The survey is based the ratio of debt to shareholders' funds and the ratio of intangible assets to shareholders' funds, according to the companies' most recently published balance sheets.
The aim was to assess how vulnerable companies would be to write-downs in the value of acquired companies and any pressure to reduce the ratio of debt to shareholders' funds.
Bob Willott, who published the survey in the latest edition of the newsletter Marketing Services Financial Intelligence, suggests that any company with an aggregated ratio approaching 2:1 or worse should be watched with care unless there is a plausible explanation.
It found that Aegis, owner of Carat, had a ratio of 4.1 to one, above the figure that would start ringing alarm bells. Willott attributed this to Aegis history of acquisitions.
"Before 1998, Aegis and many other companies were able to write off the goodwill element of acquisition costs against shareholders' funds immediately. This helpfully avoided any subsequent amortisation charge against profits, but inevitably resulted in a smaller quantum of shareholders' funds," he said.
However, the goodwill element of more recent acquisition costs represents a comparatively high proportion of those remaining shareholders' funds.
Willott goes on to point out that, unless all the past goodwill write-offs at Aegis could be reinstated without any impairment or amortisation provision, today's vulnerability ratio would still be high.
"So exposure to a decline in the value of its acquisitions remains a significant risk", he said.
Also topping the list was the market research firm EQ Group, which owns Buckingham Research Associates, Quaestor Research and Marketing Strategists. Its clients include Gillette, Hilton and BBC Worldwide.
EQ Group and Taylor Nelson Sofres scored a high ratio because of their heavy dependence on borrowed funds. Taylor Nelson Sofres borrowed heavily to buy NOP World Group from the Interpublic Group, and EQ Group has £4.7m of bank loans it has used to finance takeovers.
The report says that it is a coincidence that all three companies have interest in research, and that no particular conclusion should be drawn from that fact.
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