History
The company was founded as Wire and Plastic Products plc to manufacture wire shopping baskets in 1971. In 1985 Martin Sorrell and Preston Rabl,[7] searching for a listed company through which to build a worldwide marketing services company, bought a controlling stake.[8][9]
In 1986, WPP became the parent company of Picquotware, a manufacturer of teapots and jugs, based in Northampton. In November 1987 a fire destroyed the Northampton factory, so production was restarted at Burntwood in Staffordshire. On 25 November 2004 WPP closed the Burntwood factory, and stopped manufacturing Picquotware; all assets were sold on 14 December 2004.[10]
In the 1980s, WPP began its strategy of growth via acquisitions.[11] In later years, WPP regularly acquired dozens of companies annually.[11] In January 1987, the company acquired Scott Stern Associates, at the time Scotland's largest design and advertising company.[12] In the same year (1987), the company acquired J. Walter Thompson (including JWT, Hill & Knowlton, and MRB Group) for $566m.[8] The company was listed on the NASDAQ in 1988 (and later switched its secondary listing to the NYSE).[13] In 1989, it acquired Ogilvy Group for $864m.[8]
In 1989, WPP sold the JWT Tokyo office building to help pay for its J. Walter Thompson acquisition. Before purchasing the company, Martin Sorrell had reportedly identified that JWT owned its Tokyo office, rather than leasing it, and it was undervalued in the company's accounts.[14][15] The building was sold two years after the acquisition and at the peak of the Japanese property market for a record $205 million, offsetting more than a third of the $566m company acquisition cost.[16]
WPP's acquisitions continued into the 1990s, when WPP bought firms in the healthcare advertising, digital marketing, online shopping, digital media, data management, retail and corporate consultancy, and sports marketing industries. This included the 1999 acquisition of Lambie-Nairn.[11] In 1998, WPP formed an alliance with Asatsu-DK Inc. of Japan.[8]
In May 2000, WPP agreed to acquire the United States–based Young & Rubicam Group for $5.7 billion, in what was at the time the largest ever takeover in the advertising sector.[17] The takeover made WPP the largest advertising company in the world measured by billings and revenue, overtaking Omnicom Group and Interpublic.[17]
In the 2000s, WPP Digital was created to develop the group's digital capabilities.[18] In October 2008, WPP acquired market research firm Taylor Nelson Sofres for £1.6 billion.[19][20] In 2009, WPP reduced its workforce by around 14,000 employees, or 12.3% of its then total staff numbers, due to the Great Recession.[21][22]
In June 2012, WPP agreed to acquire the digital advertising agency AKQA for US$540 million.[23][24] In November 2015, WPP agreed to acquire a majority stake in Essence, a global digital agency.[25]
In November 2016, WPP announced it will be acquiring PEP, LLC, a project management and procurement company that oversees shopper marketing promotions for clients, in the US.[26]
Many of WPP's constituent agencies use Microsoft Windows, and the organisation was among those hit by the 2017 cyberattacks on Ukraine, with some staff's computer access limited to webmail only as much as ten days later.[27][28]
WPP merged Burson-Marsteller with Cohn & Wolfe to become BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe) in February 2018.[29]
In April 2018, Martin Sorrell retired after 33 years, following allegations of personal misconduct and misuse of company assets. Sorrell has denied the allegations.[30] Chairman Roberto Quarta was temporarily named executive chairman.[30] In September 2018, Mark Read, who was the global CEO of Wunderman,[31] was named CEO.[32][33]
In the late 2010s, the advertising industry faced significant challenges. Changes in the industry landscape included financial pressure on global clients, in particular fast-moving consumer goods clients, companies taking work in-house, the ability to directly advertise on tech platforms, and competition with consultancies.[34][35][36] While WPP had previously outperformed other companies in the industry, its growth slowed starting in 2017 and its market value dropped in 2018.[37] Critics said WPP needed to become "nimbler" and "leaner".[34] At the time, many WPP agencies operated mostly independently and competed for accounts.[38][39] In late 2018, Read said the company had grown "unwieldy with too much duplication".[32]
The sale of 60% of the shares in Kantar was completed in December 2019. $1.9bn was used to reduce WPP's debt, and $1.2bn was returned to shareholders.[45][46]
In July 2022, WPP acquired Corebiz, a Latin American ecommerce agency, for an undisclosed amount.[47]
In July 2024, WPP announced the appointment of former BT Group chief Philip Jansen as its chairman succeeding Roberto Quarta.[48] Jansen is set to take over from Quarta as chairman on 1 January 2025.[49]
In December 2024, WPP sold its stake in FGS Global to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts for $767 million.
On 9 June 2025, the company announced Mark Read would step down as chief executive at the end of 2025 once his replacement has been appointed.[50] On 10 July, WPP announced the appointment of Cindy Rose as its new chief executive, who assumed the role on 1 September 2025.[51]
