WPP reportedly explores sale of PR arm Burson

WPP has reportedly begun exploring the potential sale of its public relations (PR) arm, Burson, according to a report by The Times, signalling what could be its first major divestment under a sweeping restructuring plan.

The report stated advisors from Goldman Sachs have been engaged to review strategic options for Burson, which may ultimately lead to a sale of the global communications agency.

The move comes as WPP looks to streamline its operations and refocus its business following a period of underperformance. Burson had also recorded a 6% drop in its revenue for the full year of 2025. 

Earlier this year, WPP said Burson faced a challenging environment for client discretionary spending, particularly in Europe. 

Don't miss: Agency agenda: Burson APAC’s HS Chung on resetting culture for the future

Burson was formed in 2024 through the merger of WPP’s two largest communications agencies, BCW and Hill & Knowlton, and currently employs around 6,000 people globally. A potential sale would further reduce WPP’s exposure to the PR sector, following the holdco's earlier divestment of a majority stake in FGS Global to private equity firm KKR.

The review is part of a broader turnaround strategy led by Cindy Rose, who took on the top role of CEO in September. Rose has since outlined plans to simplify WPP’s structure, cut costs and return the business to growth, after acknowledging that recent performance has fallen short of expectations.

This also follows the holdco's decision to place Burson within its WPP Creative umbrella, which also includes VML, Ogilvy, AKQA, Landor, Design Bridge and Partners and more.

As part of its “Elevate28” strategy, WPP is aiming to stabilise the business in the near term before returning to organic growth. The plan includes identifying up to £500 million (SG$ 855 million) in cost savings by 2028, alongside divesting non-core assets.

The company is also restructuring its traditional holding company model, which currently consists of numerous operating units. This will be replaced by a more integrated structure organised into four core divisions: WPP Media, WPP Creative, WPP Production and WPP Enterprise Solutions, spanning key global markets.

WPP declined to comment when MARKETING-INTERACTIVE reached out. 

In other recent WPP-related developments, the network's Japan chief executive officer (CEO), Kyoko Matsushita was appointed as the new CEO of WPP Creative APAC. In a statement, WPP said it was "creating a lean regional leadership team to develop the WPP Creative operating model."

In conversation with Marketing Connected's Agency Agenda podcast earlier this year, Burson's APAC CEO HS Chung, shared her priorities for the PR agency looking ahead in 2026. 

“Before anything else, our priority was really to think like one. Not as two, three, four,” she said in the interview. “It was very important for us to really get the philosophy of why we were coming together before we could even do anything.”

Following the merger that formed Burson, Chung emphasised that integration was not about preserving legacy ways of working, but about creating something entirely new. “Many people tend to wish and believe what they are used to can remain. But the reality is, we’re doing all of this to create a new culture,” she explained.

That mindset shift was critical. Rather than seeing the agency as a continuation of its past, Chung positioned Burson as starting afresh. “We actually consider ourselves about one to two years old. We don’t see ourselves as being the legacy 70-year-old,” she said.

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