the period had share options over
700,000 Ordinary Shares at an exercise price of £0.341
and £0.295 per share. The options became exercisable
in equal tranches on 31 October 2005, 31 October 2006
and 31 October 2007. The fourth tranche due to become
exercisable on 31 October 2008 expired due to Katherine’s
resignation from the Company on 8 August 2008. At the date
of Katherine’s resignation she was free to exercise the ﬁrst
three tranches.
Directors’ emoluments in aggregate and in respect of the
highest paid Director are as follows:
2009 2008
2009 Highest 2008 Highest
Aggregate paid Aggregate paid
£000 £000 £000 £000
Salaries and fees 695 195 671 138
Share-based
payments 37 13 7–
Other benefits 51 41
Total emoluments 737 209 682 139
Social security
costs 68 24 122 35
Total cost
to Company 805 233 804 174 YouGov 29
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Corporate Governance Report for the year ended 31 July 2009
The Board
At 31 July 2009 the Board consisted of three Executive
Directors and three Non-Executive Directors, including a
senior Non-Executive Director . The names of the Directors
and their respective responsibilities are shown on page 23.
The Board operates both formally , through Board and
Committee meetings, and informally , through regular contact
amongst Directors. High level decisions on such matters as
strategy , ﬁnancial performance and reporting, dividends, risk
management, major capital expenditure, acquisitions and
disposals are reserved for the Board or Board Committees.
For its regular formal meetings, the Board receives
appropriate information in advance from management.
The Directors can obtain independent professional advice
at the Company’s own expense in performance of their duties
as Directors.
The Board formally approves the appointment of all new
Directors. All Directors are required to submit themselves for
re-election at the ﬁrst Annual General Meeting following their
appointment and subsequent to this at the Annual General
Meeting on a rotational basis, which ensures that each
Director is submitted for re-election approximately every three
years. Proposals to re-elect Directors are set out in the Notice
of the Annual General Meeting on page 79.
Board Committees
Remuneration Committee
The Remuneration Committee was established at the time
of ﬂotation. The composition of the Remuneration Committee
is shown on page 27 and the statement of the remuneration
policy developed by the Committee and details of each
Director’s remuneration are given within the Directors’
Remuneration Report set out on pages 27 to 28.
Audit Committee
The composition of the Audit Committee is described on
page 30. The Audit Committee operates under terms of
reference agreed by the whole Board and meets with the
auditors to consider the Company’s ﬁnancial reporting in
advance of its publication.
Board and Committee Attendance
The following table sets out the attendance of Directors
at Board and Committee meetings during 2008/09.
Remuneration Audit
Board Committee Committee
meetings meetings meetings
Maximum 15
Director (incl. 7 by phone) Maximum 3 Maximum 2
Nadhim Zahawi 15 ––
Stephan Shakespeare 14 ––
Alan Newman 14 –2
Katherine Lee n/a – n/a
Panos Manolopoulos n/a ––
Roger Parry 13 ––
Peter Bazalgette 13 32
Nick Jones 1 n/a n/a
Anthony Foye 11 32
Shareholder Communications
The Board’s assessment of the Company’s position and
prospects are set out in the Chairman’s Statement on pages
4 to 5 and the Chief Financial Ofﬁcer’s Report on pages 20
to 21.
The Executive Directors meet regularly with institutional
shareholders to discuss the Company’s performance and
future prospects. At these meetings the views of institutional
shareholders are canvassed and subsequently reported
back to the Board. The Annual General Meeting is used
as a forum for communication with private shareholders.
Compliance with the Combined Code
The Board considers that the Group continues to work hard
towards compliance with the Combined Code. Full compliance
has not yet been achieved and the Board and Audit
Committee monitor the Company’s compliance on a regular
basis. YouGov does not need to comply with the Combined
Code as it is listed on the AIM Index. 30 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Corporate Governance Report for the year ended 31 July 2009
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee comprises the two Non-Executive
Directors, Nick Jones (its Chairman) appointed to the Board
and Chairman of the Audit Committee on 2 June 2009 and
Peter Bazalgette. The Chairman of the Committee has
relevant ﬁnancial experience due to the senior positions
he currently holds or has held in the past.
The Audit Committee reports to the Board on any matters
in respect of which it considers that action or improvement
is needed, and makes recommendations as to the steps
to be taken. In particular the Committee is responsible for:
 ensuring that the ﬁnancial performance of the Group
is properly monitored and reported;
 monitoring the formal announcements relating to
ﬁnancial performance;
 meeting the auditors and agreeing audit strategy;
 reviewing reports from the auditors and management
relating to accounts and internal control systems; and
 making recommendations to the Board in respect
of external auditor appointment and remuneration.
The effectiveness of the internal control systems is under
constant review and a formal assessment of internal controls
has been conducted. The Audit Committee will monitor the
implementation of a series of detailed steps to improve the
control environment. Although there was no formal internal
audit during the year , the accounting functions were subject
to periodic internal review. As the business continues to grow
we keep the Group’s need for an internal audit function under
constant review.
Key Controls and Procedures
The Board maintains full control and direction over appropriate
strategic, ﬁnancial, organisational and compliance issues,
and has put in place an organisational structure with deﬁned
lines of responsibility and delegation of authority .
The annual budget and forecasts are reviewed by the Board
prior to approval being given. This includes the identiﬁcation
and assessment of the business risks inherent in the Group
and the media sector as a whole along with associated
ﬁnancial risks.
The system of internal ﬁnancial control is designed to provide
reasonable, but not absolute, assurance against material
misstatement or loss. The key procedures include:
 detailed budgeting programme with an annual budget
approved by the Board;
 regular review by the Board of actual results compared
with budget and forecasts;
 regular reviews by the Board of year end forecasts;
 establishment of procedures for acquisitions, capital
expenditure and expenditure incurred in the ordinary
course of business;
 detailed budgeting and monitoring of costs incurred
on the development of new products;
 reporting to, and review by, the Board of changes in
legislation and practices within the sector and accounting
and legal developments pertinent to the Company;
 appointing experienced and suitably qualiﬁed staff
to take responsibility for key business functions to ensure
maintenance of high standards of performance; and
 appraisal and approval of proposed acquisitions by
the Board.
Auditor Independence
The Audit Committee also undertakes a formal assessment
of the auditors’ independence each year which includes:
 conﬁrmation of the auditors’ objectivity and independence
in the provision of non-audit services to the Company
by the use of separate teams to provide such services
where appropriate;
 discussion with the auditors of a written report detailing
relationships with the Company and any other parties
that could affect independence or the perception of
independence;
 a review of the auditors’ own procedures for ensuring
independence of the audit ﬁrm and partners and staff
involved in the audit, including the regular rotation of
the audit partner; and
 obtaining written conﬁrmation from the auditors that,
in their professional judgement, they are independent.
Any analysis of the fees payable to the external audit ﬁrm
in respect of both audit and non-audit services during the
year is set out in note 1 to the accounts.
Risk Management
The Board reviews risks facing the business on a regular
basis. The following paragraphs demonstrate the key areas
of identiﬁed risk.
Early Stage of Development
Although the Company has grown substantially since it
was formed nine years ago, it remains a relatively small
company in an early stage of development. The Company
faces competition from both large established international
companies as well as small local businesses operating
in the same sector . YouGov 31
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Middle East
We undertake business in the Middle East region.
This exposes the Group to currency risk, inﬂationary risk
and political instability risk. In addition, we have a
concentration of revenue in a small number of high value
contracts. We manage those risks by investing in the local
currency of Dubai and by having inﬂuential local partners.
We keep abreast of the local political situation.
Currency Fluctuations
The Group is exposed to currency risk as the Group operates
in multiple geographic regions. This manifests itself in
different forms. We seek to reduce this risk by invoicing
in local currency thus reducing exposure in normal trading.
The Group is exposed to currency translation risk in the
consolidation of accounting records. The main reporting
currencies of Group subsidiaries are Sterling, US Dollar ,
Euro, Danish Kroner and Arab Emirate Dirham. The Group
does not hedge translation risk.
Projected Growth
The Company’s plans incorporate continued growth in the
coming years. This growth will be in part dependent on the
marketing and research budgets of target clients over which
YouGov has little control.
Competition
YouGov has developed an internet-based research strategy
which other large and established research organisations
are also beginning to adopt. Some of these more established
research organisations have well developed brands and
substantial resources and may be able to use these to
compete very effectively in developing online panels and
competing software.
Staff
The success of YouGov will be inﬂuenced by the recruitment
and retention of high calibre staff. Senior staff that manage
key client relationships and those with software expertise
are particularly important to the continuing development
and smooth running of the Company . To mitigate this risk,
YouGov has built account and project management teams
for key clients and larger research projects. In this way the
client relationships and project related knowledge are shared
among a number of individuals rather than concentrated
with one person.
Internationalisation
YouGov now has wide geographical spread. Monitoring
and reporting these businesses’ performance relies upon
the operation of key controls. There is a risk that these
controls may not operate effectively in each jurisdiction.
Acquisitions
The Directors plan to expand and develop the business
through a strategy of targeted acquisitions. The risk
exists that integration of any acquired business will be
unsuccessful or that key employees or clients of the acquired
business will be lost. Directors will attempt to mitigate this
risk by careful due diligence and communication with the
clients of target companies. The Directors will also seek to
communicate YouGov’s strategy to staff and ensure that
levels of remuneration and beneﬁts are appropriate to retain
key employees.
The Company may be unable to agree suitable terms with the
shareholders of a target company and be forced to abandon
an attempted takeover . This may happen after management
have invested signiﬁcant amounts of time and effort as well
as accruing advisers’ fees.
Integration Risk
Whenever investment is made in a new business there is a
risk that our integration plans fail or are delayed. We mitigate
this risk by putting together specialist cross-functional
integration teams consisting of individuals with the
appropriate knowledge and skills to undertake such a task.
Technology and Risk
A strong software platform is essential for carrying out online
research. This software must be reviewed and updated on a
regular basis to ensure that it does not become superseded
by newer technologies in other companies. YouGov has
sought to remain competitive in this area by recruiting an
experienced team of software specialists with responsibility
for developing the proprietary software systems. Employees
in this area must provide three months’ notice on departure
and YouGov has developed a succession planning document
with sufﬁcient detail on the structure of proprietary software
applications and the IT infrastructure to assist in an orderly
transition period in the event of staff leaving. A disaster
recovery plan is in place and is reviewed by the Audit
Committee annually . 32 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities for the year ended 31 July 2009
The Directors are responsible for preparing the annual report
and the ﬁnancial statements in accordance with applicable
law and regulations.
Company law requires the Directors to prepare ﬁnancial
statements for each ﬁnancial year . Under that law the Directors
have elected to prepare the Group ﬁnancial statements in
accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards
(IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union, and the parent
Company ﬁnancial statements in accordance with United
Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United
Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under
company law the Directors must not approve the ﬁnancial
statements unless they are satisﬁed that they give a true
and fair view of the state of affairs of the Group and the
Company and of the proﬁt or loss of the Group for that
period. In preparing these ﬁnancial statements, the Directors
are required to:
 select suitable accounting policies and then apply
them consistently;
 make judgements and accounting estimates that are
reasonable and prudent;
 state whether IFRSs as adopted by the European Union
and applicable UK Accounting Standards have been
followed, subject to any material departures disclosed
and explained in the Group and parent Company ﬁnancial
statements respectively;
 prepare the ﬁnancial statements on the going concern
basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the
Company will continue in business.
The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate
accounting records that are sufﬁcient to show and explain
the Company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable
accuracy at any time the ﬁnancial position of the Company
and the Group and enable them to ensure that the ﬁnancial
statements and the Directors’ remuneration report comply
with the Companies Act 2006 and, as regards the Group
ﬁnancial statements, Article 4 of the IAS Regulation. They are
also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company
and the Group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the
prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Directors are responsible for the maintenance
and integrity of the Company’s website. Legislation
in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and
dissemination of ﬁnancial statements may differ from
legislation in other jurisdictions.
Each of the Directors, whose names and functions
are listed in the Directors’ report, conﬁrm that, to the best
of their knowledge:
 the Group ﬁnancial statements, which have been prepared
in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the EU, give a
true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, ﬁnancial position
and proﬁt of the Group; and
 the business review on pages 12 to 21 includes a fair
review of the development and performance of the
business and the position of the Group, together with a
description of the principal risks and uncertainties that
it faces.
In accordance with Section 418 of the Companies Act 2006,
in the case of each Director in ofﬁce at the date the Directors’
report is approved:
a) so far as the Director is aware, there is no relevant audit
information of which the Company’s auditors are unaware;
and
b) he has taken all the steps that he ought to have taken as
a Director in order to make himself aware of any relevant
audit information and to establish that the Company’s
auditors are aware of that information.
On behalf of the Board
Alan Newman
12 October 2009 YouGov 33
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Report of the Independent Auditors (to the Members of YouGov plc) on
the Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 July 2009
Opinion on Financial Statements
In our opinion the Group ﬁnancial statements:
 give a true and fair view of the state of the Group’s affairs
as at 31 July 2009 and of its proﬁt and cash ﬂows for the
year then ended;
 have been properly prepared in accordance with IFRSs
as adopted by the European Union; and
 have been prepared in accordance with the requirements
of the Companies Act 2006.
Opinion on Other Matter Prescribed by the Companies
Act 2006
In our opinion the information given in the Directors’
report for the ﬁnancial year for which the Group ﬁnancial
statements are prepared is consistent with the Group
ﬁnancial statements.
Matters on which We Are Required to Report
by Exception
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters
where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if,
in our opinion:
 certain disclosures of Directors’ remuneration speciﬁed
by law are not made; or
 we have not received all the information and explanations
we require for our audit.
Other Matters
We have reported separately on the parent Company
ﬁnancial statements of YouGov plc for the year ended
31 July 2009.
David Snell (Senior Statutory Auditor)
for and on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors
London
12 October 2009
We have audited the Group ﬁnancial statements of YouGov
plc for the year ended 31 July 2009 which comprise the
consolidated income statement, consolidated balance sheet,
consolidated statement of changes in equity , consolidated
cash ﬂow statement, the Group accounting policies and
the related notes. The ﬁnancial reporting framework that
has been applied in their preparation is applicable law
and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs)
as adopted by the European Union.
Respective Responsibilities of Directors and Auditors
As explained more fully in the Directors’ responsibilities
statement, the Directors are responsible for the preparation
of the ﬁnancial statements and for being satisﬁed that they
give a true and fair view. Our responsibility is to audit the
ﬁnancial statements in accordance with applicable law and
International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland). Those
standards require us to comply with the Auditing Practices
Board’s Ethical Standards for Auditors.
This report, including the opinions, has been prepared for and
only for the Company’s members as a body in accordance
with Sections 495 and 496 of the Companies Act 2006 and
for no other purpose. We do not, in giving these opinions,
accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to
any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose
hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior
consent in writing.
Scope of the Audit of the Financial Statements
An audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts
and disclosures in the ﬁnancial statements sufﬁcient to give
reasonable assurance that the ﬁnancial statements are free
from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error .
This includes an assessment of: whether the accounting
policies are appropriate to the Group’s circumstances and
have been consistently applied and adequately disclosed;
the reasonableness of signiﬁcant accounting estimates
made by the Directors; and the overall presentation of the
ﬁnancial statements. 34 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Consolidated Income Statement for the year ended 31 July 2009
31 July 2008
31 July 2009 £000
Note £000 (Restated)
Group revenue 1 44,322 40,390
Cost of sales (10,557) (7,037)
Gross profit 33,765 33,353
Operating expenses (31,050) (25,486)
Group operating profit before amortisation of intangibles and exceptional costs 1 2,715 7,867
Amortisation of intangibles (3,145) (2,822)
Exceptional costs 3 (610) (1,200)
Group operating (loss)/profit (1,040) 3,845
Finance income 4 1,054 500
Finance costs 4 (650) (392)
Share of post tax (loss)/profit in joint ventures (47) 23
Group (loss)/profit before taxation 1 (683) 3,976
Tax credit 5 842 2,078
Group profit after taxation 1 159 6,054
Attributable to:
Equity holders of the parent Company (544) 5,282
Minority interests 703 772
159 6,054
Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share attributable to equity holders of the Company 7 (0.6) 5.8
Diluted earnings per share attributable to equity holders of the Company (0.6) 5.3
The accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these ﬁnancial statements. YouGov 35
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Consolidated Balance Sheet as at 31 July 2009
31 July 2008
31 July 2009 £000
Note £000 (Restated)
Assets
Non-current assets
Goodwill 9 33,482 33,500
Other intangible assets 10 17,940 17,118
Property, plant and equipment 11 2,629 2,217
Investments accounted for using the equity method 12 23 194
Deferred tax assets 21 2,510 1,567
Total non-current assets 56,584 54,596
Current assets
Trade and other receivables 13 13,678 17,239
Other short-term financial assets 14 211 35
Current tax assets 1,066 936
Cash and cash equivalents 15 12,718 13,406
Total current assets 27,673 31,616
Total assets 84,257 86,212
Liabilities
Current liabilities
Lease liabilities 20 4 3
Provisions 19 1,738 1,375
Deferred consideration 18 317 5,898
Trade and other payables 7,942 10,165
Borrowings 224 1,127
Current tax liabilities 158 53
Total current liabilities 16 10,383 18,621
Net current assets 17,290 12,995
Non-current liabilities
Lease liabilities 20 4 6
Provisions 19 – 15
Deferred consideration 18 651 1,152
Long-term borrowings 18 –
Deferred tax liabilities 21 6,105 5,760
Total non-current liabilities 17 6,778 6,933
Total liabilities 17,161 25,554
Total net assets 67,096 60,658
Equity
Issued share capital 23 193 190
Share premium 30,811 29,156
Merger reserve 9,239 9,239
Deferred consideration reserve – 1,438
Foreign exchange reserve 9,780 4,465
Profit and loss reserve 13,665 13,938
Total equity attributable to shareholders of the parent Company 63,688 58,426
Minority interests in equity 3,408 2,232
Total equity 67,096 60,658
The accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these ﬁnancial statements.
These ﬁnancial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 12 October 2009 and signed on its behalf by:
Alan Newman
Chief Financial Ofﬁcer 36 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity as at 31 July 2009
Attributable to equity holders of the Company
Share Foreign Deferred
Share premium exchange Merger consideration Profit and Minority Total
capital account reserve reserve reserve loss account Total interest equity
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Balance previously reported
at 1 August 2007 135 3,026 (360) –– 7,953 10,754 1,460 12,214
Prior period adjustment for
the year ended 31 July 2007* –– – –– 279 279 – 279
Restated balance at 1 August 2007 135 3,026 (360) –– 8,232 11,033 1,460 12,493
Changes in equity for 2008
Exchange differences on
translating foreign operations –– 4,825 –– – 4,825 – 4,825
Net income recognised
directly in equity –– 4,825 –– – 4,825 – 4,825
Profit for the period –– – –– 4,525 4,525 772 5,297
Prior period adjustment for
the year ended 31 July 2008* –– – –– 757 757 – 757
Total recognised income
for the period –– 4,825 –– 5,282 10,107 772 10,879
Expenses offset against
share premium – (1,076) –– –– (1,076) – (1,076)
Issue of share capital through
exercise of share options 4 245 –– –– 249 – 249
Issue of share capital
through fundraising 39 26,961 –– –– 27,000 – 27,000
Issue of share capital through
allotment of shares in satisfaction
of acquisition consideration 12 –– 9,239 –– 9,251 – 9,251
Deferred consideration as
part consideration for acquisition – ––– 1,438 – 1,438 – 1,438
Share-based payments –– – –– 424 424 – 424
Balance at 31 July 2008 190 29,156 4,465 9,239 1,438 13,938 58,426 2,232 60,658
Changes in equity for 2009
Exchange differences on
translating foreign operations –– 5,315 –– – 5,315 500 5,815
Dividends – ––– –– – (27) (27)
Net income recognised
directly in equity –– 5,315 –– – 5,315 473 5,788
(Loss)/profit for the period –– – –– (544) (544) 703 159
Total recognised income
for the period –– 5,315 –– (544) 4,771 1,176 5,947
Expenses offset against
share premium – (13) –– –– (13) – (13)
Issue of share capital through
exercise of share options 1 232 –– –– 233 – 233
Deferred consideration as
part consideration for acquisition 2 1,436 –– (1,438) – – – –
Share-based payments –– – –– 271 271 – 271
Balance at 31 July 2009 193 30,811 9,780 9,239 – 13,665 63,688 3,408 67,096
* As described on page 47. YouGov 37
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement for the year ended 31 July 2009
31 July 2008
31 July 2009 £000
Note £000 (Restated)
Cash flows from operating activities
Profit after taxation 1 159 6,054
Adjustments for:
Depreciation 1 557 522
Amortisation 1 3,145 2,822
Loss on disposal of property , plant and equipment and other intangible assets 1 53 1
Foreign exchange loss 1 132 53
Share option expense 1 271 311
Taxation credit recorded in profit and loss 5 (842) (2,078)
Net finance income 4 (404) (108)
Decrease/(increase) in trade and other receivables 5,265 (7,046)
(Decrease)/increase in trade and other payables (3,040) 2,611
Cash generated from operations 5,296 3,142
Interest paid (109) (74)
Foreign exchange losses (515) –
Income taxes paid (520) (675)
Net cash generated from operating activities 4,152 2,393
Cash flow from investing activities
Acquisition of subsidiaries (net of cash acquired) (685) (16,044)
Settlement of deferred considerations (2,215) (588)
Other investments made (175) (77)
Proceeds from sale of property , plant and equipment – 8
Purchase of property , plant and equipment (732) (1,694)
Purchase of intangible assets (2,020) (1,441)
Interest received 329 500
Foreign exchange gains 725 –
Net cash used in investing activities (4,773) (19,336)
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from issue of share capital 220 26,174
Loan repayments (1,043) (15)
Financing drawn down – 172
Proceeds from sale of financial assets – 75
Dividends paid to minority interests (12) –
Net cash (used in)/generated from financing activities (835) 26,406
Net (decrease)/increase in cash, cash equivalents and overdrafts (1,456) 9,463
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 13,406 4,061
Exchange gain/(loss) on cash and cash equivalents 768 (118)
Cash, cash equivalents and overdrafts at end of year 15 12,718 13,406
The accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these ﬁnancial statements.  YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Principal Accounting Policies of the Consolidated Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
1 Nature of Operations
1.1 YouGov plc and subsidiaries’ (“the Group”) principal activity is the provision of market research.
1.2 YouGov plc is the Group’s ultimate parent Company . It is incorporated and domiciled in Great Britain. The address
of YouGov plc’s registered ofﬁce is 50 Featherstone Street, London, EC1Y 8RT United Kingdom. YouGov plc’s
shares are listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.
1.3 YouGov plc’s annual consolidated ﬁnancial statements are presented in Pounds Sterling (£), which is also the
functional currency of the parent Company .
1.4 These annual consolidated ﬁnancial statements have been approved for issue by the Board of Directors on
12 October 2009.
2 Basis of Preparation
2.1 The consolidated ﬁnancial statements of YouGov plc are for the year ended 31 July 2009. They have been prepared
under the historical cost convention with the exception of certain non-current assets that are carried at fair value in
accordance with the accounting policies set out below. The consolidated ﬁnancial statements have been prepared
in accordance with applicable International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union (EU).
All references to IFRS in these statements refer to IFRS as adopted by the EU.
2.2 The policies set out below have been consistently applied to all years presented and comparative information has
been restated and represented under IFRS.
2.3 The parent Company ﬁnancial statements are prepared under UK GAAP and are detailed on pages 70 to 78.
2.4 The principal accounting policies of the Group are set out below and have been applied consistently in presenting
the consolidated ﬁnancial information.
3 Basis of Consolidation
3.1 The Group ﬁnancial statements consolidate those of the Company and all of its subsidiary undertakings (see note
12) drawn up to 31 July 2009. Subsidiaries are entities controlled by the Group. Control is achieved where the
Group has the power to govern the ﬁnancial and operating policies of an entity so as to obtain beneﬁts from its
activities. The Group obtains and exercises control through voting rights.
3.2 All intra-Group transactions, balances, income and expenses are eliminated in full on consolidation. Amounts
reported in the ﬁnancial statements of subsidiaries have been adjusted where necessary to ensure consistency
with the accounting policies adopted by the Group.
3.3 Acquisitions of subsidiaries are dealt with by the purchase method. The purchase method involves the recognition
at fair value of all identiﬁable assets and liabilities, including contingent liabilities of the subsidiary, at the acquisition
date, regardless of whether or not they were recorded in the ﬁnancial statements of the subsidiary prior to
acquisition. On initial recognition, the assets and liabilities of the subsidiary are included in the consolidated
balance sheet at their fair values, which are also used as the bases for subsequent measurement in accordance
with the Group accounting policies. Goodwill is stated after separating out identiﬁable intangible assets. Goodwill
represents the excess of acquisition cost over the fair value of the Group’s share of the identiﬁable net assets
of the acquired subsidiary at the date of acquisition.
3.4 The Group applies a policy of treating transactions with minority interests as transactions with parties external
to the Group. Disposals to minority interests result in gains and losses for the Group that are recorded in the income
statement. Purchases from minority interests result in goodwill, being the difference between any consideration
paid and the relevant share acquired of the carrying value of net assets of the subsidiary . YouGov 
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
4 Associates and Joint Ventures
4.1 Entities whose economic activities are controlled jointly by the Group and by other venturers independent of
the Group are accounted for using the equity method. Associates are those entities over which the Group has
signiﬁcant inﬂuence (deﬁned as the power to participate in the ﬁnancial and operating decisions of the investee
but not control or joint control over those policies) but which are neither subsidiaries nor interests in joint ventures.
The results and assets and liabilities of associates and joint ventures are incorporated in these ﬁnancial statements
using the equity method of accounting, under which investments in associates and investments in joint ventures
are carried in the consolidated balance sheet at cost as adjusted for post-acquisition changes in the Group’s share
of net assets of the associate or joint venture less any impairment in the value of individual investments.
4.2 However , when the Group’s share of losses in an associate or joint venture equals or exceeds its interest in the
associate or joint venture, including any unsecured receivables, the Group does not recognise further losses, unless
it has incurred obligations or made payments on behalf of the associate or joint venture. If the associate or joint
venture subsequently reports proﬁts, the investor resumes recognising its share of those proﬁts only after its share
of the proﬁts equals the share of losses not recognised.
4.3 Unrealised gains on transactions between the Group and its associates or joint ventures are eliminated to the
extent of the Group’s interests in the associates or joint ventures. Unrealised losses are also eliminated unless
the transaction provides evidence of an impairment of the asset transferred. Amounts reported in the ﬁnancial
statements of associates and joint ventures have been adjusted where necessary to ensure consistency with
the accounting policies adopted by the Group.
5 Revenue
5.1 Revenue is measured by reference to the fair value of consideration received or receivable by the Group for
services provided, excluding VAT and trade discounts.
5.2 Market Research
5.2.a Revenue arises from the provision of market research services. Within this revenue stream are syndicated and
non-syndicated services.
5.2.1 Syndicated Services
5.2.1.a Syndicated services are the consistent provision of data over a speciﬁed period of time. Revenue is recognised
from the point in time at which access passwords have been made available to the customer . Revenue is
recognised in equal monthly instalments over the life of the contract.
5.2.2 Non-Syndicated Services
5.2.2.a Non-syndicated services vary in size and complexity . Revenue is recognised from the point in time at which the
customer has contracted the service. Revenue is recognised on each contract in proportion to the level of services
performed by reference to the project manager’s estimates and time records against budgeted and assigned
resource. Revenue is recognised on long-term contracts, if the outcome can be assessed with reasonable certainty,
by including in the income statement revenue and related costs as contract activity progresses.
5.3 Non-Cash Transactions
5.3.a The Group enters into contracts for the provision of market research services in exchange for advertising rather
than for cash or other consideration. When barter transactions are agreed the value of the work provided to the
counterparty is equal in value to that which would be provided in an ordinary cash transaction. As required by IAS
18.9 the value of advertising receivable in all signiﬁcant barter transactions is ensured to be reliably measurable
by referencing to the counterparty’s rate card.  YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Principal Accounting Policies of the Consolidated Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
6 Panel Incentive Costs
6.1 The Group invites consumer panel members to ﬁll out surveys for a cash or points based incentive. Although these
amounts are not paid until a predetermined target value has accrued on a panellist’s account, an assessment of
incentives likely to be paid (present obligation) is made taking into account past panellist behaviour and is
recognised as a cost of sale in the period in which the service is provided.
7 Interest
7.1 The Group receives interest income for cash funds that are held on short-term instant access deposit. Where interest
receipts are received after the balance sheet date the interest due is accrued for the requisite period at the prevailing
rate on the deposit.
7.2 Interest is recognised using the effective interest method which calculates the amortised cost of a ﬁnancial asset
and allocates the interest income over the relevant period. The effective interest rate is the rate that exactly
discounts estimated future cash receipts through the expected life of the ﬁnancial asset to the net carrying amount
of the ﬁnancial asset.
8 Exceptional Items
8.1 Items are highlighted as exceptional in the income statement when separate disclosure is considered helpful
in understanding the underlying performance of the business.
9 Taxation
9.1 Current tax is the tax currently payable based on taxable proﬁt for the year .
9.2 Deferred income taxes are calculated using the liability method on temporary differences. Deferred tax is generally
provided on the difference between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities and their tax bases. However ,
deferred tax is not provided on the initial recognition of goodwill, nor on the initial recognition of an asset or liability
unless the related transaction is a business combination or affects tax or accounting proﬁt. Deferred tax on
temporary differences associated with shares in subsidiaries and joint ventures is not provided if reversal of
these temporary differences can be controlled by the Group and it is probable that reversal will not occur in the
foreseeable future. In addition, tax losses available to be carried forward as well as other income tax credits to
the Group are assessed for recognition as deferred tax assets.
9.3 Deferred tax liabilities are provided in full, with no discounting. Deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that
it is probable that the underlying deductible temporary differences will be able to be offset against future taxable
income. Current and deferred tax assets and liabilities are calculated at tax rates that are expected to apply to their
respective period of realisation, provided they are enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date.
9.4 Changes in deferred tax assets or liabilities are recognised as a component of tax expense in the income statement,
except where they relate to items that are charged or credited directly to equity in which case the related deferred
tax is also charged or credited directly to equity .
10 Dividends
10.1 Dividends are recognised when the shareholders’ right to receive payment is established.
11 Goodwill
11.1 Goodwill representing the excess of the cost of acquisition over the fair value of the Group’s share of the
identiﬁable net assets acquired, is capitalised and reviewed annually for impairment. Goodwill is carried at cost
less accumulated impairment losses. If the Group’s interest in the net fair value of the identiﬁable assets, liabilities,
contingent liabilities of the acquired entity exceeds the cost of the business combination this value is recognised
immediately in the income statement.
11.2 Goodwill written off to reserves prior to date of transition to IFRS remains in reserves. There is no re-instatement
of goodwill that was amortised prior to transition to IFRS. Goodwill previously written off to reserves is not written
back to proﬁt or loss on subsequent disposal. YouGov 
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
12 Intangible Assets
12.1 Intangible assets represent identiﬁable non-monetary assets without physical substance. Intangible assets
are valued at either the directly attributable costs or using valuation methods such as discounted cash ﬂows
and replacement cost in the case of acquired intangible assets.
12.2 The Directors estimate the useful economic life of each asset and use these estimates in applying amortisation
rates. The Directors periodically review economic useful life estimates.
12.3 Intangible assets are stated at cost net of amortisation and any provision for impairment.
12.4 Directors conduct an impairment review of intangible assets where necessary . Where impairment arises, losses
are recognised in the income statement.
12.5 Amortisation of intangible assets is shown on the face of the income statement.
13 Intangible Assets Acquired as part of a Business Combination
13.1 In accordance with IFRS 3 Business Combinations, an intangible asset acquired in a business combination is
deemed to have a cost to the Group of its fair value at the acquisition date. The fair value of the intangible asset
reﬂects market expectations about the probability that the future economic beneﬁts embodied in the asset will ﬂow
to the Group. Where an intangible asset might be separable, but only together with a related tangible or intangible
asset, the Group of assets is recognised as a single asset separately from goodwill where the individual fair values
of the assets in the Group are not reliably measurable. Where the individual fair value of the complementary assets
are reliably measurable, the Group recognises them as a single asset provided the individual assets have similar
useful lives. Amortisation rates applicable to intangible assets acquired as part of a business combination
are typically:
Intangible asset Amortisation period
Consumer panel 5 years
Software and software development 5 years
Customer contracts and lists 10–11 years
Patents and trademarks 5–15 years
Order backlog 3 months–1 year
14 Intangible Assets Generated Internally
14.1 Internally generated intangible assets are only capitalised where they meet all of the following criteria stipulated
by IAS 38:
 Completion of the intangible asset is technically feasible so that it will be available for use or sale.
 The Group intends to complete the intangible asset and use or sell it.
 The Group has the ability to use or sell the intangible asset.
 The intangible asset will generate probable future economic beneﬁts. Among other things, this requires that there
is a market for the output from the intangible asset or for the intangible asset itself, or , if it is to be used internally,
the asset will be used in generating such beneﬁts.
 There are adequate technical, ﬁnancial and other resources to complete the development and to use or sell
the intangible asset.
 The expenditure attributable to the intangible asset during its development can be measured reliably .
14.2 Internally generated intangible assets are capitalised at their directly attributable cost. Development costs not
meeting the criteria for capitalisation are expensed as incurred.
14.3 Amortisation rates applicable to internally generated intangible assets are typically:
Intangible asset Amortisation period
Software and software development 1–3 years
Patents and trademarks not amortised
Development costs project by project basis  YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Principal Accounting Policies of the Consolidated Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
15 Consumer Panel
15.1 The consumer panel is the core asset from which our online revenues are generated.
15.2 Where a consumer panel or list is acquired as part of a business combination the cost of the asset is recognised
at its fair value to the Group at the date of acquisition. The fair value is calculated by an independent expert.
Amortisation is charged to write off the panel acquisition costs over a three-year period, this being the Directors’
estimate of the average active life of a panellist.
15.3 Consumer panel costs reﬂect the direct cost of recruiting new panel members. Only third party costs are
considered for capitalisation. Consumer panel costs are split between enhancement and maintenance of the asset.
Enhancement costs are capitalised whilst maintenance costs are expensed. The split is based on management
estimates derived from current levels of panel churn. Amortisation is charged to write off the panel acquisition costs
over a three-year period, this being the Directors’ estimate of the average active life of a panellist.
16 Software and Software Development
16.1 Capitalised software includes our panel management software and our BrandIndex platform which are key tools
of our business. Software and software development also includes purchased off-the-shelf software.
16.2 Where software is acquired as part of a business combination the cost of the asset is recognised at its fair value to
the Group at the date of acquisition. The fair value is calculated by an independent expert. Amortisation is charged
to write off the software over a ﬁve-year period, this being the Directors’ estimate of the useful life of the software.
16.3 Where software is developed internally , directly attributable costs including employee costs are capitalised as
software development. Amortisation commences upon completion of the asset. Amortisation is charged to write off
the software over a three-year period, this being the Directors’ estimate of the useful life of the software.
17 Customer Contract and Lists
17.1 Where a customer contract or list is acquired as part of a business combination the cost of the asset is recognised
at its fair value to the Group at the date of acquisition. The fair value is calculated by an independent expert.
17.2 Customer contracts and lists are amortised over a useful economic life based on Directors’ estimates.
18 Patents and Trademarks
18.1 Where a patent or trademark is acquired as part of a business combination the cost of the asset is recognised
at its fair value to the Group at the date of acquisition. The fair value is calculated by an independent expert.
18.2 Patents and trademarks acquired as part of a business combination are amortised over a useful economic life
based on Directors’ estimates.
18.3 Patents and trademarks acquired on an ongoing basis to protect the YouGov brand and its products are included
at cost and are not amortised, as the trademarks are indeﬁnite in their longevity . The patents are subject to an
annual impairment review.
19 Order Backlog
19.1 Due to the nature of their business, Clear Horizons at the date of acquisition had a certain level of secured orders
(order backlog) or quotations that have been accepted, and are awaiting commencement, completion or delivery .
The fair value of these assets has been calculated by discounting the present value of the future anticipated cash
inﬂow at the time of acquisition. Order backlogs are only recognised as an intangible asset when acquired as part
of a business combination.
19.2 Amortisation is provided over the period in which it will take to fulﬁl these secured orders.
20 Development Costs
20.1 Expenditure on research (or the research phase of an internal project) is recognised as an expense in the period
in which it is incurred.
20.2 The cost of an internally generated intangible asset comprises all directly attributable costs necessary to create,
produce, and prepare the asset to be capable of operating in the manner intended by management. YouGov 
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
21 Impairment Testing of Goodwill, Other Intangible Assets and Property, Plant and Equipment
21.1 For the purposes of assessing impairment, assets are grouped at the lowest levels for which there are separately
identiﬁable cash ﬂows (cash-generating units). As a result, some assets are tested individually for impairment
and some are tested at cash-generating unit level. Goodwill is allocated to those cash-generating units that are
expected to beneﬁt from synergies of the related business combination and represent the lowest level within the
Group at which management monitors the related cash ﬂows.
21.2 Goodwill, other individual assets or cash-generating units that include goodwill, other intangible assets with an
indeﬁnite useful life, and those intangible assets not yet available for use are tested for impairment at least annually .
All other individual assets or cash-generating units are tested for impairment whenever events or changes in
circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable.
21.3 An impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which the asset’s or cash-generating unit’s carrying amount
exceeds its recoverable amount. The recoverable amount is the higher of fair value, reﬂecting market conditions
less costs to sell, and value in use based on an internal discounted cash ﬂow evaluation.
21.4 Impairment losses recognised for cash-generating units, to which goodwill has been allocated, are credited initially
to the carrying amount of goodwill. Any remaining impairment loss is charged pro rata to the other assets in the
cash-generating unit. With the exception of goodwill, all assets are subsequently reassessed for indications that
an impairment loss previously recognised may no longer exist.
22 Property, Plant and Equipment and Depreciation
22.1 Property , plant and equipment is carried at cost net of depreciation and any provision for impairment. No depreciation
is charged during the period of construction. Leasehold property is included in property, plant and equipment only
where it is held under a ﬁnance lease. Borrowing costs on property, plant and equipment under construction are
capitalised during the period of construction based on speciﬁc funds borrowed. Depreciation is calculated to write
down the cost less estimated residual value of all tangible ﬁxed assets over their estimated useful economic lives.
Asset Depreciation rate
Freehold property 50 years
Leasehold property improvements Straight line over the life of the lease
Fixtures and fittings 25% on a reducing balance
Computer equipment 33% per annum straight line
Motor vehicles 25% or the life of the lease
23 Leased Assets
23.1 In accordance with IAS 17, the economic ownership of a leased asset is transferred to the lessee if the lessee
bears substantially all the risks and rewards related to the ownership of the leased asset. The related asset is
recognised at the time of inception of the lease at the fair value of the leased asset or , if lower , the present value
of the minimum lease payments plus incidental payments, if any, to be borne by the lessee. A corresponding
amount is recognised as a ﬁnance leasing liability .
23.2 The interest element of leasing payments represents a constant proportion of the capital balance outstanding
and is charged to the income statement over the period of the lease.
23.3 All other leases are regarded as operating leases and the payments made under them are charged to the income
statement on a straight line basis over the lease term. Lease incentives are spread over the term of the lease.
24 Financial Assets
24.1 Financial assets are divided into the following categories: cash and cash equivalents, loans and receivables and
available-for-sale ﬁnancial assets. Financial assets are assigned to the different categories by management on initial
recognition, depending on the purpose for which they were acquired.
24.2 All ﬁnancial assets are recognised when the Group becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.  YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Principal Accounting Policies of the Consolidated Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
24.3 Loans and receivables are non-derivative ﬁnancial assets with ﬁxed or determinable payments that are not quoted
in an active market. Trade receivables and other ﬁnancial assets are classiﬁed as loans and receivables. Loans and
receivables are measured subsequent to initial recognition at amortised cost using the effective interest method,
less provision for impairment. Any change in their value through impairment or reversal of impairment is recognised
in the income statement.
24.4 Provision against trade receivables is made when there is objective evidence that the group will not be able
to collect all amounts due to it in accordance with the original terms of those receivables. The amount of the
write-down is determined as the difference between the asset’s carrying amount and the present value of
estimated future cash ﬂows.
24.5 An assessment for impairment is undertaken at least at each balance sheet date.
24.6 A ﬁnancial asset is derecognised only where the contractual rights to the cash ﬂows from the asset expire or the
ﬁnancial asset is transferred and that transfer qualiﬁes for derecognition. A ﬁnancial asset is transferred if the
contractual rights to receive the cash ﬂows of the asset have been transferred or the Group retains the contractual
rights to receive the cash ﬂows of the asset but assumes a contractual obligation to pay the cash ﬂows to one or
more recipients. A ﬁnancial asset that is transferred qualiﬁes for derecognition if the Group transfers substantially
all the risks and rewards of ownership of the asset, or if the Group neither retains nor transfers substantially all
the risks and rewards of ownership but does transfer control of that asset.
25 Financial Liabilities
25.1 Financial liabilities are divided into the following categories: ﬁnancial liabilities at fair value through proﬁt or loss and
other ﬁnancial liabilities measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method. Financial liabilities are
assigned to the different categories by management on initial recognition, depending on the purpose for which they
were acquired.
25.2 Financial liabilities are obligations to pay cash or other ﬁnancial assets and are recognised when the Group becomes
a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
25.3 Trade and other payables are stated at their nominal value.
25.4 Borrowings and lease liabilities are recorded at the proceeds received, net of any issue costs. Finance charges are
accounted for on an effective interest method and are added to the carrying value of the instrument to the extent
that they are not settled in the period in which they arise.
25.5 A ﬁnancial liability is derecognised only when the obligation is extinguished, that is, when the obligation is discharged
or cancelled or expires.
26 Cash and Cash Equivalents
26.1 Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and demand deposits, together with other short-term, highly
liquid investments that are readily convertible into known amounts of cash and which are subject to an insigniﬁcant
risk of changes in value. In addition, bank overdrafts which are repayable on demand are included.
27 Equity
27.1 Equity comprises the following:
 Share capital represents the nominal value of equity shares.
 Share premium represents the excess over nominal value of the fair value of consideration received for equity
shares, net of expenses of the share issue.
 Merger reserve represents the excess over nominal value of the fair value of consideration received for equity
shares issued/allotted directly to acquire another entity meeting the speciﬁc requirements of section 131
of the Companies Act 2006. The conditions of the relief include:
– Securing at least 90% of the nominal value of equity of another company .
– The arrangement provides for allotment of equity shares in the issuing company .
 Deferred consideration reserve represents the total value of equity that may be issued should speciﬁc
earn-out agreements be achieved.
 Foreign exchange reserve represents the differences arising from translation of investments in
overseas subsidiaries.
 Proﬁt and loss reserve represents retained proﬁts. YouGov 
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
28 Foreign Currencies
28.1 Transactions in foreign currencies are translated at the exchange rate ruling at the date of the transaction.
28.2 Monetary assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance
sheet date. Non-monetary items that are measured at historical cost in a foreign currency are translated at the
exchange rate at the date of the transaction. Non-monetary items that are measured at fair value in a foreign
currency are translated using the exchange rates at the date when the fair value was determined.
28.3 Any exchange differences arising on the settlement of monetary items or on translating monetary items at rates
different from those at which they were initially recorded are recognised in the income statement in the period in
which they arise.
28.4 Exchange differences on non-monetary items are recognised in the statement of recognised income and expenses
to the extent that they relate to a gain or loss on that non-monetary item taken to the statement of changes in equity,
otherwise such gains and losses are recognised in the income statement.
28.5 The assets and liabilities in the ﬁnancial statements of foreign subsidiaries and associates and related goodwill
are translated at the rate of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Income and expenses are translated at the
actual rate. The exchange differences arising from the retranslation of the opening net investment in subsidiaries
and associates are taken directly to the “Foreign exchange reserve” in equity .
29 Employee Beneﬁts
29.1 Equity settled share-based payment
29.2 All share-based payment arrangements granted after 7 November 2002 that had not vested prior to 1 August 2006
are recognised in the ﬁnancial statements.
29.3 This fair value is appraised at the grant date and excludes the impact of non-market vesting conditions.
29.4 All equity-settled share-based payments are ultimately recognised as an expense in the income statement with
a corresponding credit to “proﬁt and loss reserve”.
29.5 If vesting periods or other non-market vesting conditions apply, the expense is allocated over the vesting period,
based on the best available estimate of the number of share options expected to vest. Estimates are subsequently
revised if there is any indication that the number of share options expected to vest differs from previous estimates.
Any cumulative adjustment prior to vesting is recognised in the current period.
29.6 No adjustment is made to any expense recognised in prior periods if share options ultimately exercised are
different to that estimated on vesting.
29.7 Upon exercise of share options the proceeds received net of attributable transaction costs are credited to share
capital, and where appropriate share premium.
30 Contingent Consideration
30.1 Future anticipated payments to vendors in respect of earn-outs are based on the Directors’ best estimates of future
obligations, which are dependent on the future performance of the interests acquired and assume the operating
companies improve proﬁts in line with directors’ estimates. When consideration payable is deferred, the fair value
of the consideration is obtained by discounting to present value the amounts expected to be payable in the future
at a rate equivalent to a UK ten-year treasury gilt, this being, in the Directors’ opinion the most appropriate barometer
for a risk free rate.
31 Imputed Interest
31.1 When the outﬂow of cash or cash equivalents is deferred, and the arrangement constitutes a ﬁnancing transaction,
the fair value of the consideration is the present value of all future payments determined using an imputed rate of
interest. The imputed rate of interest used is the UK ten-year treasury gilt, this being, in the Directors’ opinion the
most appropriate barometer for a risk free rate. The difference between the present value of all future payments
and the nominal amount of the consideration is recognised as an interest charge. Imputed interest is shown within
ﬁnance costs in the income statement.  YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Principal Accounting Policies of the Consolidated Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
32 Critical Accounting Estimates and Judgements
32.1 In the process of applying the Group’s accounting policies the Directors are required to make estimates and
adjustments that may affect the ﬁnancial statements. The Directors believe that the estimates and judgements
applied in the ﬁnancial statements are reasonable.
32.2 Estimates and judgements are evaluated on a regular basis and are based on historical experience (where
applicable) and other factors, such as expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under
the circumstances.
32.3 The Group makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. These estimates, by deﬁnition, will rarely
equal the related actual results. The estimates and assumptions that have a signiﬁcant risk of causing a material
adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next ﬁnancial year are discussed below.
Where estimates and judgements have been made, the key factors taken into consideration are disclosed in the
appropriate note in these ﬁnancial statements.
32.4 Revenue Recognition
The Group is required to make an estimate of project completion levels on long-term contracts for revenue
recognition purposes. This is based upon the project manager’s estimates and available time records against
budgeted and assigned resource for the initial project scope. This involves an element of judgement, and therefore
differences may arise between the actual and estimated result. Where they do, differences are recognised in the
income statement for the following reporting period.
32.5 Share-Based Payments
The Group is required to make estimates regarding the assumptions that are used to calculate the income
statement charge for share-based payments. Inputs to the calculations include (but are not limited to) expected
volatility, expected life, risk-free rate, expected dividend yield and redemption rates. Variance in any of the inputs
could lead to the income statement charge being higher or lower than appropriate.
32.6 Income Taxes
The Group is subject to income taxes in various jurisdictions. Judgement is required in determining the worldwide
provision for income taxes. There are many transactions/calculations for which the ultimate tax determination is
uncertain during the ordinary course of business. Where the ﬁnal tax outcome is different to what is initially recorded,
such differences will impact the income tax and deferred tax provisions. Income taxes are disclosed fully in note 5.
32.7 Goodwill
The Group tests annually whether goodwill has suffered any impairment, in accordance with the accounting policy .
The recoverable amount is based on value in use calculations. The use of this method requires the estimation of
future cash ﬂows and the choice of a suitable discount rate in order to calculate the present values of these cash
ﬂows. The estimates used in the impairment review are fully disclosed in note 9.
32.8 Other Intangible Assets
The Group is required to identify and assess the useful life of intangible assets and determine if there is a ﬁnite
or indeﬁnite life. Judgement is required in determining if an intangible asset has a ﬁnite life and the extent of
this ﬁnite life in order to calculate the amortisation charge on the asset. The Group tests at each reporting date
whether intangible assets have suffered any indicators of impairment, in accordance with the accounting policy .
The recoverable amount of cash-generating units have been determined based on discounted future cash ﬂows.
These calculations require estimates to be made. Where there is no method of valuation for an intangible asset,
management will make use of a valuation technique to determine the value of an intangible if there is no evidence
of a market value. In doing so certain assumptions and estimates will be made. Intangible assets are fully disclosed
in note 10.
32.9 Panel Incentive Provision
The Group is required to assess the likelihood that panel incentives earned by consumer panel members will
be redeemed and maintain a provision to cover this potential liability . Factors taken into consideration include the
absolute liability , redemption rates and panel activity rates. Whilst historical data can indicate trends and behaviours
it is not an indication of the future. In arriving at the carrying value of the provision certain assumptions and
estimates have to be made. The estimates used in the impairment review are fully disclosed in note 19. YouGov 7
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
32.10 Deferred Taxation
Judgement is required by management in determining whether the Group should recognise a deferred tax asset.
Management consider whether there is sufﬁcient certainty that its tax losses available to carry forward will ultimately
be offset against future earnings; this judgement impacts on the degree to which deferred tax assets are
recognised. Deferred taxation is disclosed fully in note 21.
32.11 Contingent Consideration
As part of the acquisitions, contingent consideration is payable to selling shareholders’ groups based on the future
performance of the businesses. Judgement is required in estimating the magnitude of contingent consideration and
the likelihood of payment. Contingent consideration is disclosed fully in note 18.
33 Prior Period Adjustments
33.1 A recent review identiﬁed that the UK corporation tax charge in respect of the years ending 31 July 2007 and
2008 had been overstated. This was due to an error in the calculation of deductions available under Schedule 23
of the Finance Act 2003 relating to the sale of shares acquired by Directors and employees. This has resulted
in tax overpayments of £757,000 for the year ended 31 July 2008 and £279,000 for the year ended 31 July 2007.
These amounts were reclaimed from HM Revenue and Customs in August 2009.
The impact of the prior period adjustments are as follows:
 July 31 July
 2007
£ £000
Tax credit 77 279
Current tax assets  –
Current tax liabilities () (279)
Profit and loss reserve , 279
Impact on basic earnings per share attributable to equity holders of the Company (p) . 0.4
Impact on diluted earnings per share attributable to equity holders of the Company (p) .7 0.4
34 Standard and Interpretations in Issue but Not Yet Effective
34.1 At the date of authorisation of these ﬁnancial statements, the following standards and interpretations which have not
been applied on these ﬁnancial statements were in issue but not yet effective.
34.2 Standard and interpretation Effective for reporting periods starting on or after
IAS 1 Presentation of financial statements 1 January 2009
IAS 23 Borrowing costs 1 January 2009
IAS 27 Consolidated and separate financial statements (revised 2008) 1 July 2009
IAS 32 Presentation and IAS 1 presentation and financial statements 1 January 2009
– puttable financial instruments and obligations arising on liquidation
IAS 39 Financial instruments: recognition and measurement – eligible hedged items 1 July 2009
IFRS 1/ First time adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards/consolidated and
IAS 27 separate financial statements – costs of investment in a subsidiary, jointly controlled
entity or associate 1 January 2009
IFRS 2 Amendment to IFRS 2 share-based payment – vesting conditions and cancellations 1 January 2009
IFRS 3 Business combinations (revised 2008) 1 July 2009
IFRS 7 Financial instruments: disclosures 1 July 2009
IFRS 8 Operating segments 1 January 2009
Minimum funding requirements and their interaction
IFRIC 15 Agreements for the construction of real estate 1 January 2009
IFRIC 16 Hedges of a net investment in a foreign operation 1 October 2008
IFRIC 17 Distributions of non-cash assets to owners 1 July 2009
Improvements to IFRSs 1 January 2009/
1 July 2009
34.3 The Directors anticipate that the adoption of these Standards and Interpretations in future periods will have no
material impact on the consolidated ﬁnancial statements of the Group except for additional disclosure and the
presentational effects of IAS 1 and IFRS 8.
34.4 IFRS 3 will have no retrospective impact on the Group accounting for business combinations but will impact the
accounting treatment for any future acquisitions that the Group makes, speciﬁcally transaction costs no longer
being able to be classiﬁed as part of the consideration cost but taken directly to the income statement.  YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
1 Revenue and Profit Before Taxation
Segmental Analysis
For internal reporting purposes the Group is organised into ﬁve operating divisions based on geographic lines – UK, Middle East
& North Africa, Germany & Central Europe, Scandinavia & Northern Europe & North America. These divisions are the basis on
which the Group reports its segmental information. The Group only undertakes one class of business, that of market research.
Middle East & Germany & Scandinavia & North Consolidation
UK North Africa Central Europe Northern Europe America eliminations Consolidated
 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Revenue
External sales 10,470 8,398 14,606 7,393 3,455 – 44,322
Inter-segment sales 619 2 199 35 23 (878) –
Total revenue , , , 7, ,7 (7) ,
Inter-segment sales are priced on an arm’s-length basis that would be available to unrelated third parties.
Segment result
Gross profit 8,465 5,602 11,195 5,555 2,836 112 33,765
Operating profit/(loss) 1,992 2,848 696 (178) 184 82 5,624
Unallocated corporate expenses (2,909)
Operating profit 2,715
Amortisation of intangibles (3,145)
Exceptional items (610)
Finance income 1,054
Finance costs (650)
Share of results of joint ventures (47)
Loss before taxation (683)
Tax credit 842
Profit after taxation 159
Other segment information
Capital additions 1,226 427 390 169 540 – 2,752
Depreciation 132 77 262 38 44 4 557
Amortisation 364 73 89 60 88 2,471 3,145
Share-based payments 100 ––– 171 – 271
Assets
Segment assets 15,901 15,139 27,735 16,830 19,881 (12,119) 83,367
Investments in joint ventures –– 23 ––– 23
Unallocated corporate assets –––––– 867
Total assets ,7
Liabilities
Segment liabilities 8,896 411 7,110 5,251 5,045 (9,552) 17,161
Total liabilities ,  7, , , (,) 7,
Differences between the origin and destination of revenue is material to the Group. Revenue by destination is presented below.
Middle East & Germany & Scandinavia & North Consolidation
UK North Africa Central Europe Northern Europe America eliminations Consolidated
 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Revenue by destination
External sales 15,547 2,094 15,416 7,202 4,063 – 44,322
Inter-segment sales 235 610 13 – 20 (878) –
Total revenue ,7 ,7 , 7, , (7) ,
Inter-segment sales are priced on an arm’s-length basis that would be available to unrelated third parties. YouGov 
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
1 Revenue and Profit Before Taxation continued
Middle East & Germany & Scandinavia & North Consolidation
UK North Africa Central Europe Northern Europe America eliminations Consolidated
 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Revenue
External sales 11,962 7,670 11,960 6,488 2,310 – 40,390
Inter-segment sales 612 1 32 19 520 (1,184) –
Total revenue ,7 7,7 , ,7 , (,) ,
Inter-segment sales are priced on an arm’s-length basis that would be available to unrelated third parties.
Segment result
Gross profit 10,778 5,673 8,835 5,540 2,234 293 33,353
Operating profit 3,918 3,814 740 964 (73) 426 9,789
Unallocated corporate expenses (1,922)
Operating profit 7,867
Amortisation of intangibles (2,822)
Exceptional items (1,200)
Finance income 500
Finance costs (392)
Share of results of joint ventures 23
Profit before taxation 3,976
Tax credit 2,078
Profit after taxation 6,054
Other segment information
Capital additions 697 1,153 625 113 115 16,769 19,472
Depreciation 158 40 254 31 47 (8) 522
Amortisation 115 33 81 199 12 2,382 2,822
Share-based payments 64 ––– 247 – 311
Assets
Segment assets 17,291 11,049 29,367 18,065 16,818 (7,048) 85,542
Investments in joint ventures 133 ––––– 133
Unallocated corporate assets –––––– 537
Total assets ,
Liabilities
Segment liabilities 7,826 1,115 10,591 8,719 3,642 (6,339) 25,554
Total liabilities 7, , , ,7 , (,) ,
Differences between the origin and destination of revenue is material to the Group. Revenue by destination is presented below.
Middle East & Germany & Scandinavia & North Consolidation
UK North Africa Central Europe Northern Europe America eliminations Consolidated
 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Revenue by destination
External sales 15,760 1,149 12,185 6,190 5,106 – 40,390
Inter-segment sales 555 581 3 33 12 (1,184) –
Total revenue , ,7 , , , (,) ,
Inter-segment sales are priced on an arm’s-length basis that would be available to unrelated third parties.  YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
1 Revenue and Profit Before Taxation continued
The proﬁt before taxation is stated after charging:
 July  31 July 2008
£ £000
Auditors remuneration:
Audit of the Group’s annual report and accounts (including subsidiaries)
pursuant to legislation (including outside the UK)  115
Other services pursuant to such legislation (including outside the UK)  22
Taxation  28
Corporate finance transactions and proposed transactions – 400
Other advisory services  10
Depreciation and amortisation:
Plant, property and equipment, owned  509
Plant, property and equipment, held under finance lease  13
Amortisation of intangibles , 346
Amortisation of intangibles acquired on acquisition , 2,476
Loss on disposal of property , plant and equipment and other intangible fixed assets  1
Other operating lease rentals:
Plant and machinery 7 59
Land and buildings , 1,046
Other expenses:
Exchange differences  53
Share-based payment expenses 7 311
Research and development expenditure expensed  433
Charitable and political donations  16
2 Staff Numbers and Costs
Staff costs (including Directors) charged to administrative expenses during the year were as follows:
 July  31 July 2008
£ £000
Wages and salaries ,7 15,410
Social security costs , 2,069
Share-based payments 7 311
Other benefits  302
Pension costs  153
,7 18,245
Pension costs arise only in our Scandinavian business. Contributions are made on behalf of employees to deﬁned contribution
schemes at statutory rates for the respective country . YouGov 
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
2 Staff Numbers and Costs continued
The average number of employees of the Group during the year was as follows:
 July  31 July 2008
Number Number
Key management personnel  24
Administration and operations  378
 402
Speciﬁc disclosures in relation to compensation for key management personnel (deﬁned as Entity Directors and/or Chief
Executive Ofﬁcers) who held ofﬁce during the year was as follows:
 July  31 July 2008
£ £000
Short-term employee benefits , 2,390
Post-employment benefits  19
Share-based payments 7 7
, 2,416
Disclosure of Directors’ remuneration including share options are included in the Remuneration Report on pages 27 to 28.
3 Exceptional Items
 July  31 July 2008
£ £000
Aborted acquisition costs (7) 1,064
Restructuring costs 7 136
 1,200
Restructuring costs arose due to the termination of operations of certain divisions within the UK, German and
Scandinavian businesses. The aborted acquisition cost credit in 2009 relates to an over accrual in the prior year .
4 Finance Income and Costs
 July  31 July 2008
£ £000
Interest receivable from bank deposits 7 476
Other interest receivable  24
Foreign exchange gains on cash held in foreign currency denominated accounts 7 –
Total finance income , 500
Interest payable on bank loans and overdrafts  73
Interest on obligations under hire purchase and finance leases  1
Other interest payable  –
Foreign exchange losses on intra-Group loan positions  –
 74
Finance cost of deferred consideration  318
Total finance costs  392  YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
5 Income Taxes
The taxation charge represents:
31 July 2008
 July  £000
£ (Restated)
Income tax 7 (57)
Adjustments in respect of prior periods  (49)
Total income tax charge  (106)
Origination and reversal of temporary differences:
Current year (,) (1,972)
Prior year  –
Total deferred tax (,7) (1,972)
Total income statement tax charge () (2,078)
The tax assessed for the year is lower (2008: lower) than the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK.
The differences are explained below:
 July  31 July 2008
£000
£ % (Restated) %
(Loss)/profit before tax () 3,976
(Loss)/profit before tax multiplied by standard rate of corporation tax
in the UK of 28% (2008: 28%) () % 1,113 28%
Impact of change in tax rate in the period – % 61 1%
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes  ()% 546 14%
Capital allowances in excess of depreciation – % (24) (1)%
Depreciation in excess of capital allowances  ()% – 0%
Other temporary differences () % 26 1%
Tax deduction in respect of share options exercised () % (809) (20)%
Share-based payments charge  ()% 85 2%
Deferral of tax losses 7 (7)% 137 3%
Overseas earnings not assessable to corporation tax () % (1,078) (27)%
Variation in overseas tax rates  ()% (40) (1)%
Adjustment in respect of prior periods  ()% (49) (1)%
Research and development tax deduction (7) % (74) (2)%
Share of tax loss of joint venture () % – 0%
Total income tax charge for the year  ()% (106) (3)%
Current year deferred tax adjustment (,7) % (1,972) (49)%
Total income statement tax charge for the year () % (2,078) (52)%
The Group had an overall tax credit of £0.8m compared to £2.1m (after prior year adjustment of £0.8m in respect of Schedule 23
share options deductions) in the year ended 31 July 2008.
6 Dividend
No dividend was paid or proposed during the year (2008: £nil). YouGov 
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
7 Earnings Per Share
The calculation of the basic earnings per share is based on the earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders divided by the
weighted average number of shares in issue during the year . Shares held in employee share trusts are treated as cancelled
for the purposes of this calculation.
The calculation of diluted earnings per share is based on the basic earnings per share, adjusted to allow for the issue of
shares and the post tax effect of dividends and/or interest, on the assumed conversion of all dilutive options and other dilutive
potential ordinary shares.
The adjusted earnings per share has been calculated to reﬂect the underlying proﬁtability of the business by excluding the
amortisation of intangible assets, share-based payments, imputed interest, exceptional items and any related tax effects.
31 July 2008
 July  £000
£ (Restated)
Group (loss)/profit after taxation attributable to equity holders of the parent company () 5,282
Add: amortisation of intangible assets , 2,822
Add: share-based payments 7 311
Add: imputed interest  318
Add: exceptional items  1,200
Tax effect of the above adjustments (,) (2,133)
Adjusted retained profit , 7,800
Reconciliations of the earnings and weighted average number of shares used in the calculations are set out below.
31 July 2008
 July  (Restated)
Number of shares
Weighted average number of shares during the period: (’000 shares)
– Basic , 91,688
– Dilutive effect of share options ,7 7,829
– Diluted ,7 99,517
Basic earnings per share (in pence) (.) 5.8
Adjusted basic earnings per share (in pence) . 8.5
Diluted earnings per share (in pence) (.) 5.3
Adjusted diluted earnings per share (in pence) . 7.8
The adjustments have the following effect:
p p
Basic (loss)/earnings per share (.) 5.8
Amortisation of intangible assets . 3.1
Share-based payments . 0.3
Imputed interest . 0.3
Exceptional items . 1.3
Tax effect of the above adjustments (.) (2.3)
Adjusted earnings per share . 8.5
Diluted (loss)/earnings per share (.) 5.3
Amortisation of intangible assets . 2.8
Share-based payments . 0.3
Imputed interest . 0.3
Exceptional items . 1.2
Tax effect of the above adjustments (.) (2.1)
Adjusted diluted earnings per share . 7.8  YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
8 Business Combinations
Acquisition of C. Horizons LLC
The acquisition of the trade and assets of C. Horizons LLC (“Clear Horizons”) was ﬁnalised on 24 April 2009. Clear Horizons
is a Princeton, New Jersey based research ﬁrm specialising in branding, customer satisfaction, and new product market
research. The business is proﬁtable and combines strong technology sector expertise with advanced analytics skills and
a commitment to online research.
The fair value of the consideration payable for the trade and assets of Clear Horizons was $0.6m (£0.41m) with a further
$0.06m (£0.04m) of professional fees bringing the total consideration to $0.66m (£0.45m). This was satisﬁed by an initial
cash payment of $0.6m (£0.41m).
An earn-out has also been put in place for the three ﬁnancial years ending 30 April 2012. Under this earn-out, if certain
ﬁnancial targets being met, a maximum of a further $2.1m (£1.4m) will be payable in cash. Earn-out consideration of £1.0m,
being the Directors’ estimate of earn-out most likely to be achieved, has been discounted to a net present value of £0.9m
with the resulting discounting charge of £0.1m being taken to the income statement over the earn-out period. In addition to the
purchase price payable, a loan of $0.2m (£0.15m) has been extended to the sellers of Clear Horizons. This remains repayable
unless certain ﬁnancial targets again over the period until 30 April 2012.
Professional fees of $0.06m (£0.04m) were incurred during the completion of the transaction.
The amounts recognised for each class of Clear Horizons assets recognised at the acquisition date are as follows:
Acquiree’s carrying
amount before Fair value Fair
combination adjustments value
£000 £000 £000
Net assets acquired:
Intangible assets – 686 686
Property, plant and equipment 7– 7
Deferred tax liability – (293) (293)
Net assets 7 393 400
Goodwill arising on acquisition 1,124
Total consideration ,
Fair value adjustments have been made to align Clear Horizons accounting policies with those of YouGov and to account
for the intangible assets and attributable deferred taxation of the business which are recognised upon acquisition.
£000
Total consideration, analysed as:
Cash 410
Loan 153
Deferred consideration 921
Acquisition expenses 40
,
Net cash outflow arising on acquisition:
Cash consideration paid 410
Loan extended 153

Ownership and control passed to YouGov plc on 24 April 2009 and Clear Horizons has been consolidated within the Group
ﬁnancial statements from that date.
The goodwill arising on the acquisition of Clear Horizons is attributable to the anticipated synergies expected to be derived
from the combination and value of the workforce of Clear Horizons which cannot be recognised as an intangible asset under
IAS38 “Intangible Assets”.
Since the acquisition Clear Horizons has contributed £0.4m to Group revenue and £0.1m to the Group proﬁt after taxation
for the year ended 31 July 2009. If Clear Horizons had been consolidated from the start of the ﬁnancial year , management
estimate they would have contributed a further £0.5m to Group revenue and a further £nil to proﬁt after taxation. YouGov 
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
9 Goodwill
Goodwill can be summarised as follows:
Middle East & North Scandinavia & Germany & North
North Africa America Northern Europe Central Europe America UK
Siraj Polimetrix Zapera.com psychonomics C. Horizons Other
FZ LLC Inc AS AG LLC LLC Total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Carrying amount at
1 August 2007 1,090 – – – – 5 1,095
Carrying amount at
31 July 2008 1,113 7,172 9,808 15,388 – 19 33,500
Carrying amount at
31 July 2009 , , , ,   ,
Carrying amount at
1 August 2007 1,090 – – – –5 1,095
Additions:
Through business combinations – 7,030 8,495 13,313 –– 28,838
Entity creation costs – – – – – 14 14
Net exchange differences 23 142 1,313 2,075 –– 3,553
Carrying amount at
31 July 2008 1,113 7,172 9,808 15,388 – 19 33,500
Additions:
Through business combinations–––– 1,124 – 1,124
Entity creation costs ––––– 61 61
Revision to contingent
deferred consideration –– (2,213) (2,507) –– (4,720)
Net exchange differences 206 1,326 825 1,345 (185) – 3,517
Carrying amount at
31 July 2009 , , , ,   ,
Other goodwill represents legal fees incurred in the establishment of new subsidiaries.
Revisions to initial carrying value of goodwill in the year ended 31 July 2009 related to the non-achievement of earn-out targets
(psychonomics £2.5m, Zapera £0.6m and Receptor £0.3m), the budgeted non-achievement of earn-out targets (Zapera £0.6m)
and reduction in deferred consideration paid in respect of Zapera (£0.7m).
In accordance with the Group’s accounting policy, the carrying values of goodwill and other intangible assets are reviewed
annually for impairment. The cash generating units (CGUs) are consistent with those segments shown in note 1. The 2009
impairment was undertaken as at 31 July 2009. The review as at 31 July 2009 assessed whether the carrying value of goodwill
was supported by the net present value of future cash ﬂows derived from assets using an initial projection period of three
years for each cash generating unit based on approved budget numbers. After the initial budgeted period, projections have
been assumed at 5% (10% for Polimetrix Inc and 6% for Clear Horizons LLC) for years four and ﬁve which is conservative
both in comparison with historical performance (across all geographies) and annual growth rates in the internet-based market
research sector . Annual growth rates of 3% have been assumed in perpetuity beyond year ﬁve. The weighted average cost
of capital used by the Group to discount the future cash ﬂows to their present value is 11.5% (2008: 9.25%).
To ensure the robustness of our impairment review we have also conducted sensitivity analyses on our assumptions including
the impact of a 0.5% movement in our chosen WACC rate, a 0.5% movement in our chosen perpetual growth rate, the impact
of a 5% reduction in proﬁtability in the initial projection period and a 1% variance in our growth assumption in years four and ﬁve.
The impairment reviews supported the carrying values of goodwill, and no impairment was required when applying
the sensitivity .  YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
10 Intangible Assets
The following table shows the signiﬁcant additions and disposals of intangible assets.
Software and Customer
Consumer software contracts Patents and Order Development
panel development and lists trademarks backlog costs Total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Gross carrying amount 124 208 – 28 –– 360
Accumulated amortisation (9) (8) –––– (17)
Net carrying amount
at 1 August 2007 115 200 – 28 –– 343
Gross carrying amount 6,252 1,698 5,276 6,168 390 218 20,002
Accumulated amortisation (1,147) (443) (436) (456) (390) (12) (2,884)
Net carrying amount
at 31 July 2008 5,105 1,255 4,840 5,712 – 206 17,118
Gross carrying amount 7,183 3,205 6,275 6,672 48 347 23,730
Accumulated amortisation (2,624) (1,196) (958) (911) (48) (53) (5,790)
Net carrying amount
at 31 July 2009 , , ,7 ,7 –  7,
Software and Customer
Consumer software contracts Patents and Order Development
panel development and lists trade marks backlog costs Total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Net carrying amount
at 1 August 2007 115 200 – 28 –– 343
Additions:
Separately acquired 523 328 – 23 –3 877
Internally developed – 349 ––– 215 564
Through business
combinations 5,303 719 4,671 5,448 390 – 16,531
Amortisation (1,138) (390) (436) (456) (390) (12) (2,822)
Reclassification – 38 –––– 38
Net exchange differences 302 11 605 669 –– 1,587
Net carrying amount
at 31 July 2008 5,105 1,255 4,840 5,712 – 206 17,118
Additions:
Separately acquired 447 787 – 42 – 28 1,304
Internally developed – 590 ––– 126 716
Through business
combinations –– 638 – 48 – 686
Amortisation (1,447) (709) (445) (455) (48) (41) (3,145)
Disposals ––––– (37) (37)
Net exchange differences 454 86 284 462 – 12 1,298
Net carrying amount
at 31 July 2009 , , ,7 ,7 –  7,
Consumer panels are the core asset from which our internet-based revenues are generated. These are being amortised over
their useful economic life which is between three and ﬁve years. The key component of the balance at 31 July 2009 relates
to those panels acquired through acquisition. The remaining amortisation period for these acquired panels is three years.
Software development costs represent the web-based infrastructure which supports both our online panels and the portals
for our online products such as BrandIndex. These are being amortised over their useful lives which are estimated at between
one and ﬁve years. The balance at 31 July 2009 is equally split between development which was acquired through acquisition,
the remaining amortisation period for which is three years, and development on our current IT infrastructure, the remaining
amortisation period for which is up to three years. YouGov 7
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
10 Intangible Assets continued
Customer contracts and lists only arise on the acquisition of an entity and are the valuation of the client relationships that have
been built. These are being amortised over their useful lives which are estimated at between ten and 11 years. The remaining
amortisation periods for these assets are between eight and nine years.
Patents and trademarks represent the costs of acquiring brands, protecting our existing brands from copyright and the
intellectual property which supports our products and methodologies. Amortisation rates range from non-amortisation up
to 15 years. The key component of the balance at 31 July 2009 relates to those patents and trademarks acquired through
acquisition. The remaining amortisation period for these are between three and 13 years.
11 Property, Plant and Equipment
The following table shows the signiﬁcant additions and disposals of property, plant and equipment.
Leasehold
Freehold property Computer Fixtures and Motor
property improvements equipment fittings vehicles Total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Gross carrying amount – 196 174 215 50 635
Accumulated depreciation – (21) (42) (56) (17) (136)
Carrying amount at 1 August 2007 – 175 132 159 33 499
Gross carrying amount 946 273 651 861 102 2,833
Accumulated depreciation – (70) (259) (250) (37) (616)
Carrying amount at 31 July 2008 946 203 392 611 65 2,217
Gross carrying amount 1,147 303 1,202 1,179 116 3,947
Accumulated depreciation – (143) (637) (454) (84) (1,318)
Carrying amount at 31 July 2009 ,7   7  ,
Carrying amount at 1 August 2007 – 175 132 159 33 499
Additions:
Separately acquired 946 77 277 380 14 1,694
Acquired through acquisitions –2 263 265 60 590
Disposals –––– (7) (7)
Depreciation – (51) (242) (194) (35) (522)
Reclassified –– (38) –– (38)
Net exchange differences ––– 1– 1
Carrying amount at 31 July 2008 946 203 392 611 65 2,217
Additions:
Separately acquired 28 16 414 274 – 732
Acquired through acquisitions –– 7–– 7
Disposals – (8) (1) (7) – (16)
Depreciation – (65) (281) (172) (39) (557)
Net exchange differences 173 14 34 19 6 246
Carrying amount at 31 July 2009 ,7   7  ,
Included within motor vehicles are assets held under lease purchase agreements with a net book value of £9k (2008: £34k).
The depreciation charge on these assets for the year was £12k (2008: £13k).
All property, plant and equipment disclosed above, with the exception of those items held under lease purchase agreement,
is free from restrictions on title. No property , plant and equipment either in 2009 or 2008 has been pledged as security against
the liabilities of the Group.  YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
12 Investment Accounted for Using the Equity Method
 July  31 July 2008
£ £000
Total fixed asset investments comprise:
Interest in joint ventures (b)  133
Interest in investment completed post year end (c) – 61
 194
(a) Interests in Subsidiaries
As at 31 July 2009 the Group’s principal trading subsidiaries were:
Proportion held
Country of Class of share By parent By the Nature of the
Subsidiary incorporation capital held Company Group business
YouGovM.E. FZ LLC Subsidiary United Arab Ordinary 78% 78% Market
Emirates research
YouGovPsychonomics AG
(formerly psychonomics AG) Subsidiary Germany Ordinary 100% 100% Market
research
Service Rating GmbH Subsidiary Germany Ordinary 0% 60% Market
research
psychonomics Field Subsidiary Germany Ordinary 0% 70% Market
research
GPW Deutschland GmbH Subsidiary Germany Ordinary 0% 100% Market
research
Great Workplace Research Subsidiary Austria Ordinary 0% 95% Market
& Consulting GmbH research
YouGov Nordic & Baltic A/S Subsidiary Denmark Ordinary 100% 100% Market
(formerly Zapera.com A/S) research
YouGov Sweden AB Subsidiary Sweden Ordinary 0% 100% Market
(formerly Zapera Sweden AB) research
YouGov Norway AS Subsidiary Norway Ordinary 0% 100% Market
(formerly Zapera Receptor Norway AS) research
Zapera Finland OY Subsidiary Finland Ordinary 0% 100% Market
research
BUZ ApS Subsidiary Denmark Ordinary 0% 51% Market
research
YouGov America Inc Subsidiary US Ordinary 0% 100% Market
research
YouGovStone Limited Subsidiary England Ordinary 51% 51% Market
research
YouGovAlpha Limited Subsidiary England Ordinary 100% 100% Market
research
YouGov1208 Limited Subsidiary England Ordinary 100% 100% Dormant
(formerly YouGovExecution Limited)
1
YouGovHellas Subsidiary Greece Ordinary 51% 51% Market
research
1 YouGovExecution was previously a joint venture. We acquired the other 50% of the share capital on 19 December 2008 and renamed it YouGov1208 Limited.
We are currently in the process of winding this business down.
All subsidiaries have co-terminus year ends and are included in the consolidated ﬁnancial statements. YouGov 
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
12 Investment Accounted for Using the Equity Method continued
(b) Interest in Joint Ventures
At 31 July 2009 the Group had interests in the following joint ventures:
Proportion held
Joint Country of Class of share By parent By the Nature of Financial
venture incorporation capital held Company Group the business year end
YouGovCentaur LLP JV England Ordinary 50% 50% Specialist 30 June
business to
business
research
psychonomics Advisory JV Germany Ordinary 0% 50% Market 31 July
(formerly Comema AG)
1
research
1 Previously psychonomics Advisory (formerly Comema AG) had been treated as a subsidiary as although the shareholding was only 50%, control was gained
by having a greater presence on the Board of Directors than the other partner . This situation changed with effect from 1 August 2008 and control of the Board
of Directors was ceded.
The Group’s share of the revenue and operating (loss)/proﬁt and assets and liabilities of YouGovCentaur LLP are:
 July  31 July 2008
£ £000
Revenue  76
Operating (loss)/profit () 9
Non-current assets  21
Current assets  77
Current liabilities () (20)
Non-current liabilities (7) (75)
Net (liabilities)/assets () 3
In line with our accounting policy on joint ventures, losses beyond the Group’s interest in the joint venture are not recognised.
Capital commitments – –
Contingent liabilities – –
The Group’s share of the revenue and operating proﬁt and assets and assets and liabilities of psychonomics Advisory are:
 July 
£
Revenue 
Operating profit 
Non-current assets 
Current assets 
Current liabilities ()
Non-current liabilities –
Net assets 
Capital commitments –
Contingent liabilities –
As disclosed above psychonomics Advisory was included in the Group consolidated ﬁnancial statements in the prior year .
(c) Interest in Investments Completed Post Year End
Capitalised costs relate to legal and professional fees incurred in the incorporation of entities which completed after the
balance sheet date.  YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
13 Trade and Other Receivables
 July  31 July 2008
£ £000
Trade receivables , 11,802
Amounts owed by related parties  210
Other receivables  898
Prepayments and accrued income ,7 4,329
, 17,239
Provision for trade and other receivables () –
,7 17,239
The ageing of the current trade receivables is as follows:
 July  31 July 2008
£ £000
Within payment terms , 6,853
Not more than three months overdue , 2,325
More than three months but not more than six months overdue , 1,543
More than six months but not more than one year overdue 7 935
More than one year overdue 777 146
, 11,802
The average credit period taken is 70 days (2008: 88 days). The Group’s trade receivables are stated before allowances
for bad and doubtful debts. This allowance is determined by considering all past due balances and by reference to past
default experience.
 2008
£ £000
Movement on the Group provision for impairment of trade receivables as follows:
Provision for receivables impairment at 1 August – 10
Provision created/(released) in the year  (10)
Provision for receivables impairment at 31 July  –
The creation and release of the provision for impaired receivables has been included in the income statement. The other classes
within trade and other receivables do not contain impaired assets. The maximum exposure to credit risk at the reporting date
is the carrying value or each class of receivable mentioned above. The Group does not hold any collateral as security .
The Directors consider that the carrying value of trade and other receivables approximates their fair value. Concentrations
of credit risk do exist with certain clients with which we have trading relationships but none has a history of default and all
command a certain stature within the marketplace which minimises any potential risk of default. Material balances (deﬁned
as >£250k (2008: >£250k) represent 36% of trade receivables (2008: 41%).
At 31 July 2009 £352k (DKK 3.1m) (2008: £433k (DKK 4.1m)) of the trade and other receivables of YouGov Nordic & Baltic A/S
was used as security against a loan and revolving overdraft facility held by YouGov Nordic & Baltic A/S.
At 31 July 2009 YouGovPsychonomics AG had the option to borrow €300k (£256k) (2008: €300k (£236k)) which is secured
against the trade and other receivables of the business. At 31 July 2009 £nil (2008: £nil) had been drawn down.
YouGovPsychonomics AG has secured a value of up to €280k (£239k) (2008: €280k (£220k)) in the event of default on rental
payments against its trade and other receivables. YouGov 
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
14 Other Short-Term Financial Assets
 July  31 July 2008
£ £000
Available-for-sale financial assets  35
 35
The expiry dates of other short-term ﬁnancial assets are as follows:
 July  31 July 2008
£ £000
Not more than three months  35
 35
Other short-term ﬁnancial assets represent corporate bonds that present the Group with opportunity for return through
interest income and trading gains. They have a ﬁxed maturity of less than three months. The investment was held at cost
at both 31 July 2009 and 31 July 2008. Fair value of the asset was not materially different from its historical cost.
15 Cash and Cash Equivalents
 July  31 July 2008
£ £000
Cash at bank and in hand ,7 13,406
,7 13,406
Cash and cash equivalents are held at either variable rates or at rates ﬁxed for periods of no longer than three months.
16 Current Liabilities
31 July 2008
 July  £000
£ (Restated)
Lease liabilities  3
Provisions ,7 1,375
Deferred consideration on acquisition of subsidiary 7 5,898
Trade payables  1,538
Accruals and deferred income , 6,792
Other payables ,7 1,835
Bank loan and overdraft  1,127
Current tax liabilities  53
, 18,621
The average credit period taken for trade purchases is 19 days (2008: 34 days). The Directors consider that the carrying
amount of trade payables approximates to their fair value.
The Group has sufﬁcient ﬁnancial risk management policies in place to ensure that all trade payables are settled within
the respective credit period.
17 Non-Current Liabilities
 July  31 July 2008
£ £000
Lease liabilities  6
Provisions – 15
Deferred consideration on acquisition of subsidiary  1,152
Long-term borrowings  –
Deferred tax liabilities , 5,760
,77 6,933  YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
18 Deferred Consideration
In the year ended 31 July 2009 the Group reduced its obligations for deferred consideration from £7m to £1m. £2.2m of
this was paid out in cash whilst £5.1m was released against goodwill due to earn-out targets either not being met or being
renegotiated. A further £0.9m was taken onto the balance sheet in relation to the acquisition of Clear Horizons.
Psychonomics
£0.2m of the deferred consideration of £0.7m potentially due in respect of the year ended 31 December 2007 was paid in
cash and the balance of £0.5m was released against goodwill due to targets not being met. As at 31 July 2008, £2m was
provided in respect of the two years ended 31 December 2008. The targets associated with this were not met and so this
balance has been released against goodwill in the period.
Zapera
In the period the Directors reached agreement with the selling shareholders of Zapera.com A/S to settle deferred consideration
for the year ended 31 July 2008 at £1.6m which represented a saving to the Group of the earn-out due of £0.7m. The Board
considers that the targets for the next two tranches of £1.2m in aggregate due in respect of the years ended 31 July 2009 and
31 July 2010 have not been achieved in the case of 31 July 2009 and are unlikely to be achieved in the case of 31 July 2010
and this balance has therefore been released against goodwill in the period.
Siraj
Deferred consideration of £0.4m was paid out on 31 July 2009 as per the terms of the asset purchase document dated
31 July 2006.
Receptor
The likely deferred consideration due in relation to the period ending 31 July 2009 is approximately £39k. The balance of
£0.3m has been released in the period.
Clear Horizons
Under the terms of the asset purchase agreement dated 24 April 2009 a maximum of £1.3m could be payable for the three
years ending 30 April 2012 if performance is in excess of the business plan agreed with the management of Clear Horizons
LLC. A provision has been made for £0.9m being the amount expected to be payable if current performance is maintained.
The Group has the following deferred consideration outstanding:
Within Greater than
one year one year Total
£000 £000 £000
Receptor 39 – 39
Clear Horizons 278 651 929
At 31 July 2009 7  
19 Provisions
Panel incentives Staff gratuity Total
£000 £000 £000
At 1 August 2007 1,193 62 1,255
Provided during the year 2,009 89 2,098
Utilised during the year (1,102) (40) (1,142)
Released during the year (820) (3) (823)
Net foreign exchange differences –22
At 31 July 2008 1,280 110 1,390
Included within current liabilities 1,265 110 1,375
Included within non-current liabilities 15 – 15
1,280 110 1,390
Provided during the year 2,456 70 2,526
Utilised during the year (1,887) (29) (1,916)
Released during the year (284) (63) (347)
Net foreign exchange differences 65 20 85
At 31 July 2009 ,  ,7
Included within current liabilities 1,630 108 1,738
,  ,7 YouGov 
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
19 Provisions continued
The panel incentive provision represents the Directors’ best estimate of the future liability in relation to the value of panel
incentives that have accrued in the panellists’ virtual accounts by 31 July 2009. The provision of £1.6m represents 25% of
the maximum potential liability of £6.6m (2008: £1.3m representing 29% of the total liability of £4.5m). Variables considered
when arriving at an appropriate percentage of the total liability are panel churn rates, panel activity rates, current payment
volume and the time value of money . Whilst each geographical panel is considered separately a consolidated provision of
25% (2008: 29%) is consistent with our internal historical data and the breadth of maturities of panels within the Group.
An incremental movement of 1% in the panel incentive provision would give rise to an additional expense to the income
statement of £66k.
The staff gratuity provision is a statutory obligation under UAE labour law, whereby each employee on termination of their
contract is due a payment dependent upon their number of years service and nature of the termination. The liability of £0.1m
at 31 July 2009 (2008: £0.1m) represents the liability that the Company is obliged to pay as at the balance sheet date weighted
against historical rates of resignation and redundancy .
20 Obligations Under Finance Leases
 July  31 July 2008
£ £000
Amounts payable under finance leases:
Within one year  3
Between one and two years  3
Between two and five years – 3
 9
Less: amounts due for settlement within one year (shown under current liabilities) () (3)
Amount due for settlement after one year  6
It is the Group’s policy to lease certain assets such as motor vehicles under ﬁnance leases. The lease terms on these
agreements vary as does the interest rate attributable to the agreement.
Lease agreements are denominated in the local currency of the jurisdiction where the asset is held.
The total value of the future minimum lease payments and the net present value of these are not materially different.
The Group’s obligations under ﬁnance leases are secured by the lessors’ charges over the leased assets.
21 Deferred Taxation Assets and Liabilities
Property,
Intangible plant and Other timing
assets equipment Tax losses differences Total
Non-current deferred tax asset £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Balance at 1 August 2007 – 20 –– 20
Acquired on acquisition (126) 25 1,400 1 1,300
Recognised in income statement – (18) 13 126 121
Other movement 126 ––– 126
Balance at 31 July 2008 – 27 1,413 127 1,567
Recognised in income statement –– 760 (127) 633
Net foreign exchange differences –– 226 – 226
Other movement –– 84 – 84
Balance at 31 July 2009 – 7 , – ,  YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
21 Deferred Taxation Assets and Liabilities continued
The deferred taxation asset in respect of income tax losses are broken down by jurisdiction as follows:
 July  31 July 2008
£ £000
UK 7 –
Germany & Central Europe  –
Scandinavia & Northern Europe  345
North America , 1,068
, 1,413
Where tax losses are acquired as in our North American business a restriction is placed upon the use of those pre-acquisition
losses. The restriction is calculated by multiplying the long-term rate of interest (currently 4.58%) against the consideration
paid. On this basis the current value of loss that we can use annually is £0.7m. No such restrictions exist in relation to any
of our other tax losses.
Deferred tax assets have been recognised only to the extent where management budgets and forecasts show sufﬁcient proﬁts
being generated to discharge these in the short term. Utilisation of tax losses is dependable upon future proﬁts being generated.
Property,
Intangible plant and Other timing
assets equipment Tax losses differences Total
Non-current deferred tax liabilities £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Balance at 1 August 2007 – 56 –– 56
Acquired on acquisition 6,795 –9 134 6,938
Recognised in income statement (1,041) 68 – (34) (1,007)
Tax rate adjustment
1
(709) –– (18) (727)
Net foreign exchange differences 510 – (9) (1) 500
Balance at 31 July 2008 5,555 124 – 81 5,760
Acquired on acquisition 293 ––– 293
Recognised in income statement (774) 256 (34) 107 (445)
Net foreign exchange differences 447 6 34 10 497
Balance at 31 July 2009 ,  –  ,
1 Tax rate adjustments in the year ended 31 July 2008 in Germany and the UK have led to the revision of deferred tax liabilities. This adjustment was recognised
in the income statement in the prior year .
22 Risk Management Objectives and Policies
The Group is exposed to currency and liquidity risk, which result from both its operating and investing activities. The Group’s
risk management is co-ordinated in close co-operation with the Board of Directors, and focuses on actively securing the
Group’s short- to medium-term cash ﬂows by minimising the exposure to ﬁnancial markets. The most signiﬁcant ﬁnancial
risks to which the Group is exposed to are described below. Also refer to the accounting policies.
Foreign Currency Risk
The Group is exposed to translation and transaction foreign exchange risk. The currencies where the Group is most exposed
to volatility are US Dollars, Euro, UAE Dirham and Danish Kroner .
Currently, the Group aims to align assets and liabilities in a particular market and no hedging instruments are used.
The Group will continue to review its currency risk position as the overall business proﬁle changes.
The presentational and transactional currency is considered to be £ Sterling. YouGov 
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
22 Risk Management Objectives and Policies continued
Foreign currency denominated ﬁnancial assets and liabilities, translated into £000 at the closing rate, are as follows:
 2008
£ £000
US Euro Dirham Kroner US Euro Dirham Kroner
Nominal amounts $€ AED DKK $€ AED DKK
Financial assets ,7 ,7 ,  5,321 2,750 4,653 1,115
Financial liabilities () () () (,) (37) (1,152) (408) (1,955)
Short-term
exposure , 7 , () 5,284 1,598 4,245 (840)
Financial assets – – – – – – ––
Financial liabilities–– () () ––––
Long-term
exposure –– () () ––––
The effect of £ Sterling strengthening by 1% against our subsidiaries’ functional currencies (US Dollar , Euro, UAE Dirham and
Danish Kroner) would have had the following impact upon translation:
 2008
£ £000
US Euro Dirham Kroner US Euro Dirham Kroner
$€ AED DKK $€ AED DKK
Net result
for the year  () ()  3 (2) (38) (6)
Equity () (7) () () (130) (188) (99) (95)
If the £ Sterling had weakened by 1% against the US Dollar , Euro, UAE Dirham and Danish Kroner the inverse of the impact
above would be true.
Liquidity Risk
The Group/Company seeks to manage ﬁnancial risk by ensuring sufﬁcient liquidity is available to meet foreseeable needs
and to invest cash assets safely and proﬁtably .
The Group currently has no general borrowing arrangement in place (although speciﬁc ﬁxed value borrowings are held
within the Group) and prepares cash ﬂow forecasts which are reviewed at Board meetings to ensure liquidity .
As at 31 July 2009, the Group’s liabilities have contractual maturities which are summarised below:
Current Non-current
Within  to  Later than
 months months – years  years
 July  £ £ £ £
Trade and other payables , –––
Borrowing principal payments    –
Borrowing interest payments ––––
This compares to the maturity of the Group’s ﬁnancial liabilities in the previous reporting period as follows:
Current Non-current
Within 6 to 12 Later than
6 months months 1–5 years 5 years
31 July 2008 £000 £000 £000 £000
Trade and other payables 3,112 –––
Borrowing principal payments 104 1,026 6–
Borrowing interest payments 42 35 1–  YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
22 Risk Management Objectives and Policies continued
Capital Risk Management
The Group manages its capital to ensure that all entities within the Group are able to continue as going concerns. The Board
have taken the decision at this stage to minimise external debt whilst trying to maximise earnings from the cash currently held.
Capital consists of short-term ﬁnancial assets (note 14), cash and cash equivalents (note 15), borrowings (note 16), ﬁnance
leases (note 20) and equity attributable to shareholders of the parent Company .
 July  31 July 2008
£ £000
Available-for-sale financial assets  35
Cash and cash equivalents ,7 13,406
Borrowings () (1,127)
Finance leases () (9)
Equity attributable to shareholders of the parent Company (,7) (58,426)
(,) (46,121)
The Group has no externally imposed capital requirements.
Interest Rate Risk
The Group manages its interest rate risk by negotiating ﬁxed interest rates on deposits for periods of up to three months.
The average cash and cash equivalents balance over the course of the year was £13.1m (2008: £11.7m) attracting an average
interest rate of 2.50% (2008: 4.27%). The Group has minimal borrowings; applicable interest rates are disclosed in note 16.
If interest rates had been 1% higher during the year ended 31 July 2009 the increase to proﬁt before tax would have been
£124k (2008: £107k). If interest rates had been 1% lower during the year ended 31 July 2009 the reduction in proﬁt before
tax would have been £124k (2008: £106k). The impact upon shareholders’ equity would have been an increase of £94k
(2008: £90k) and a decrease of £92k (2008: £89k) respectively .
23 Share Capital
The Company only has one class of share. Par value of each Ordinary Share is 0.2p. All issued shares are fully paid.
Number £000
Year to 31 July 2009
At 1 August 2008 94,876,425 190
Issue of shares 1,856,752 3
At 31 July 2009 ,7,77 
Year to 31 July 2008
At 1 August 2007 67,422,570 135
Issue of shares 27,453,855 55
At 31 July 2008 94,876,425 190
Under the acquisition agreements with Polimetrix and psychonomics further equity was to be issued at speciﬁed points in the
future, both of which became due in the year ended 31 July 2009. The Polimetrix vendors, by way of a hold back arrangement,
were due a further 695,615 YouGov shares on the ﬁrst anniversary of the acquisition. 226,430 YouGov shares were set aside
for an employee incentivisation programme for the employees of psychonomics AG. These shares were issued and distributed
in November 2008. All equity deferred consideration has now been settled. These issues had no effect on shareholders’ equity
as they had been provided for within the deferred consideration reserve which has now been reduced to £nil.
The 934,707 shares issued to satisfy share options yielded £0.2m in cash and increased shareholders’ equity by £0.2m.
The weighted average exercise price was £0.25.
Number £000
Authorised share capital
At 31 July 2009
Ordinary shares @ 0.2p each ,, 
At 31 July 2008
Ordinary shares @ 0.2p each 150,000,000 300 YouGov 7
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
23 Share Capital continued
Share-Based Payments
Details of the number of share options and the weighted average exercise price (WAEP) outstanding during the year are
as follows:
 WAEP 2008 WAEP
Number £ Number £
Approved share option scheme
Outstanding at the beginning of the year , . 2,414,830 0.210
Granted during the year –– ––
Exercised during the year (,) . (1,931,735) 0.101
Lapsed during the year (,) . ––
Outstanding at the end of the year , . 483,095 0.646
Exercisable at the end of the year , .7 328,776 0.468
 WAEP 2008 WAEP
Number £ Number £
Unapproved share option scheme
Outstanding at the beginning of the year ,,7 . 995,006 0.258
Granted during the year , . 883,213 0.132
Exercised during the year (7,7) . (306,577) 0.176
Lapsed during the year (7,) . (160,939) 0.132
Outstanding at the end of the year , . 1,410,703 0.212
Exercisable at the end of the year 7, . 888,394 0.197
Share options exercised in the current ﬁnancial year were exercised at prices between £0.132 and £0.341. The weighted
average share price at the date of exercise was £0.6475.
The options outstanding under the approved and unapproved share options schemes as at 31 July 2009 have the following
average exercise prices and expire in the following ﬁnancial years.
Exercise
Price  2008
Expiry £ Number Number
31 July 2013 0.180 , 24,000
31 July 2015 0.180 , 327,790
31 July 2016 0.341 – 293,250
31 July 2016 0.295 – 406,750
31 July 2017 1.645 ,7 142,856
31 August 2021* 0.132 7, 699,152
* The Polimetrix options expire on a monthly basis up to and including August 2021.
Expiry dates as standard are ten years from the vesting date. Vesting criteria are time based and contingent on continued
employment with YouGov rather than performance based.
The fair value of equity-settled transactions is estimated at the date of grant. Fair values were determined according to the
Black-Scholes option pricing model using the following:
  2008 2008
Scheme EMI Unapproved EMI Unapproved
Number granted – , – 883,213
Weighted average share price at grant – £.7 – £1.376
Weighted average share exercise price – £. – £0.132
Weighted average expected volatility –– – 27.0%
Average expected life (years) – Nil –5
Weighted average risk free rate –– – 5.1%
Expected dividend yield – .% – 0.0%  YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
23 Share Capital continued
Options granted during the year were exercised within two weeks of the date of issue.
During the year ended 31 July 2009 the Group introduced an LTIP for Executive Directors, Senior Executives and Senior
Managers. Under the rules of the LTIP , participants will be conditionally awarded nil cost options to acquire shares. The number
of such shares will normally be calculated by reference to a percentage of the participant’s salary and the Company’s closing
share price on the date of the preliminary announcement of the Company’s annual results. The shares subject to the LTIP
awards will be released to the recipients at the end of a holding period, normally three years, subject to their continued
employment and to the Company’s achievement of certain targets for earnings per share growth and Total Shareholder Return.
The income statement charge in relation to the LTIP in the year ended 31 July 2009 was £70k (2008: £nil). This charge was
valued using a Monte Carlo simulation.
 WAEP
Number £
Long-term incentive plan (LTIP)
Outstanding at the beginning of the year ––
Granted during the year ,, .
Exercised during the year ––
Lapsed during the year ––
Outstanding at the end of the year ,, .
Exercisable at the end of the year ––
The proﬁt and loss charge for share-based payments is disclosed in note 1.
24 Leasing Commitments
The minimum lease rentals to be paid under non-cancellable operating leases at 31 July 2009 are as follows:
 July  31 July 2008
Land and Land and
buildings Other buildings Other
£ £ £000 £000
In one year or less ,7  940 69
Between one and five years ,  2,377 182
In five years or more   873 31
,7  4,190 282
25 Capital Commitments
The Group had outstanding commitments to procure software to the value of £183k (2008: £356k), computer hardware within
a third-party owned data centre to the value of £nil (2008: £123k). The software contract is payable in September 2009.
26 Contingent Assets
The Group had no contingent assets as at 31 July 2009 (2008: £nil).
27 Contingent Liabilities
The Group had no contingent liabilities as at 31 July 2009 (2008: £nil). YouGov 
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
28 Major Non-Cash Transactions
The Group entered into a barter transaction with Centaur plc, a joint venture partner , to exchange the provision of BrandIndex
content for advertising within its publications for £327k (2008: £318k).
Other barter transactions totalled £133k (2008: £146k).
29 Transactions with Directors and Other Related Parties
There have been no transactions with Directors during the year .
During the year goods and services were procured from IPBD Limited by YouGov ME FZ LLC totalling £1,144k (2008: £748k).
IPBD Limited is a company which is owned by the parents of Nadhim Zahawi, an Executive Director of YouGov plc. The
purchases were made at an arm’s length and on usual commercial terms. No balance remained outstanding as at 31 July 2009
nor 31 July 2008.
During the year , YouGov plc provided research services totalling £194k (2008: £2,668k) to Privero Capital Advisors Inc.
Minority stakes in this company are owned by Stephan Shakespeare and Balshore Investments (the family trust of Nadhim
Zahawi’s family), each of whom control 25% of the company . Both Stephan Shakespeare and Nadhim Zahawi are Executive
Directors of YouGov plc. The sales were made at an arm’s length and on usual commercial terms. At 31 July 2008 Privero
Capital Advisors Inc owed YouGov plc £599k (2008: £1,728k).
During the year , YouGov plc provided research services totalling £nil (2008: £139k) to Doughty Media Limited, a company
which Stephan Shakespeare, an Executive Director of YouGov plc owns. The sales were made at an arm’s length and on
usual commercial terms. At 31 July 2009 Doughty Media owed YouGov plc £163k (2008: £163k).
Trading between YouGov plc and Group companies is excluded from the related party note as this had been eliminated
on consolidation.
30 Post Balance Sheet Events
No material events have taken place subsequent to the balance sheet date. 70 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Report of the Independent Auditors (to the Members of YouGov plc) on the
Parent Company Financial Statements for the year ended 31 July 2009
Opinion on Other Matter Prescribed by the Companies
Act 2006
In our opinion the information given in the Directors’ report
for the ﬁnancial year for which the parent Company ﬁnancial
statements are prepared is consistent with the parent
Company ﬁnancial statements.
Matters on which We Are Required to Report
by Exception
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters
where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if,
in our opinion:
 adequate accounting records have not been kept by the
parent Company, or returns adequate for our audit have
not been received from branches not visited by us; or
 the parent Company ﬁnancial statements are not in
agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
 certain disclosures of Directors’ remuneration speciﬁed
by law are not made; or
 we have not received all the information and explanations
we require for our audit.
Other Matters
We have reported separately on the Group ﬁnancial
statements of YouGov for the year ended 31 July 2009.
David Snell (Senior Statutory Auditor)
for and on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors
London
12 October 2009
We have audited the parent Company ﬁnancial statements
of YouGov plc for the year ended 31 July 2009 which comprise
the balance sheet, the accounting policies and the related
notes. The ﬁnancial reporting framework that has been
applied in their preparation is applicable law and United
Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally
Accepted Accounting Practice).
Respective Responsibilities of Directors and Auditors
As explained more fully in the Directors’ responsibilities
statement, the Directors are responsible for the preparation
of the ﬁnancial statements and for being satisﬁed that they
give a true and fair view. Our responsibility is to audit the
ﬁnancial statements in accordance with applicable law and
International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland). Those
standards require us to comply with the Auditing Practices
Board’s Ethical Standards for Auditors.
This report, including the opinions, has been prepared for and
only for the Company’s members as a body in accordance
with Sections 495 and 496 of the Companies Act 2006 and
for no other purpose. We do not, in giving these opinions,
accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to
any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose
hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior
consent in writing.
Scope of the Audit of the Financial Statements
An audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts
and disclosures in the ﬁnancial statements sufﬁcient to give
reasonable assurance that the ﬁnancial statements are free
from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error .
This includes an assessment of: whether the accounting
policies are appropriate to the parent Company’s
circumstances and have been consistently applied and
adequately disclosed; the reasonableness of signiﬁcant
accounting estimates made by the Directors; and the overall
presentation of the ﬁnancial statements.
Opinion on Financial Statements
In our opinion the parent Company ﬁnancial statements:
 give a true and fair view of the state of the Company’s
affairs as at 31 July 2009;
 have been properly prepared in accordance with United
Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
 have been prepared in accordance with the requirements
of the Companies Act 2006. YouGov 71
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Company Balance Sheet as at 31 July 2009
31 July 2008
31 July 2009 £000
Note £000 (Restated)
Fixed assets
Intangible assets 4 241 170
Tangible assets 5 1,399 839
Investments 6 37,448 43,455
39,088 44,464
Current assets
Debtors 7 9,771 8,111
Cash at bank and in hand 5,621 8,444
15,392 16,555
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 8 (8,516) (13,558)
Net current assets 6,876 2,997
Total assets less current liabilities 45,964 47,461
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year 9 – (1,152)
Provisions for liabilities 10 (252) (36)
Net assets 45,712 46,273
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital 193 190
Share premium account 30,811 29,156
Merger reserve 9,239 9,239
Deferred consideration reserve – 1,438
Profit and loss account 5,469 6,250
Shareholders’ funds 11 45,712 46,273
The accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these ﬁnancial statements.
The ﬁnancial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 12 October 2009 and signed on its behalf by:
Alan Newman
Chief Financial Ofﬁcer Basis of Preparation
The separate ﬁnancial statements of the Company are drawn up in accordance with the Companies Act 2006 and applicable
accounting standards drawn from UK generally accepted accounting principles (UK GAAP). The ﬁnancial statements are
prepared under the historical cost convention and on the going concern basis.
The Company has also taken advantage of the exemption from preparing a cash ﬂow statement under the terms of FRS 1
“Cash Flow Statement”. The cash ﬂows of the Company are disclosed as part of the consolidated cash ﬂow statement within
the consolidated ﬁnancial statements.
The particular accounting policies adopted are detailed below. They have all been applied consistently throughout the current
year and the prior year .
Related Parties
The Company has taken advantage of the exemption contained in FRS 8 “Related party disclosures” and has not reported
transactions with fellow Group undertakings.
Panel Incentive Costs
The Company invites consumer panel members to ﬁll out polls for a cash incentive. Although these amounts are not paid until
a pre-determined target value has accrued on a panellist’s account, an assessment of incentives likely to be paid is made
and is recognised as a cost of sale in the period in which the service is provided.
Retirement Beneﬁts
The Company did not operate a pension scheme during the period.
Share-Based Payments
All share-based payment arrangements granted after 7 November 2002 that had not vested prior to 1 August 2006 are
recognised in the ﬁnancial statements.
All goods and services received in exchange for the grant of any share-based payment are measured at their fair values.
Where employees are rewarded using share-based payments, the fair values of employees’ services are determined indirectly
by reference to the fair value of the instrument granted to the employee. This fair value is appraised at the grant date and
excludes the impact of non-market vesting conditions (for example, proﬁtability and sales growth targets).
Where equity-settled share-based payments relate to employees of the Company these are ultimately recognised as an
expense in the proﬁt and loss account with a corresponding credit to the proﬁt and loss reserve. Where equity-settled
share-based payments relate to employees of subsidiaries of the Company these are treated as a capital contribution,
increasing the value of the investment in the subsidiary with a corresponding credit to the proﬁt and loss reserve.
If vesting periods or other non-market vesting conditions apply , the expense is allocated over the vesting period, based on the
best available estimate of the number of share options expected to vest. Estimates are revised subsequently if there is any
indication that the number of share options expected to vest differs from previous estimates. Any cumulative adjustment prior
to vesting is recognised in the current period. No adjustment is made to any expense recognised in prior periods if share
options that have vested are not exercised.
Upon exercise of share options, the proceeds received net of attributable transaction costs are credited to share capital,
and where appropriate share premium.
Intangible Fixed Assets and Amortisation
Panel acquisition costs reﬂect the direct, external cost of recruiting new panel members. A formula based on panel churn for
the preceding 12 months determines the element which is enhancement and that which is maintenance. Only enhancement
is capitalised at cost to the Company less accumulated amortisation. Amortisation is charged so as to write off the panel
acquisition costs over three years, this being the Directors’ estimate of the average active life of a panel member .
Trademark costs reﬂect the direct cost of trademarks acquired to protect the YouGov brand and its products. Amortisation
is not charged as trademarks are inﬁnite in their longevity . We conduct an annual impairment review to ensure all trademarks
are carried at appropriate values.
72 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Principal Accounting Policies of the Company Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009 YouGov 73
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Tangible Fixed Assets and Depreciation
Tangible ﬁxed assets are stated at cost, net of depreciation and any provision for impairment.
Depreciation is calculated to write down the cost less estimated residual value of all tangible ﬁxed assets by annual
instalments over their estimated useful economic lives. The rates generally applicable are:
Leasehold property and improvements Life of the lease
Fixtures and fittings on a reducing balance basis 25%
Computer software and hardware on a straight-line basis 10%–33%
Software development costs on a straight-line basis 33%–50%
Costs that are directly attributable to the development of new business application software and which are incurred during
the period prior to the date the software is placed into operational use are capitalised as software development costs. External
costs and internal costs are capitalised to the extent they generate future economic beneﬁt for the business, whilst internal
costs are only capitalised if they are incremental to the Company . Once the new business application software is operational
it is depreciated at the rates set out in the above table.
Research and Development
Research expenditure is charged to proﬁts in the period in which it is incurred. Development costs incurred on speciﬁc
projects are recognised to the extent that they comply with the requirements of SSAP 13, i.e. when recoverability can be
assessed with reasonable certainty and amortised in line with the expected sales arising from the projects. All other
development costs are written off in the year of expenditure.
Investments
Investments are included at cost less amounts written off. The carrying value is considered annually by the Directors
in comparison against the potential net realisable value.
Leased Assets – Operating Leases
Operating leases are charged to the proﬁt and loss account on a straight-line basis over the lease term.
Leased Assets – Financial Leases
Tangible ﬁxed assets acquired under ﬁnance leases and hire purchase contracts are capitalised at the estimated fair value
at the inception of the lease or contract. The total ﬁnance charges are allocated over the period of the lease or contract in
such a way as to give a constant periodic charge on the outstanding liability .
Deferred Taxation
Deferred tax is recognised on all timing differences where the transactions or events that give the Company an obligation to
pay more tax in the future, or a right to pay less tax in the future, have occurred by the balance sheet date. Deferred tax assets
are recognised when it is more likely than not that they will be recovered. Deferred tax is measured using rates of tax that have
been enacted or substantively enacted by the balance sheet date. The deferred tax provision is held at its current value and
not discounted.
Prior Period Adjustment
A recent review identiﬁed that the UK corporation tax charge in respect of the years ending 31 July 2007 and 2008 had been
overstated. This was due to an error in the calculation of deductions available under Schedule 23 of the Finance Act 2003
relating to the sale of shares acquired by Directors and employees. This has resulted in tax overpayments of £757,000 for
the year ended 31 July 2008 and £279,000 for the year ended 31 July 2007. These amounts were reclaimed from HM Revenue
and Customs in August 2009.
The impact of the prior period adjustments are as follows:
31 July 2008 31 July 2007
£000 £000
Tax credit 757 279
Current tax assets 936 –
Current tax liabilities (100) (279)
Profit and loss reserve 1,036 279 74 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Notes to the Company Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
1 Profit of Parent Company
The parent Company has taken advantage of Section 230 of the Companies Act 1985 and has not included its own proﬁt and
loss account in these ﬁnancial statements. The parent Company’s loss for the year was £1,052k (2008 restated: proﬁt of £2,106k).
2 Staff Costs
Staff costs (including Directors) charged to administrative expenses during the year were as follows:
31 July 2009 31 July 2008
£000 £000
Wages and salaries 4,569 3,992
Social security costs 521 491
Share-based payments 69 304
Other benefits 40 26
5,199 4,813
Director’s emoluments are as disclosed in the remuneration report on pages 27 to 28.
3 Dividend
No dividend was paid or proposed during the year (2008: £nil).
4 Intangible Fixed Assets
Panel
acquisition
costs Trademarks Total
£000 £000 £000
Cost
At 1 August 2008 146 45 191
Additions 71 41 112
At 31 July 2009 217 86 303
Amortisation
At 1 August 2008 21 – 21
Provided in the year 41 – 41
At 31 July 2009 62 – 62
Net book amount at 31 July 2009 155 86 241
Net book amount at 31 July 2008 125 45 170
The valuation method for intangibles is arm’s-length purchase price. YouGov 75
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
5 Tangible Fixed Assets
Software Computer Leasehold
development Fixtures and software and property and
costs fittings hardware improvements Total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Cost
At 1 August 2008 298 293 454 177 1,222
Additions 222 3 774 – 999
At 31 July 2009 520 296 1,228 177 2,221
Depreciation
At 1 August 2008 64 106 161 52 383
Provided in the year 122 47 235 35 439
At 31 July 2009 186 153 396 87 822
Net book amount at 31 July 2009 334 143 832 90 1,399
Net book amount at 31 July 2008 234 187 293 125 839
6 Fixed Asset Investments
Total ﬁxed asset investments comprise:
31 July 2009 31 July 2008
£000 £000
Interest in subsidiaries 37,203 43,346
Interest in joint ventures 43 48
Interest in investment completed post year end – 61
Capital contributions arising from share-based payments 202 –
37,448 43,455
The value of investments is determined on the basis of the cost to the Group.
The reduction in value of interest in subsidiaries from £43.3m at 31 July 2008 to £37.2m at 31 July 2009 relates to the reduction
in value of earn-outs (due to non-achievement and lower settlement) of £4.7m (Zapera £2.2m and psychonomics £2.5m), the
discharge of assumed liabilities as part of the initial acquisition (Zapera £1.7m) whilst a further £0.1m was invested in buying
out our joint venture partner in YouGovExecution.
Capitalised costs relate to legal and professional fees incurred in the incorporation of entities which completed after the
balance sheet date.
The Company’s principal trading subsidiaries and joint ventures are listed in note 12 of the consolidated ﬁnancial statements.
7 Debtors
31 July 2008
31 July 2009 £000
£000 (Restated)
Trade debtors 3,757 4,883
Amounts owed by Group undertakings 3,605 851
Amounts owed by joint ventures 116 189
Other debtors 72 244
Prepayments and accrued income 867 1,008
Taxation 1,354 936
9,771 8,111 76 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Notes to the Company Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
8 Creditors: Amounts Falling Due Within One Year
31 July 2008
31 July 2009 £000
£000 (Restated)
Borrowings – 699
Trade creditors 176 718
Amounts owed to Group undertakings 6,349 4,062
Corporation tax – 182
Social security and other taxes 414 498
Other creditors 72 76
Accruals 1,182 1,744
Deferred income 323 372
Deferred consideration – 5,207
8,516 13,558
9 Creditors: Amounts Falling Due After More Than One Year
31 July 2009 31 July 2008
£000 £000
Deferred consideration – 1,152
– 1,152
In the year ended 31 July 2009 the Company reduced its obligations for deferred consideration from £6.4m to £nil. £1.7m of
this was paid out in cash whilst £4.7m was released against interest in subsidiaries due to earn-out targets either not being
met or being renegotiated.
psychonomics
£0.2m of the deferred consideration of £0.7m potentially due in respect of the year ended 31 December 2007 was paid in
cash and the balance of £0.5m was released against interest in subsidiaries due to targets not being met. As at 31 July 2008,
£2.0m was provided in respect of the two years ended 31 December 2008. The targets associated with this were not met and
so this balance has been released against interest in subsidiaries in the period.
Zapera
In the period the Directors reached agreement with the selling shareholders of Zapera.com A/S to settle deferred consideration
for the year ended 31 July 2008 at £1.6m which represented a saving to the Company on the earn-out due of £0.7m. The Board
considers that the targets for the next two tranches of £1.2m in aggregate due in respect of the years ended 31 July 2009 and
31 July 2010 have not been achieved in the case of 31 July 2009 and are unlikely to be achieved in the case of 31 July 2010
and this balance has therefore been released against interest in subsidiaries in the period.
10 Provisions for Liabilities
31 July 2009 31 July 2008
£000 £000
At 1 August 36 56
Provided during year in profit and loss account 216 (20)
At 31 July 252 36
The deferred tax charge in the current and prior period represents accelerated capital allowances on ﬁxed assets acquired. YouGov 77
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
11 Statement of Movements on Reserves
Share Deferred
Share premium Merger consideration Profit and
capital account reserve reserve loss account Total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Balance previously reported at 1 August 2007 135 3,026 –– 3,339 6,500
Prior period adjustment
for the year ended 31 July 2007 –––– 279 279
Restated balance at 1 August 2007 135 3,026 –– 3,618 6,779
Changes in equity for 2008
Profit for the period –––– 1,349 1,349
Prior period adjustment
for the year ended 31 July 2008 –––– 757 757
Total recognised income for the period –––– 2,106 2,106
Expenses offset against share premium – (1,076) ––– (1,076)
Issue of share capital through exercise
of share options 4 245 ––– 249
Issue of share capital through fundraising 39 26,961 ––– 27,000
Issue of share capital through allotment of
shares in satisfaction of acquisition consideration 12 – 9,239 –– 9,251
Deferred consideration as part consideration
for acquisition ––– 1,438 – 1,438
Reclassification of share-based payments –––– 102 102
Share-based payments –––– 424 424
Balance at 31 July 2008 190 29,156 9,239 1,438 6,250 46,273
Changes in equity for 2009
Profit for the period –––– (1,052) (1,052)
Total recognised income for the period –––– (1,052) (1,052)
Expenses offset against share premium – (13) ––– (13)
Issue of share capital through
exercise of share options 1 232 ––– 233
Deferred consideration as part consideration
for acquisition 2 1,436 – (1,438) – –
Share-based payments –––– 271 271
Balance at 31 July 2009 193 30,811 9,239 – 5,469 45,712
12 Share Capital
The Company only has one class of share. Par value of each ordinary share is 0.2p. All issued shares are fully paid.
Number £000
Year to 31 July 2009
At 1 August 2008 94,876,425 190
Issue of shares 1,856,752 3
At 31 July 2009 96,733,177 193
Year to 31 July 2008
At 1 August 2007 67,422,570 135
Issue of shares 27,453,855 55
At 31 July 2008 94,876,425 190
Further details on the issues of share capital are included in note 23 of the consolidated ﬁnancial statements. 78 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Notes to the Company Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2009
12 Share Capital continued
Number £000
Authorised share capital
At 31 July 2009
Ordinary shares @ 0.2p each 150,000,000 300
At 31 July 2008
Ordinary shares @ 0.2p each 150,000,000 300
13 Share-Based Payments
The Company’s share-based payments are included in note 23 of the consolidated ﬁnancial statements. The charge included
in the proﬁt and loss account of the company is £69k (2008: £304k). The increase in investment in respect of subsidiaries is
£202k (2008: £nil).
14 Leasing Commitments
Operating lease payments amounting to £294k (2008: £250k) are due within one year . Annual commitments under operating
leases which expire in the following periods are as follows:
2009 2008
Land and Land and
buildings Other buildings Other
£000 £000 £000 £000
In one year or less –– –2
Between one and five years 289 5 –3
In five years or more –– 245 –
289 5 245 5
15 Capital Commitments
The Company had no material capital commitments as at 31 July 2009 (2008: £nil).
16 Contingent Assets
The Company had no contingent assets as at 31 July 2009 (2008: £nil).
17 Contingent Liabilities
The Company had no contingent liabilities as at 31 July 2009 (2008: £nil).
18 Major Non-Cash Transactions
The Company entered into a barter transaction with Centaur plc, a joint venture partner , to exchange the provision
of BrandIndex content for advertising within its publications for £327k (2008: £318k).
Other barter transactions deemed not material in aggregate totalled £28k (2008: £28k). YouGov 79
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Notice of Annual General Meeting
Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of YouGov PLC will be held at 50 Featherstone Street, London,
EC1Y 8RT on 3 December 2009 at 12:30 pm to consider and, if thought ﬁt, pass the resolutions below. Resolution 7 will
be proposed as a special resolution. All other resolutions will be proposed as ordinary resolutions.
Ordinary Resolutions
1 To receive the Company’s annual accounts for the ﬁnancial year ended 31 July 2009, together with the Directors’
report and the auditors’ report on those accounts.
2 To approve the Directors’ remuneration report set out in the annual report and accounts for the ﬁnancial year ended
31 July 2009.
3 To reappoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors to hold ofﬁce from the conclusion of this meeting until the
conclusion of the next general meeting of the Company at which accounts are laid.
4 To authorise the Directors to ﬁx the remuneration of the auditors.
5 To reappoint Nadhim Zahawi as a Director retiring by rotation in accordance with the Company’s Articles of Association.
6 To reappoint Nick Jones as a Director who, having been appointed a Director by the Directors since the last Annual
General Meeting, would in accordance with the Company’s Articles of Association vacate ofﬁce at the conclusion
of this meeting unless reappointed.
To consider and, if thought ﬁt, pass the following resolution which will be proposed as a special resolution.
Special Resolution
7 THAT:
7.1 the Directors shall, in substitution of all previous authorities, have the power under section 570 of the Companies
Act 2006 (the “Companies Act”) to allot equity securities (as deﬁned in section 560 of the Companies Act) for cash
pursuant to the authority conferred by resolution 6 passed at the Annual General Meeting held on 7 December
2007, as if section 561(1) of the Companies Act did not apply to the allotment;
7.2 this power shall be limited to:
7.2.1 the allotment of equity securities in connection with an offer or issue of such securities to holders of Ordinary Shares
on the register on a date ﬁxed by the Directors, whether by way of rights issue, open offer or otherwise, in proportion
(as nearly as practicable) to their respective holdings on that date or in accordance with the rights attached to them
but subject to such exclusions and other arrangements as the Directors may consider appropriate in relation to
fractional entitlements or any legal or practical problems under the laws of any territory, or the requirements of any
regulatory body or stock exchange; and
7.2.2 the allotment (other than under paragraph 7.2.1 above) of equity securities having, in the case of relevant shares
(as deﬁned for the purposes of section 560 of the Companies Act), a nominal amount or , in the case of other equity
securities, giving the right to subscribe for or convert into relevant shares having a nominal amount, not exceeding
in aggregate £9,650;
7.3 this power shall cease to have effect on the earlier of the date on which the authority given by resolution 6 passed
at the Annual General Meeting held on 7 December 2007 is revoked, and the conclusion of the next Annual General
Meeting of the Company;
7.4 the Company may make an offer or agreement before this authority expires which would or might require equity
securities to be allotted after it expires and the Directors may allot equity securities in pursuance of that offer
or agreement notwithstanding that the authority has expired.
By order of the Board
Alan Newman
Company Secretary
12 October 2009
Registered Ofﬁce:
50 Featherstone Street
London EC1Y 8RT
Registered in England and Wales No. 3607311 80 YouGov
Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Notice of Annual General Meeting
Notes:
1. Shareholders are entitled to appoint a proxy to exercise all or any of their rights to attend and to speak and vote on their behalf at the meeting. A shareholder
may appoint more than one proxy in relation to the Annual General Meeting provided that each proxy is appointed to exercise the rights attached to a different
share or shares held by that shareholder . A proxy need not be a shareholder of the Company . A proxy form which may be used to make such appointment
and give proxy instructions accompanies this notice. If you do not have a proxy form and believe that you should have one, or if you require additional forms,
please contact Neville Registrars, at Neville House, 18 Laurel Lane, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 3DA.
2. To be valid any proxy form or other instrument appointing a proxy must be received by post or (during normal business hours only) by hand at Neville Registrars,
Neville House, 18 Laurel Lane, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 3DA no later than 12:30pm on 1 December 2009.
3. The return of a completed proxy form, other such instrument or any CREST Proxy Instruction (as described in paragraph 6 below) will not prevent a shareholder
attending the Annual General Meeting and voting in person if he/she wishes to do so.
4. In accordance with Regulation 41 of the Uncertificated Securities Regulations 2001, to be entitled to attend and vote at the Annual General Meeting (and for the
purpose of the determination by the Company of the votes they may cast), shareholders must be registered in the Register of Members of the Company at
6:00pm on 1 December 2009 (or , in the event of any adjournment, 6:00pm on the date which is two days before the time of the adjourned meeting). Changes
to the Register of Members after the relevant deadline shall be disregarded in determining the rights of any person to attend and vote at the meeting.
5. CREST members who wish to appoint a proxy or proxies through the CREST electronic proxy appointment service may do so by using the procedures
described in the CREST Manual. CREST Personal Members or other CREST sponsored members, and those CREST members who have appointed a service
provider(s), should refer to their CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s), who will be able to take the appropriate action on their behalf.
6. In order for a proxy appointment or instruction made using the CREST service to be valid, the appropriate CREST message (a “CREST Proxy Instruction”)
must be properly authenticated in accordance with the specifications of Euroclear UK & Ireland Limited (the operator of the CREST system), and must contain
the information required for such instruction, as described in the CREST Manual. The message, regardless of whether it constitutes the appointment of a
proxy or is an amendment to the instruction given to a previously appointed proxy must, in order to be valid, be transmitted so as to be received by the issuer’s
agent (ID 7RA11) by 12:30pm on 1 December 2009. For this purpose, the time of receipt will be taken to be the time (as determined by the timestamp applied
to the message by the CREST Application Host) from which the issuer’s agent is able to retrieve the message by enquiry to CREST in the manner prescribed
by CREST . After this time any change of instructions to proxies appointed through CREST should be communicated to the appointee through other means.
7. CREST members and, where applicable, their CREST sponsors, or voting service providers should note that Euroclear UK and Ireland Limited does not make
available special procedures in CREST for any particular message. Normal system timings and limitations will, therefore, apply in relation to the input of
CREST Proxy Instructions. It is the responsibility of the CREST member concerned to take (or , if the CREST member is a CREST personal member , or
sponsored member , or has appointed a voting service provider , to procure that his CREST sponsor or voting service provider(s) take(s)) such action as shall
be necessary to ensure that a message is transmitted by means of the CREST system by any particular time. In this connection, CREST members and, where
applicable, their CREST sponsors or voting system providers are referred, in particular , to those sections of the CREST Manual concerning practical limitations
of the CREST system and timings.
8. The Company may treat as invalid a CREST Proxy Instruction in the circumstances set out in Regulation 35(5)(a) of the Uncertificated Securities
Regulations 2001.
9. In order to facilitate voting by corporate representatives at the meeting, arrangements will be put in place at the meeting so that: (i) if a corporate shareholder
has appointed the chairman of the meeting as its corporate representative with instructions to vote on a poll in accordance with the directions of all of the
other corporate representatives for that shareholder at the meeting, then on a poll those corporate representatives will give voting directions to the chairman
and the chairman will vote (or withhold a vote) as corporate representative in accordance with those directions; and (ii) if more than one corporate
representative for the same corporate shareholder attends the meeting but the corporate shareholder has not appointed the chairman of the meeting as its
corporate representative, a designated corporate representative will be nominated, from those corporate representatives who attend, who will vote on a poll
and the other corporate representatives will give voting directions to that designated corporate representative. Corporate shareholders are referred to the
guidance issued by the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators on proxies and corporate representatives (www.icsa.org.uk) for further details
of this procedure. The guidance includes a sample form of representation letter if the chairman is being appointed as described in (i) above.
Explanatory Notes to the Notice of Annual General Meeting
The notes above give an explanation of the proposed resolutions.
Resolutions 1 to 6 are proposed as ordinary resolutions. This means that for each of those resolutions to be passed, more than half of the votes cast must be
in favour of the resolution. Resolution 7 is proposed as a special resolution. This means that for each resolution to be passed, at least three-quarters of the votes
cast must be in favour of the resolution.
Resolution 7 (statutory pre-emption rights)
Under section 561 of the Companies Act 2006, when new shares are allotted, they must first be offered to existing shareholders pro rata to their holdings.
This special resolution renews the authorities previously granted to the Directors to: (a) allot shares of the Company in connection with a rights issue or other
pre-emptive offer; and (b) otherwise allot shares of the Company , or sell treasury shares for cash, up to an aggregate nominal value of £9,650 (representing
in accordance with institutional investor guidelines, approximately 5% of the share capital in issue as at 31 October 2009 (being the last practicable date prior
to the publication of this notice)) as if the pre-emption rights of section 561 did not apply . The authority granted by this resolution will expire on the earlier of,
the expiry or revocation of the Directors’ authority to allot shares given at the Annual General Meeting on 7 December 2007, and the conclusion of the next
Annual General Meeting. Designed and produced by 85FOUR.
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YouGov Annual Report and Accounts 2009