In the EMEA region gross revenue was up 1.4% to £108.1m. Synovate reported good performances in Germany, Italy, France and the Netherlands but said “difficult market conditions” in Spain and Greece continued to impact operations there. The UK – another difficult market – saw “good progress” in improving its performance.

Businesses in Russia, the Middle East and North Africa also performed well, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Synovate said, and there were also strong showings in South Africa and Kenya.

In the Americas, gross revenue was up 6.3% to £48.7m. The North American business saw an improving sales trend while strong performances in Mexico, Argentina and Chile bolstered Latin America.

Asia Pacific was up 11.9% to £47.8m with the group highlighting Greater China, India and Indonesia as the strongest performers in the region.

Synovate said that it had seen a “softening” in research spend by some FMCG clients in the first half of the year, but activities in the automotive sector were boosted by increased spend by a number of Asian and European manufacturers.

Aegis has agreed to sell the research agency in a £525m deal to Ipsos that is set to be completed by the end of September.