Kantar has topped the ranking, followed by Gartner and Ipsos, meaning the top three individual agencies retained the same positions as last year’s League Tables.

The rest of the top 10 for the top 100 individual agencies by turnover is comprised of Dunnhumby, Wood Mackenzie, Euromonitor, CACI, Mintel, Circana and Verint Systems.

The MRS League Tables are based on 2024 financial data submitted and collected in 2025. Data is focused on UK-based turnover and international work managed and invoiced from the UK.

The top 100 individual agencies in 2024 generated total turnover of £5.440bn, according to the report, with overall year-on-year growth within these 100 agencies at 4%.

In the fastest-growing individual agencies ranking, Potentia Insight was in first position, with a growth rate of 125.8%, followed by Promar International and Walr in second and third place.

System1 Research, Sprinklr, Quantexa, Circana, KPMG Nunwood Consulting, Black Swan Data (now part of Mintel) and Dunnhumby made up the rest of the top 10 fastest growers.

The report analysis, by League Tables compiler David Barr, noted that some sectors of the industry continued to find business conditions “very challenging”, and: “Operating costs were affected by some fiscal and by political turbulence and increases in business and employment taxation.”

The rankings also include information on which companies are signatories to the MRS pledges on climate, inclusion and GDQ (Global Data Quality). Of the top 10 agencies, only Ipsos had signed all three, while Kantar had signed two – inclusion and GDQ.

Of the top 10 fastest-growing agencies, only Potentia and Walr had signed all three pledges.

As well as client and agency perspectives on the outlook for research and insight, the report also includes an article on the winner of this year’s MRS President’s Medal. The award went to Jake Puddle and Heather Rolfe, British Future and Jill Rutter, The Belong Network for their work ‘The State of Us: Community strength and cohesion in the UK.’

Jane Frost, CBE, chief executive of MRS, said: “The current economic, social and political climate is understandably raising challenges old and new for insight businesses, and this is reflected in the data in our Business Sentiment Monitor, with fewer organisations expecting increased revenue next year. However, we shouldn’t underestimate the opportunity in front of us to use these very challenges to really make the case for research’s impact. Today’s turbulent landscape makes up-to-date evidence all the more important for informing smart, effective and efficient decisions. 

“The financial figures set out in the MRS League Tables demonstrate a resilient, growing research sector taking advantage of technological developments like AI to deliver greater value for clients. I have every confidence that we have the skills, the ambition and the culture of constant progress which will allow us to keep pushing in the right direction through 2026.”

• The Research Live Industry Report 2026, including the MRS League Tables, can be accessed here.