Maurice Saatchi Quits

Maurice Saatchi has today rejected the concessionary offer to remain as chairman of Saatchi and Saatchi Worldwide Advertising, a subsidiary of the Saatchi and Saatchi group. In a letter to company secretary Graham Howell, Saatchi says “Please inform Mr Herro that I do not accept his offer. It was kind of him to consider me for the position.” (see Newsline earlier today).

The letter goes on to say that Saatchi and Saatchi is under the new control of a group of shareholders who own around 30% of the shares and that “they have given the directors their orders: “Take your chairman into a corner and shoot him quickly – we don’t want the fuss of a public trial. “I have watched in dismay as some of our longest client relationships have been jeopardised, the wishes of key clients ignored, and the loss of the business assessed as “a price worth paying.”

“I have listened in despair as the views of leading executives of this company were dismissed as “irritating” and “irrelevant”.

“Yet I look forward to 1995 with great anticipation, because as we have always believed at Saatchi and Saatchi … Nothing is Impossible.”

At 3.00pm, Saatchi and Saatchi’s share price was down 3p at 146p.