Insider: a £100k bet this boss will lead recovery

A £100,000 purchase of YouGov (LSE:YOU) shares has been made by its co-founder after he pledged to get the polling firm “firmly back on track” in the wake of a slump in stock market value.

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Stephan Shakespeare, who resumed chief executive duties in February, used annual results to reiterate his company’s ambition to become the world's leading provider of opinion data.

He added: “We believe that the strategic investments we are making in panel, technology and data science will help us become a stronger, faster platform company.”

The results were slightly ahead of expectations after a 22% rise in operating profit to £60.7 million for the year to 31 July. However, shares extended the past year’s fall as YouGov said the impact of the planned investments would mean only modest profit growth in 2025/26.

The AIM-listed stock fell as far as 247p, which compares with more than 800p prior to a profit warning in June 2024 and the 394p seen in the summer. Deutsche Bank concluded that the business “is not as advanced in its reorientation to growth as we had hoped”.

Shakespeare bought his shares on Wednesday at a price of 256p, increasing the value of his overall shareholding to 1.6% of the company or £4.9 million. He co-founded YouGov in 2000 and stayed as chief executive until August 2023, when shares were near 1,000p.

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City firms Peel Hunt and UBS retained Buy recommendations following the results but cut their price targets to 535p and 510p respectively.

Peel Hunt said the planned investments and sharper focus on the company’s Data Products division should benefit YouGov in the coming years. “However, we believe the shares will need clear evidence of a sustained upward growth trajectory for a re-rating.”

UBS cut its earnings forecasts for the next two years by between 6% and 8% but said it saw “merit to YouGov’s strategic direction”, which includes its focus on AI-collected panel data in order to provide “deeper, more authentic and forward-looking insights”.

The 2025 financial year was one of transition for YouGov after it carried out a cost optimisation plan and integrated the January 2024 acquisition of GfK’s Consumer Panel Services.

This business has since been re-branded YouGov Shopper, providing household purchase data across 17 European countries. It contributed £128.1 million of revenue and £27.2 million in adjusted operating profit, representing a margin of 21%.

House broker Berenberg, which has a price target of 600p, said YouGov was now on a more stable footing to build in 2026 and beyond.

On a multiple of 8.5 times forecast earnings and a free cash yield of 10.4%, the City firm said YouGov’s valuation failed to account for any material improvement in growth.

It believes improving growth in the Data Products division is key to the equity thesis for YouGov, given the subscription nature of its revenue and the higher profit margin relative to the other divisions of Research and Shopper.

Data Products, which includes YouGov BrandIndex and other behavioural products, returned to growth in 2025 having added AI-based features and made platforms more intuitive for clients.

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Shakespeare is expected to continue as chief executive in the current financial year while the company searches for a permanent boss. He said last week: “I look forward to putting the business firmly back on track and delivering on our strategy with clarity and conviction.”

Former ITV and Kantar finance chief Ian Griffiths, who joined the board as a non-executive director last month, spent £50,000 on shares at a price of 260p.

Director opens his account

A new board member of Frasers Group (LSE:FRAS) has marked his appointment by spending £105,600 on the retailer’s shares at a price of 704p.

Andy Lyon’s purchase took place on Wednesday, having joined the board as a non-executive director on 25 September.

Lyon was previously a senior audit partner at PwC, where he led the audits of several large global retailers including fashion brands and department stores.

His purchase price compares with the 770p seen for Frasers shares at the start of October and more than 800p a year ago. However, the shares have rallied off April’s low of 546p.

They need to be at least 1,200p for 30 consecutive days in order for chief executive Michael Murray to get £100 million under the company’s executive share scheme, which is also tied to the delivery of an adjusted profit of £500 million.

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Other purchases in the FTSE 250 index last week included one by Keller non-executive director Annette Kelleher, who spent £30,000 on shares at a price of 1,554p.

The ground engineering firm’s shares have enjoyed a strong run since interim results in early August, when it reported a performance ahead of expectations. Kelleher, who joined the board in 2023, joined Johnson Matthey in 2013 and served on its management committee until June.