Acquisition of CPS is YouGov’s largest to date and will boost its ability to gather accurate data and insights on European consumers.
Data player YouGov’s recent acquisition of Consumer Panel Services (CPS) was supported by Bank of Ireland’s UK arm.
The bank provided a €43m commitment in YouGov’s €280m debt facilities.
“YouGov is an extremely well known and highly regarded market research provider in the UK”
YouGov has recently acquired the CPS business of German market research firm GfK GmbH for a headline purchase price of €315m. The deal was announced in July last year and closed on 9 January after meeting various regulatory approvals.
What the world thinks
The CPS acquisition represents YouGov’s largest to date, and will add highly engaged panels across the European market and technology to capture and analyse consumer purchasing data to further enhance YouGov’s rich history of providing accurate insight into what the world thinks.
CPS’ capabilities and culture are strategically aligned with YouGov, enabling a seamless transition for clients and employees to occur from day one, and for the acquisition to support YouGov’s continued growth by expanding the combined offering to existing clients and providing the opportunity to win new clients and roll out into new markets.
ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) policy is at the core of YouGov’s operations. Under its ESG Roadmap, the group is committed to reduce carbon emissions in the UK to net zero by 2026 as well as ensure social inclusion in the workplace and in the research it conducts.
Robust controls are in place around key areas including ethics, data privacy and security, anti-bribery and whistleblowing.
In 2022 and 2023, the company was awarded the MSCI ESG Rating of AA, reflecting YouGov’s resilience to long-term, financially relevant ESG risks.
Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking UK’s Head of Media Mark Birkenshaw said the bank is looking forward to supporting YouGov and their exciting strategic growth plan in the years ahead.
“YouGov is an extremely well known and highly regarded market research provider in the UK and we have maintained a dialogue with Alex and his team for a number of years,” commented Birkenshaw.
“We are delighted that the CPS acquisition has provided us with an opportunity to support management and the business with their primary debt facilities, and particularly through this exciting period of international expansion and growth. We look forward to working closely with the management team and deepening our relationship further over the coming years.”
“This is an exciting opportunity for YouGov as we welcome the team from CPS Gfk,” added Alex McIntosh, CFO, YouGov.
“By bringing together CPS Gfk’s 60 years of experience in delivering the best quality household purchasing data and YouGov’s market leading attitudinal data in one place, our clients can fully understand what the world thinks, wants, and buys.
“We have been impressed with the level of support provided by Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking as part of this acquisition and look forward to developing this partnership in the future.”
