WPP set to return to UK after Government changes tax laws

The company currently operates from The Republic of Ireland, where corporation tax is 12.5 per cent, compared to 24 per cent in the UK.

However, WPP says it will now return to the UK following the Government’s announcement that profits from foreign subsidiaries will no longer be potentially subject to tax.

A WPP statement says, ‘[The Government’s decision] will mean that, at least for the life of this Government, there will be no tax cost to the group by returning its headquarters to the United Kingdom from Ireland.’

WPP says this decision has already been approved by the board and now requires shareholders consent at an EGM scheduled for early December.

The move comes as WPP announces its half-year results for 2012, with profits up by 7 per cent and like-for-like revenue up by 3.6 per cent.

WPP says its branding and identity, healthcare and specialist communications businesses had ‘strong’ like-for-like revenue growth of 2.2 per cent.

The group says that a series of ‘maxi-quadrennial’ events in 2012 – the European Football Championships, the London 2012 Olympics and the US presidential elections – should underpin industry growth by at least 1 per cent this year.

However, concerns remain about the Eurozone, Iran and the Middle East, and the growing US fiscal deficit.