Sir Martin Sorrell sweetens MediaMonks bid with shares in S4 Capital July 8, 2018 Ad guru Sir Martin Sorrell is sweetening his bid for Dutch digital agency MediaMonks by offering its executives a large amount of equity in his new business, S4 Capital, City A.M. understands. Over half (55 per cent) of MediaMonks is owned by private equity firm Bencis, while the rest is in the hands of a [...]
WPP goes head-to-head with former boss Sir Martin Sorrell in bidding war for Dutch digital agency MediaMonks July 3, 2018 WPP is locked in a bidding war with former chief exec Sir Martin Sorrell's new venture S4 Capital to take over Dutch digital agency MediaMonks. Reports on Monday suggested Sorrell's new vehicle S4 Capital was in talks to acquire the company, which has around 600 staff. But it emerged today that WPP made an offer [...]
Sir Martin Sorrell gets £100m funding from City investors for new venture S4 Capital July 1, 2018 Adman Sir Martin Sorrell has raised around £100m for his new marketing venture S4 Capital, City A.M. understands. Sorrell has been scoping out City investors to back the advertising enterprise, which is looking to capitalise on opportunities in tech, data and content marketing. A spokesperson for Sorrell declined to comment. The former WPP boss returned [...]
WPP brings in top law firms to find source of leaked emails June 28, 2018 WPP has hired lawyers to investigate the source of anonymous emails which were sent to former and current employees at the company after the resignation of its long-time chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell. Anonymous emails were sent to WPP employees through encrypted Swiss email service Proton, which hides the identity of its user. The emails [...]
Sorrell’s second empire: Former WPP chief executive will face a harder time growing his new business June 4, 2018 The news that Martin Sorrell has re-entered the ad industry via the takeover of a little-known shell company, Derriston Capital (set to be renamed S4 Capital), naturally has echoes of his acquisition of a wire, paper, and plastics firm in 1985. Of course, that firm is now WPP, one of the world’s largest ad agencies, [...]
Sir Martin Sorrell’s mission: To out-fox former WPP allies, proxy voting pressure and fintech in focus June 1, 2018 It was there in black and white. In his farewell memo to 180,000 WPP staff in mid-April, Sir Martin Sorrell couldn’t have been more explicit: “As a founder, I can say that WPP is not just a mattter of life or death, it was, is and will be more important than that. Good fortune and [...]
Last Week in the City: Trump threatens trade war March 2, 2018 This week US President Donald Trump threatened a trade war, a number of famous high street names, including Toys R Us and Maplin, got into serious trading trouble and upbeat assessments of the US economy from central bankers helped the US dollar to rally, reversing its recent trend. The FTSE 100 fell 0.2 per cent [...]
S&P 500’s 4% fall: How the US stock market has performed after big one day losses February 6, 2018 The US stock market falls this week will have understandably unnerved investors the world over. The S&P 500 fell 4.1 per cent on Monday, the largest one day fall since August 2011, when markets feared contagion from the European sovereign debt crisis. Today, the concerns are less profound and actually stem from a bright economic [...]
Area guide to property in the Royal Docks November 3, 2017 For many Londoners, the only time they’ve ever been to the Royal Docks in east London is when they’re travelling on business from London City Airport. This post-industrial part of town was once a hive of activity, with boats docking from all over the world, but now you’re more likely to find hotel chains and [...]
Britain needs a smart state, not big government, to lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution March 20, 2017 In her first party conference speech as Prime Minister, Theresa May declared it was “time to remember the good that government can do”. Setting out a new approach to the role of the state, she rightly acknowledged that Whitehall doesn’t have all the answers but should instead be a proactive “force for good”. That’s certainly the right [...]