WPP bosses spent over £260,000 snapping up shares in the ad giant on the cheap after the stock crashed to a 28-year low.
The shares fell 10 per cent to 246p in early trading yesterday – the lowest level since 1998 – after a strategy update from new boss Cindy Rose received a thumbs-down.
But shortly after the stock tanked, Rose took advantage of the discount, buying 50,000 shares for £134,500 or 269p a pop.
She was joined by WPP chairman and ex-BT boss Philip Jansen, who snapped up 50,000 shares at 255p, paying £127,500.
Their £262,000 investment proved prudent as the shares rallied to close up 4.2 per cent, or 11.5p, at 283.9p.
It came after Rose unveiled plans to slash costs by £500million in a radical shake-up designed to stem losses and steal back market share from rivals.
Vote of confidence: WPP boss Cindy Rose, pictured, snapped up 50,000 shares for £134,500 after the price tumbled 10% to 246p in early trading
In a long-awaited update, Rose said WPP would merge its empire into four divisions while offloading some businesses to alleviate ‘excessive organisational complexity’.
The former Microsoft executive, who took over in September, said performance was ‘just not where it needs to be’ and what had made WPP successful ‘will not make us successful in the future’.
WPP did not say if the strategy would involve job losses. It cut around 7,000 staff in August.
‘We have identified assets that we don’t necessarily feel we are the best owners for in the long term. We have started a formal process to explore the options available to us,’ Rose added.
WPP delivered gloomy results, with pre-tax profits slumping 26 per cent to £1.1billion in 2025 as revenues dropped 8 per cent to £13.6billion.
While Rose said it had made improvements so far in 2026 with new business wins, sales were still expected to fall by ‘mid-to-high single digits’ in the first half.
Matthew Bloxham, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said the plan ‘doesn’t go far enough’ to address concerns and said the underperformance was ‘testing shareholders’ patience’.
The muted reaction will pile more pressure on the business as it battles to increase its artificial intelligence capabilities and win back momentum from rivals including French group Publicis.
WPP pointed to contract wins including with the UK Government, Jaguar Land Rover, Reckitt, Pizza Hut and Major League Soccer.
Rose said: ‘My first six months have reinforced my conviction that WPP is an extraordinary company.’
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