Sorrell sets sights on Club Card company as WPP empire grows March 17, 2015 ADVERTISING firm WPP confirmed yesterday that it would be submitting a bid to buy a majority stake in data analysis company Dunnhumby. Chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell confirmed WPP’s intention to take the consumer insight firm off Tesco’s hands at the Deloitte Media and Telecoms conference. Sorrell is said to be interested in Dunnhumby as [...]
Tesco share price slides as Sir Martin Sorrell confirms WPP’s Dunnhumby interest March 17, 2015 Sir Martin Sorrell, the boss of the world’s largest advertising group WPP, has confirmed the company is interested in buying Tesco’s data arm Dunnhumby. Speaking at the Media & Telecoms conference in London, Sorrell said he was interested in the business behind the supermarket’s Clubcard loyalty scheme which was essentially put up for sale in [...]
Pay deals high on agenda ahead of AGM season – Editor’s Letter March 16, 2015 When it comes to the furore over directors’ pay deals, it is often hard to determine whether a board has acted correctly or not in agreeing a remuneration package. There are many factors involved in recruiting and then retaining key personnel and sometimes what looks like a sensible idea, such as paying for an executives’ [...]
Investors sharpen their knives ahead of the meeting season March 16, 2015 As Britain’s biggest companies prepare to meet their shareholders, should directors be nervous? Adam Hignett reports. IN 2012, WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell found himself classed as the most high-profile victim of the so-called shareholder spring, despite his remuneration being a “modest” £6.8m. Since then though, it has ballooned to £36m. In terms of performance, Sorrell [...]
FTSE boosted by miners on good Chinese figures – London Report March 16, 2015 BRITAIN’S top share index rebounded yesterday after its biggest weekly drop of 2015, with mining stocks boosting the market on expectations of steady economic growth in China, the world’s biggest metals consumer. The FTSE 100 closed 0.9 per cent higher at 6,804.08 points after dropping 2.5 per cent last week in what was its biggest [...]
Tesco share price spikes as Dunnhumby sale speculation mounts March 16, 2015 Tesco shares spiked four per cent in afternoon trading amid mounting speculation of a potential sale of its lucrative data business Dunnhumby. A deal, which could be worth as much as £2bn to the supermarket according to analysts, is moving ahead, with WPP and a host of private equity firms vying for the data company [...]
Sir Martin Sorrell in line for record £36m pay packet after 2014 success March 16, 2015 WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell is facing the prospect of a further shareholder revolt this summer with his remuneration for 2014 set to be £36m. Sorrell has fought several bruising battles with shareholders over the size of his pay packages in recent years, culminating with a heavy defeat in 2012. None of the recent [...]
Tesco’s Dunnhumby: Is Sir Martin Sorrell’s WPP about to take a stake in the supermarket’s data business? March 15, 2015 Tesco could be about to sell off a majority stake in its data arm that was responsible for creating the Tesco Clubcard loyalty scheme. The world’s largest advertising firm, Sir Martin Sorrell’s WPP, has made an offer for Tesco's Dunnhumby, Bloomberg reports. Tesco brought in Goldman Sachs in January to explore options for Dunnhumby as [...]
WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell slams critics of his pay deals March 9, 2015 WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell hit back at criticism that his remuneration was excessive yesterday, saying that if you personally risked investing in and building a business from scratch to the global leadership position in its sector it would be only natural to be rewarded for it Sorrell, who saw off a shareholder revolt over [...]
Property shares weigh on FTSE due to bond rise – London Report March 9, 2015 Britain’s top share index yesterday extended its retreat from record highs, pulled down by property shares as a rise in gilt yields eroded the appeal of interest rate-sensitive stocks. The blue chip FTSE 100 index closed down 0.5 per cent at 6,876.47 points, extending Friday’s decline and pushing the FTSE further away from a record [...]