Joint Venture

YouGov PLC 06 March 2008 6 March 2008 YouGov plc (the 'Company') YouGov, Numis and FOUR Capital to launch research-driven hedge fund YouGov plc, the UK's leading online market research agency, announced today that it has signed heads of agreement with Numis Corporation PLC and FOUR Capital Partners Limited to form a joint venture hedge fund designed to exploit investment opportunities identified by YouGov's proprietary, real-time consumer research capability. Numis will lead fund raising activities, provide investment research and execution services to the joint venture; and, FOUR Capital's experienced professionals will identify investments that exploit YouGov's consumer insights. YouGov's demonstrable accuracy has led to it being commissioned to conduct research for a growing number of financial institutions wanting to test trading ideas with real world market research. This led to the creation of YouGovAlpha in August 2007 which supplies a number of fund management companies with marketplace assessments of stocks and sectors. The joint venture with Numis and FOUR Capital will build on YouGovAlpha's UK and US success. At a time when market conditions are difficult, the joint venture partners believe that the fund's distinctive approach will be attractive to a broad range of investors and plan to raise a first fund later in the year. Stephan Shakespeare, YouGov Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer, will also be CEO of the new company, working closely with the professionals within the partnership at Numis and FOUR. Based on their confidence in the new joint venture, a number of YouGov directors will be investing in the fund. Nadhim Zahawi, co-founder and CEO of YouGov said: 'The creation of this joint venture is the natural and logical extension of the success YouGov has had in providing the investment community with accurate research. YouGov's unique market insights will provide investors with a genuine point of differentiation at a time when markets are challenging; exactly the time when investors need to be confident in their trading strategies. The shared vision, professionalism and use of the partners' complimentary skills will ensure this unique proposition will deliver maximum benefit.' Stephan Shakespeare, co-founder of YouGov and CEO of the new company, said: 'For the last year I have been heavily focused on achieving ever greater precision in measuring changing consumer behavior and gaining insights which can inform good investment decisions. YouGov has demonstrated its consistent accuracy in predicting elections - well, the financial markets are like having an election every day.' Enquiries: YouGov plc Stephan Shakespeare 020 7012 6000 Numis Bill Trent 020 7260 1333 FOUR Capital Chris Rodgers 020 7776 5703 Financial Dynamics Charlie Palmer / Nicola Biles 020 7831 3113 Grant Thornton Corporate Finance - Nominated Advisor Gerry Beaney / Colin Aaronson 020 7383 5100 Brunswick Gill Ackers / Helene Zaugg 020 7404 5959 Notes to Editors: Founded in May 2000, YouGov is a professional market research agency pioneering the use of the Internet and information technology to collect higher-quality in-depth data for market research and public consultation. Numis is an independent investment banking and stockbroking business. It aims to become the investment bank and broker of choice for high quality London-quoted mid and small cap companies. Thomson Extel Survey Awards voted Numis the leading broker, research, execution and corporate access provider for quoted companies with market capitalisations of less than £1bn. FOUR Capital Partners Limited ('FOUR') is a specialist UK equity fund management business and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. FOUR was established in 2006 and is majority owned by its founding partners, Ted Williams, Chris Rodgers, Tom Carroll and Derrick Dunne. FOUR's distinctive investment approach is designed to generate strong investment returns without taking undue risks. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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