WPP's Sorrell Set for $53 Million Share Award--Update

By Ed Ballard 

LONDON-- Martin Sorrell, the chief executive of U.K. advertising group WPP PLC, stands to receive shares worth GBP36 million ($53 million) as part his pay package this year, nearly 60% more than he received the previous year.

The amount, which comes in addition to Mr. Sorrell's salary, is the maximum possible in the final year of an executive pay plan that ran from 2010 to 2014.

WPP said the plan is linked to growth in the company's market capitalization and shareholder returns. Last year, Mr. Sorrell received a share award worth GBP22.7 million as part of an overall pay package of worth GBP29.8 million.

The amount of Mr. Sorrell's compensation, which makes him one of the best paid executives in the U.K., has previously riled shareholders and the U.K. public.

Mr. Sorrell, who has turned WPP into one of the world's biggest advertising companies over the past 30 years, has publicly defended his pay as a reward for the company's performance.

In 2012, a majority of WPP shareholders voted against his increase in his pay for 2011, but last year just 28% of shareholders voted against or abstained. The votes on pay were nonbinding.

WPP shares fell nearly 3% in 2014 but are up 16% so far this year.

Write to Ed Ballard at [e-mail]

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