Optimisa, which bought Andrew Irving Associates in 2006, said it has “reminded Andrew of his contractual obligations [in relation to the acquisition] and made a request to cease using this name”.

This is despite Optimisa’s intention to rebrand its various research operations under the name Optimisa Research.

CEO Michelle Norman told Research: “Optimisa plc had no choice but to enforce its position, otherwise, a lack of action would signal to any previous owners of an acquired company (in the Optimisa group or indeed in the sector) that it’s acceptable to breach contractual terms.”

Dorothy Chang of AIMR confirmed today that the company, which launched in January, is planning to change its name, although it hopes to stick to the same initials. The firm’s website has been taken down, except for the logo and a short message stating that the site is being redesigned “due to threat of legal action by Optimisa plc and Andrew Irving Associates Limited”.