[1] The company was founded in 2004 and in 2013 became the first French credit rating agency to be authorised.
[2][3][4][5] The company is based in Lyon, France,[4][5] and has a presence in London[4] and Paris.
[2] Spread Research has been certified as credit rating agency by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) since mid-2013,[2][5] allowing the company to operate in Europe.
[2] In France, until 2013, only the branches of Standard and Poor's, Moody's and Fitch Ratings were certified by the ESMA.
[3][5] Spread Research operates under an investor-pays model, rather than being paid by rated companies.