The future of the Reuters surveys on analyst research has been thrown into uncertainty after Tempest Consultants, the company that produces them for Reuters, went into liquidation last week.

Tempest had originally planned a flotation on AIM, the UK small company market, to raise capital, which would have valued it at about £20m (€33m). Last month, however, Tempest cancelled the IPO after consulting with Peel Hunt, its broker, and set out to find a trade buyer.