What's gone wrong at WPP? The crown slips at the world's biggest advertising group

"For decades the financial success and dominance of WPP its 100,000 employees service global clients from Ford to Coca-Cola has been the corporate manifestation of Britain's shining reputation for creative advertising. WPP has housed some of the most prestigious agency networks from J Walter Thompson to Young & Rubicam producing globally resonant campaigns such as Dove's Real Beauty, which challenged stereotypical portrayals of women."

"But now, as WPP struggles to stem a growing exodus of clients worth billions of pounds and deal with an existential race to match the AI and data capabilities of rivals, there is hitherto unthinkable talk of a breakup. WPP ruled the world at one point, it was like the British empire, said one industry executive. It was symbolic of UK success and the country's status as the global home for advertising."

"In August, a profit warning and dire forecast of revenue decline for this year sent WPP's shares plummeting to their lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis, marking the end of a brutal seven years as chief executive for Mark Read. A market capitalisation of just 4bn compared with its 25bn valuation eight years ago, when WPP was the world's largest marketing services company has left the business at risk of falling out of the FTSE 100 index it joined almost three decades ago."

WPP grew from Wire and Plastic Products into a global advertising giant employing about 100,000 people and serving clients from Ford to Coca-Cola. The company housed prestigious agency networks such as J Walter Thompson and Young & Rubicam and produced campaigns like Dove's Real Beauty and Ogilvy's Coca-Cola name-on-bottles innovation. WPP now faces a growing exodus of clients worth billions and an existential race to match rivals' AI and data capabilities, prompting talk of a breakup. A profit warning and revenue downgrade caused shares to plunge to post-2008 lows and reduced market capitalisation to about £4bn, risking FTSE 100 exclusion.

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