Tony Walford argues that while the largest agency deals may dominate the headlines, it is smaller firms that are generating the greatest volume, competition and momentum in today’s marcomms M&A market. I had the pleasure of being on a panel at The Drum’s Predictions event a couple of weeks ago. I talked about how, last […]
Just last week, Tony Walford, a partner at finance and M&A advisory firm Green Square Associates, told The Drum that “this year will certainly be the year of the indie.” Walford’s not the only one making that prediction – one that’s based on continued struggles for some of the marketing world’s biggest networks and ensuing […]
Watch Green Square partner Tony Walford share his perspective on The Shape of Agencies to Come for The Drum Predictions 2026. As holding companies invest heavily in AI, streamline structures and cut headcount in the race for efficiency, the agency landscape is undergoing fundamental change. With legacy agency brands such as DDB and FCB set […]
WPP’s annus horribilis is ending with another blow – it’s been relegated from the FTSE 100. Green Square’s Barry Dudley draws an unlikely parallel to the comeback story of M&S that might give CEO Cindy Rose hope that it can make a return. You have probably already heard about the staggering drop in WPP’s stock […]
After weeks on a listening tour, Cindy Rose met investors for the first time as CEO with a stinging set of Q3 results, but also a notably steady hand. Greensquare’s Barry Dudley says her delivery signals a new kind of leadership at WPP. But will that be enough? Just two months into her tenure, WPP chief executive […]
Green Square’s Nick Berry explores a creative production sector at a crossroads: legacy giants collapsing under their own weight while independents surge ahead. The question now is whether a new wave of VFX and production talent can seize the moment and redefine the industry’s future. Soon after Technicolor collapsed earlier this year, I wrote in […]
Barry Dudley examines whether the launch of Horizon Global – a joint venture between Havas and Horizon Media Holdings, bringing together $20bn in combined billings and billed as the first AI-era agency network – is a genuine game-changer for media agencies or just glossy boardroom spin. Horizon Global is to be a new entity focused […]
Barry Dudley of Green Square dissects the fledgling talks between S4 Capital and MSQ Partners, exploring strategic fit, the market forces driving the potential deal and what it could mean for Sir Martin Sorrell’s “new-age” marketing group after a turbulent few years. S4 Capital, Sir Martin Sorrell’s ‘new-age’ digital marketing group, has confirmed that it […]
Speculation over the CEO’s future had become an unwanted distraction at a time when the holding company is trying to rebuild around AI and its WPP Media proposition. As WPP exits go, this one was not as shocking as the 10pm Saturday evening bombshell back in 2018 that Sir Martin Sorrell would be stepping down […]
Holding company restructures and redundancies are producing a new wave of indie agencies. It’s only a matter of time until they herald a new era of creativity, says Green Square’s Tony Walford. At the 2025 Predictions event run by The Drum in February, I was asked what I thought the year would bring for the […]