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SCARY DUO: Sir Martin Sorrell with office dog Ferus at headquarters
Sir Martin Sorrell admits his views on working from home may seem dated. I would prefer if the staff from digital marketing company S4 Capital came more frequently.
But he’s more open to another modern office practice: bringing a pet to work.
His own dog, a red setter called Ferus, wanders amicably around the London headquarters when The Mail on Sunday visits.
“I would prefer that staff bring animals to work three days a week,” Sorrell says. Working from home had its benefits during the pandemic, he adds, but now it is causing “noticeable reductions in productivity.”
Studies may show that people are happier and more productive, but Sorrell says, “I don’t necessarily believe that.” I’m 79 years old, maybe I’m old fashioned. Overall, I’m coming to the conclusion that time out of the office and lack of interpersonal connection is a real problem.’
Sorrell, like his peers in the City, is also familiarizing himself with the plans the Labor government is hatching, with the budget just days away.
He is concerned about plans to affect inheritance tax, capital gains and employers’ national insurance contributions, and that these changes will come at the same time as businesses also face upheaval in the form of a workers’ rights package headed by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.
“The Government is in a hole,” he says, and has to take “pretty drastic measures” to fix public finances. But is imposing more taxes on wealth creators the answer?
“We hear that broader backs will have to carry the load, something I don’t disagree with.” But at some point, tax rates become a disincentive.”
Sorrell remembers a time when the top income tax rate was 83 percent, but “the difference between now and then is that people are much more mobile” and can leave the country more easily, he says.
The changes to non-dom status – a concession for people who are tax resident in the UK but whose main “domicile” is abroad – have already “stimulated some movement”. The rule allows people to avoid paying tax in the UK on income or capital gains earned abroad, but it will be scrapped next spring and the Labor Party has talked about further tightening arrangements that will replace it.
There is also strong speculation that inheritance tax rules will change. Currently, gifts made more than seven years before death are exempt, but this looks set to be extended to ten years.
“I think people will leave, don’t they?” Sorrell says. Increasing wealth taxes will have “very significant consequences, as it will force people to liquidate assets to pay the tax and/or leave the country.” OT who feels a lot of sympathy for prominent businessmen
FERUS: My dog’s name is Latin for wild, because he isn’t!
N who move abroad but continue to comment on UK affairs. Monaco-based Ineos boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir James Dyson come to mind, although he does not name them.
People “who make pronouncements about what should or should not happen in the UK from Monaco, Singapore or wherever else… find it a bit difficult to make those statements”.
Sorrell says he accepts there may be “two or three years of pain and difficult decisions”, as Labor has suggested: “It’s a bit like a company that’s losing money and you have to cut costs to get it back into shape and then there’s land sunny highs afterwards.
But he is concerned that the measures Labor is taking could backfire. He argues that Labour’s workers’ rights package, including first day entitlements for employees, is the party’s “Achilles heel”, saying: “If you combine that with an increase in national insurance contributions , people are going to be even more reluctant to hire people in.’
To boost growth, Sorrell would like to see more incentives for investors, similar to some of the tax breaks and investment zones introduced during the previous Conservative government.
Without a coherent strategy that starts to reap benefits after a couple of years, Labour’s huge majority in the House of Commons could start to look fragile, he says, especially given that electoral quirks meant it came to power with only the 20 percent of the electorate voting for the party.
‘If the Conservatives have a strong leader, who knows what could happen in the next election? Especially if the plan turns out not to be a good long-term plan.’ Who should that leader be: Robert Jenrick or Kemi Badenoch?
“I think Badenoch is a strong leader. She has strong views and I think she is feisty, articulate and tough.’
Sorrell spoke to The Mail on Sunday amid a hectic round of travel that included several stops in the United States, where businesses are anxiously awaiting the next presidential contest.
The business world has its hopes pinned on one candidate, he says, adding: “It’s on the knife’s edge of 50/50.” The stock market says it’s Trump, I think the stock market will fall if Kamala wins.
“Businesses don’t like to say that, but Trump stands for lower taxes and lower regulation.”
The push for Trump, along with falling interest rates, is partly the reason for the current high valuations of the US stock market, he says. This is despite the threat of new import tariffs under the Trump administration, a policy that many, including the International Monetary Fund, believe could stifle growth.
“There’s obviously concern about that and the impact on trade and inflation, but maybe Trump is using that as a negotiating tool.”
Sorrell is best known for turning his former company WPP into the largest player in the advertising industry. After an acrimonious exit in 2018, he started again with S4 Capital, which operates in the growing digital sector and has grown rapidly by absorbing companies such as consultancy Mighty Hive and content producer MediaMonks.
But it has fallen on tough times and recently warned that lower spending by technology customers would hit revenue. The stock has fallen more than 90 percent from its peak three years ago.
He says: ‘We still have challenges in terms of bringing everything together. We are very technology oriented. Technology accounts for 50 per cent of our sales and, although its advertising revenue has been strong, investment in advertising and marketing has been reduced.’
Sorrell had a brush with serious illness last year when he was treated for cancer. Now he’s over it and says, ‘Everything’s fine.’ Everything is clean.
This hasn’t stopped his jet-setting lifestyle, which has recently taken him to the Middle East, California, New York, Detroit and Spain. That’s why his dog Ferus is with him.
“I’ve been traveling, so I haven’t seen him in two weeks,” he says.
What does the name mean?
“It’s Latin for wild, because it’s not,” he laughs.
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