WPP plc

WPP began life as a maker of wire shopping baskets. Today it is a world leader in communications, experience, commerce and technology.

In 1985 Sir Martin Sorrell took a controlling stake in a small UK manufacturer of wire baskets and teapots called Wire and Plastic Products, as the foundation on which to build an international advertising and marketing services group. The company was renamed simply “WPP”, with Sir Martin as its Chief Executive.

WPP grew rapidly over the following three decades, initially through large acquisitions and subsequently through organic growth alongside smaller-scale M&A.

Today WPP is a world leader in communications, experience, commerce and technology, and home to many of the industry’s most admired and successful agency networks.

WPP was also the first marketing services company to publish a sustainability report (in 2002), and remains a leader in the field as a member of the FTSE4Good Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.