Sorrell Predicts Difficult 15 Months For UK Economy

WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell has predicted a difficult next 15 months for the UK economy.

Sorrell, speaking at a Royal Television Society event held yesterday evening, also said that “the UK has very serious issues”, with regulation and state intervention making it difficult to start and develop a business.

He added that “In 2009 financial markets will recover as viciously as they have fallen”, followed by a “real world” recovery in 2010.

There is, he argued, an irreversible shift in the balance of economic power to the east, with future growth prospects not significant enough in Western Europe.

Focusing on the media industry, Sorrell pinpointed the increasing importance of mobile internet “It is not just about broadband – it’s about mobility as well. In China and India it’s a cheap way of accessing the internet”.

“There are 650 million mobile subscribers in China, and one and a half times the population of the US are on one operating network,” he added.

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