Revenue was up 18% to £10.3m and operating income jumped 26% to £7.3m. Operating profit was £0.8m, compared to a £0.2m loss last year – which was a black mark on Chime’s “best results ever”.

In a statement Chime said: “Following the appointment of new management and the acquisition of Tree in February 2010 the research division has returned to growth. The marketplace appears to be growing once again and we believe the prospects are improving for the division. Facts International has performed particularly well in 2010 and Opinion Leader has been completely restructured during the year.”

Overall, insight-related activities accounted for 5% of total group revenue, behind sports marketing ( 20%), advertising and marketing ( 26%) and public relations ( 55%).

Chime saw group revenue drop slightly from £300m to £299m, but operating income rose 21% to £149.3m, while operating profit was up 36% to £27.4m.