WPP plans to consolidate its back office functions and transition from a holding company structure to a single P&L after reporting a huge 71 pr cent decline in profit.
The company aims to save £500m ($950 million) in gross costs over the next two years as part of strategic plan labelled ‘Elevate 28’.
WPP’s transition to a single company follows market leader Publicis Groupe, which moved into a single P&L structure in 2019 and has been the most profitable large advertising group for several years.
Elevate 28 aims to simplify the business to deliver fully integrated, AI-enabled solutions via WPP Open through four core operating divisions: WPP Media, WPP Creative, WPP Production and WPP Enterprise Solutions.
Notably, the new client services proposition will lead with media and data at the heart of an integrated proposition.
The plan was launched amid a 2025 revenue decline of 8.1 per cent to £13.5 billion and profit slump of 71.2 per cent from £1,325 million to £382 million.
“Today we are unveiling a bold plan for a simpler, more integrated WPP. Our intention is to stabilise the business, return to organic growth, create capacity to invest in the future and deliver attractive returns for our shareholders. WPP will become a single company, streamlined into four operating units across four regions, all unified by our pioneering agentic marketing platform, WPP Open,” WPP global CEO Cindy Rose said.
“Our recent underperformance has been driven by excessive organisational complexity, a lack of an integrated operating model and inconsistent strategic execution. While disappointing, I see huge potential as these issues are all within our power to fix and we’re already making great progress.”
Locally, WPP Media has outperformed other key markets, including the US and UK. B&T understands that since 2021, when Aimee Buchanan took the helm of GroupM (now WPP Media), revenue and billings have grown by mid-to-high single-digit percentages each year.
WPP Media has won the most new business billings in 2024 and 2025 (COMvergence), and its agencies Wavemaker and EssenceMediacom have won the B&T Awards Media Agency of the Year trophy for the past three years.
Regionally, WPP’s 2025 revenue declined in North America by 4.6 per cent (Q4: -7.3 per cent). In the UK revenue dropped 7.6 per cent (Q4: -9.2 per cent), Western Continental Europe 4.7 per cent (Q4: -3.5 per cent) and Rest of World -5.9 per cent (Q4: -7.5 per cent). India increased 3.8 per cent (Q4: +8.6 per cent) offset by a decline in China of 14.3 per cent (Q4: -13.6%).
Central to Rose’s new strategy to be “the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands, helping them navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver growth, while transforming their business in a dynamic, complex environment”.
The plan focuses on stabilising the business in 2026, building momentum in 2027, and delivering “accelerated, high-quality growth” from 2028, which includes £500 million in cost savings.
In 2026, WPP has set a goal of delivering positive net new business and achieving gross run-rate savings of £250 million ($475 million ) by year-end. This is equivalent to around £100m (AUD $190 million) in-year gross savings.
In the December quarter of 2025, WPP Media won Mastercard, Reckitt Benckiser, Henkel, Jaguar Land Rover, the UK Government, Norwegian Cruise Lines and SC Johnson.
“My first six months as CEO have only reinforced my conviction that WPP is an extraordinary company. As our clients navigate uncertainty, AI disruption and macro-volatility, we’re looking ahead with a clear and focused mission: to be the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands in the era of AI,” Rose added.
“We have everything we need to succeed: exceptional talent, world-class capabilities, trusted data and technology solutions and groundbreaking partnerships, as well as the scale and reach to service the most complex multi-national, multi-brand clients in the world. The momentum we are seeing from the decisive action we’ve already taken gives me the confidence that we’re on the right path to creating a WPP that is fit for the future and built to win.”
