Hardboy
16 Apr 2018
Re: small drop so far.... Pleased the drop is not more severe. I suppose the market was already valuing WPP negatively with a lot of bad news factored in, so how much lower can it reasonably go? And one of the reasons it was viewed negatively was markets hoped for a change of direction and strategy, this latest news makes that more likely so I am sure some people are viewing this as a positive for the business. It's certainly going to be an interesting story to watch; as will what Martin Sorrell does. He may be 73, but he obviously still has a lot of energy and is used to a high profile life mixing with the higher echelons of business. I can't see him wanting to give that up. Bill: "this marks the end of "Sorrell speak" I shall miss it." In a perverse way so will I. I did quite enjoy his invention of language, but when one is trying to understand a complex announcement I would rather well accepted phrases be used so one can concentrate on the content, rather than the presentation.
Our Haven
16 Apr 2018
Re: small drop so far.... A surprise the drop is so small. Currently not the buying opportunity I was expecting which is pleasing. Guess we will have to look at the trend over the next few days.
gamesinvestor
16 Apr 2018
Re: small drop so far.... "We may even end the day UP..."Well I'll drink to that, and to Sorrell's exit -- let's hope he shuts up his useless Brexit bashing in the process, as he's likely to be less exposed to the UK press .Games - wishful thinking !!
Bill1703
16 Apr 2018
Re: small drop so far.... "... was expecting much worse..."Ultimately a case of "SHOCK NEWS - bloke, well past retirement age, retires... world keeps on turning..."For all his historic success in building the business, the jury is out on whether Sir M has been a help or a hindrance over this past year or two... I guess we will find out over the next year or two.But I think we can surmise which way the Board are on this... it's a shame they needed the rather obvious ruse of the "investigation", rather than just tell him to go. But I suppose that's the point - they probably did, and he wasn't listening. Either way, I would trust the Chairman, he generally knows what he is doing... as do at least some of the other non-execs. We may even end the day UP...
gamesinvestor
16 Apr 2018
small drop so far.... down 2.53%was expecting much worseGames
gamesinvestor
16 Apr 2018
Re: Sorrell Quits There's no doubting the success of WPP over 30 years under Sorrell, but maybe this will be a breath of fresh air for the company, as he has become an odious and overly politicised little chap of late.As another poster put it on here, they won't need to fund such ludicrously high remuneration to one individual. There will also be the prospect of selling divisions to allow some debt reduction, which could be sensible in the face of future and more expensive debt maybe?I guess it's going to drop up to 20% this morning, just like Sage did last week.Games - possibly not one of my better choices here - but heh ho I'm in it now !!
Our Haven
15 Apr 2018
Re: Sorrell Quits I am expecting quite a fall in the morning as the market over does it and then some recovery so I will be looking to time my top up. We will see in the morning.
marktime1231
15 Apr 2018
Re: Sorrell Quits Not having to pay the man £70M would add 5p to eps and help correct the 25% gender pay gap at a stroke. Out of touch? I should say so.
Bill1703
15 Apr 2018
Re: Sorrell Quits Will be interesting indeed - very hard to say how this will play out short term. Wouldn't be surprised if the SP falls, of course - but not even sure this is a given?WPP is Sorrell, of course... and vice versa. Or at least, it has been... as the ad market evolves rapidly, there's been the increasing view that WPP will have to change with it - and probably faster and further than one, relatively elderly individual is willing and able to do. First off, any long-term oriented investor should have been prepared for this, as a "known unknown" - he is 73, has been CEO about 10 times longer than most FTSE 100 heads usually manage, and his departure was always an (exponentially) increasing likelihood the further ahead you look, for whatever reason.There is also the view that this is a corporate-governance "enhancing" move - there was not just the issue of Sir M's lavish rewards, but the apparent lack of succession planning (now confirmed, it would seem), questions over his accountability to the board, and various accusations of treating WPP as his own personal fiefdom (the latest formal investigation being merely a natural extension of the trend).I can't see this having much effect on the ongoing operations of any of the myriad of units. It's a people business, so maybe there are Sorrell loyalists who may jump ship? Possibly, but could also work the other way. I think we can assume that the Sorrell model of diverse acquisition and "horizontal" integration will be affected - but then, the sustainability of this has been increasingly questioned in today's ad world. Ultimately, it makes a break-up of WPP - to some degree - both more likely and sooner than the consensus would have seen it hitherto... it might be this more than anything that the SP concerns itself with from Monday. Is WPP really worth more than the sum of its parts? Or was the sum of its parts only really the artifice of the character and career of its creator... both increasingly backward-looking entities?I think we can safely assume that this marks the end of "Sorrell speak" - but unlike Hardboy, I shall miss it. Whether I should do is perhaps another matter... it probably hasn't always been entirely helpful to the visibility of prospects for the business and its SP, and almost certainly has been self-indulgent to a degree. But as a colourful window into the mind of an undoubted business "giant", in a lamentably monochrome world of bland corporate speak and cagey caveat and conservatism, I have always found it a welcome diversion, both educational and entertaining.
Conchis
15 Apr 2018
Re: Sorrell Quits Could go up if Sorel was perceived as losing his touch.
Hardboy
15 Apr 2018
Re: Sorrell Quits It will be interesting to see how this plays out - expect a big fall on Monday open; but after that we shall see. The image of the company was that WPP was Martin Sorrell, but he obviously had a very capable team around him, so it will be interesting to see how the image of the company changes (I hope some of the Sorrell speak disappears from the reports) and, more importantly, how the fortunes of the business change.
red fox
14 Apr 2018
Re: Sorrell Quits [link] be a buying opportunity on Monday.
jarfurrank
14 Apr 2018
Sorrell Quits BBC reporting Martin Sorrell to stand down!
red fox
09 Apr 2018
Press Reports From Hargreaves Lansdown newspaper summaryInvestors are exploiting turmoil at WPP to push for a break-up of the firm's sprawling global empire, it is claimed. They are said to be calling for bosses to offload Kantar, its £3.5bn market research arm, and use the cash to pay down debt, launch share buybacks and focus on its core businesses. - MailPotential successors to Sir Martin Sorrell, the besieged chief executive of WPP, have been identified in preparations for life after the long-serving boss. Internal candidates have attended board meetings as part of the succession planning and are in contention along with a "constantly refined list of external candidates". - The Times
TX2
04 Apr 2018
Re: Martin Sorrell alleged misconduct "Storm in a teacup"?Perhaps too many Jammy Dodgers....
