WPP wants to transition from a holding company structure to a ‘simpler, more integrated’ company as part of a programme of changes aimed at delivering £500m in cost savings, the business has said in a strategic plan published today ( 26^th February).

It will consolidate its large network into four operating units – WPP Media, WPP Creative, WPP Production and WPP Enterprise Solutions – across four regions, North America, Latin America, Emea and Apac. It also wants to connect its capabilities using its agentic marketing platform WPP Open.

Chief executive Cindy Rose, who has been in the post since September last year, said the company’s recent underperformance was a result of “excessive organisational complexity, a lack of an integrated operating model and inconsistent strategic execution”.

The company is looking to respond to the existential threat of AI disruption, which is impacting businesses across the advertising and marketing industries.

Rose said: “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.

“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 owns hundreds of agencies globally, including several large networks. In the market research space, the company retains a minority stake in Kantar, with 60% owned by Bain Capital. Other WPP research and data businesses include PSB Insights, Choreograph and Gain Theory.

The first phase of the plan will involve cost savings initiatives starting this year. Cost-cutting will include deduplicating support functions and reducing expenses in real estate and other areas.

A second phase will aim to return to organic growth ‘during the course of 2027’, while in 2028 onwards, the company’s aim is to be ‘a simpler, lower-cost, AI-enabled business’.

WPP is planning to achieve £500m of annual savings by 2028, at an anticipated cost of around £400m over two years.

As part of the move to a simpler model, WPP is establishing a new operating unit bringing together its customer experience, commerce, CRM, content transformation, and technology and data capabilities, which it said would meet demand for ‘enterprise AI transformation’.

WPP said forming a single operating model (WPP Creative) for the company’s agency brands across creative, PR and design, would ‘preserve distinct agency cultures’ but introduce shared operating systems.

WPP’s reported revenue for 2025 was £13,550m, down 8.1%, with a like-for-like decline of 3.6%. Revenue less pass-through costs for the year was down 10.4% (reported) and down 5.4% like-for-like.

The company said it sees competitive advantages in its data and intelligence systems, the integration of media, data, creative and technology, and its global scale and client relationships.