The forthcoming general election will be “nail biting”, the chief executive of leading polling and market research group YouGov has declared.
“It’s the most-complicated election we have covered,” said Stephan Shakespeare.
“More and more seats are susceptible to change and and the degree to which Ukip can hold onto its vote is absolutely key.
“At the moment Ukip voters are telling us they intend to stick with the party. I don’t want to over hedge our bets but it is coming down to the wire.”
Political polling accounts for a miniscule part of YouGov’s UK revenues but is huge for its profile in this country and particularly the US where it is growing rapidly.
That helps it develop surveys and data collection online which people enjoy completing and so give it a much-broader panel of consumers.
Shakespeare said this means they can tell marketers not just how a Ukip supporter will vote but what their favourite social media are, their favourite food and drink and even their favourite pop star.
YouGov’s revenues rose by 11% to £36.2 million in the year to January with headline, pre-tax profits up 17% at £3.5 million. The interim dividend goes up by a third to 0.8p a share.
YouGov shares surged 7%, or 8.2p, to 131.7p.
