Polling firm YouGov today issued a profits warning after seeing new business dry up as banks slash their spending on customer surveys and research because of the credit crunch.
Its shares almost halved after it admitted that profitability for the current financial year will be "significantly below market expectations" of around £10m.
The market research firm said it would not meet its target for revenue growth this year because of "much weaker than anticipated new business in the UK". Its shares fell 33p in early trading to 37p.
"The areas that have been particularly badly hit are the financial services companies and financial institutions," explained a YouGov spokesman. "They have both been a big area for the company in the past."
The company expanded last year, even as the economy slowed down, hiring more people to work on new product development and to help it expand into markets like Germany and the US, where it polled last November's elections.