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Sir Martin Sorrell WPP

WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell banks £62.8m from executive share package

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By John Glenday, Reporter

March 16, 2016 | 2 min read

Sir Martin Sorrell, founder and chief executive of WPP, has banked £62.8m over the past five years as part of his share package, the advertising and PR group has confirmed.

The company’s performance based management incentive plan was offered to 15 top executives for the five year period from 2011 to 2015 during which the firms share price rose by 98 per cent.

Tim Bush, head of governance and financial analysis at shareholder advisory group Pirc, said: "Martin Sorrell has a sufficiently large enough shareholding in WPP for him to be incentivised to deliver performance, for all shareholders.

Bush added that, given Sorrell's shareholding, of around 19m shares worth approximately £300m, gives him dividends of £8.5m annually "all of his other remuneration ‘incentives’ are somewhat superfluous".

"Indeed [Sorrell] is at the point in his career, where planning for his succession is critical to the long-term success of the business. It is difficult to determine whether this pay attaches to him or to the job. That does not give clarity on his succession at precisely the time it is needed."

Sorrell’s total share package totalled just £2.47m when the scheme began but is now worth around £300m, generating annual dividends of £8.5m.

Sir Martin Sorrell WPP

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