Sir Martin Sorrell has hailed booming business at his company as a ‘post-pandemic rebound’ turbocharges the economy.
The 76-year-old’s advertising tycoon’s outfit S4 Capital said in a trading update that sales and profits had surpassed expectations this summer.
The advertising and marketing services firm said it was due to growing momentum in the global economy and the switch towards digital marketing by many businesses, a trend that has been accelerated by the Covid-19 crisis.
On the rise: Sir Martin Sorrell’s outfit S4 Capital said in a trading update that sales and profits had surpassed expectations this summer
Many western countries, including the UK, are easing pandemic restrictions as vaccination rollouts cut hospitalisations and deaths.
S4 also revealed new loans that will be used to refinance its debts and embark on fresh takeovers.
The firm said activity was ‘at unprecedented levels’ in May and June, driven both by the post-pandemic rebound in global output and the acceleration in digital marketing.
S4 is planning to expand into other areas of technology and to offer more services in the Americas and Asia-Pacific region.
Sorrell set up S4 just months after leaving WPP – the firm he turned into the world’s biggest ad agency – in 2018.
The tycoon is aiming to double the company’s size over the next three years. That goal is being aided by the growing shift towards digital advertising models that S4 specialises in.
And Sorrell believes the pandemic has sped up that process, after firms shifted more ads online to target those stuck at home under lockdown. S4 claims that 66 per cent of global advertising spending will be digital by 2024.
In yesterday’s update, S4 said it had agreed a £321million loan with Credit Suisse, HSBC and Barclays, as well as a five-year facility of up to £100million Credit Suisse, HSBC, Barclays, JP Morgan and BNP Paribas.
The money will refinance existing debts worth £109million.
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