JD Power and Associates, the US marketing information services company which conducts an annual study of the UK’s automotive customer service levels, says it is looking for outside investment to support global expansion.

The $200m business, which has offices in London, acquired LMC Ltd, the Oxford-based automotive forecasting and market analysis agency, in September. An office in Munich, Germany, was opened the same month, and it will open a bureau in Shanghai, China, shortly.

It has appointed an investment firm, Evercore Partners, to advise on strategy.

“We have been carrying out an extensive strategic review for the last 12 months,” says Tom Shaver, senior partner at JD Power. “As a result of that, we identified significant growth opportunities for the next three to five years.”