Open Letter to WPP plc: Give Scangroup Back to Bharat Thakrar & To Us
Why 99% of independent Kenyan retail shareholders just voted "No Confidence" in WPP's absentee management.
AN OPEN LETTER TO WPP PLC FROM THE MINORITY SHAREHOLDERS OF WPP SCANGROUP
Date: June 9, 2026
To: The Board of Directors, WPP plc, London
Cc: The Board of Directors, WPP Scangroup PLC, Nairobi
RE: A DEMAND FOR ACCOUNTABILITY, CORPORATE RESPECT, AND AN HONORABLE EXIT FROM KENYA
We, the minority and retail shareholders of WPP Scangroup PLC, write this open letter following the events of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on June 8, 2026.
While you successfully used your 56.26% majority voting block (243.1 million shares) to crush the resolutions brought forward by the minority, the arithmetic was never the point. The point is that more than 99% of independent, ordinary Kenyan investors voted “No Confidence” in the current board. By overriding a near-unanimous domestic mandate, you have made a public statement that the voices of the people who capitalised this market do not matter to you.
1. The KSh 1.2 Billion Cash Siphon: A Clear Signal of Exit
As shareholders, we can read the writing on the wall. Historically, Scangroup maintained its significant liquidity with local Tier-1 commercial banks, supporting the Kenyan financial ecosystem while earning competitive commercial returns.
Today, a loss-making subsidiary has lent KSh 1.2 billion—which represents a staggering 56% of the KSh 2 billion cash left in Scangroup’s reserves—directly to you, the parent company, at a meagre 5% per annum.
This is not a strategic treasury management decision; it is a clear case of a majority shareholder siphoning a portion of what is left of Scangroup’s cash to shore up liquidity in London. To us, this is the ultimate signal: You do not see a future in this subsidiary. If you are draining the remaining cash from Kenya while our retail investors receive zero dividends and watch KSh 3.1 billion evaporate in trading losses, your real interest in this company has ceased to be aligned with value creation.
2. Corporate Governance is Not “Absentee Management”
It is bad manners and a gross violation of corporate etiquette to preside over the systematic destruction of value in a listed company and then fail to show up face-to-face to answer to the owners of the capital.
There is a profound Kikuyu proverb that perfectly captures this structural failure:
“Ĩrĩ gũthua ndongoria, itikinyagira nyeki.” > (When the lead sheep limps, the rest of the herd cannot reach the grazing fields.)
By managing this company via proxy and locking yourself in boardroom towers in London while ignoring local dynamics, the leadership has limped, and the entire herd has suffered. You have overseen a 62% drop in share price, the exit from key regional markets like South Africa, Nigeria, and Tanzania, and the loss of cornerstone anchor clients including KCB, Equity Bank, NCBA, and Airtel Africa. The lead sheep has failed, and Kenyan investors are paying the price.
3. Absolute Disrespect: The No-Show Nominated Directors
To add insult to injury, your three newly nominated directors—Ms. Kagiso Musi, Mr. Nick Douglas, and Mr. Manuel Segimon—did not even care to attend the AGM for their own introduction. This is a shocking display of arrogance.
If these nominees cannot find the time or respect to stand before the shareholders who own this company on day one, how are they going to effectively work in Kenya? How will they manage relations with local staff, engage with regulatory bodies, rebuild trust with top-tier corporate customers, or negotiate with vital suppliers whom they have already shown absolute contempt for? You cannot steer a complex East African enterprise through total absenteeism and structural apathy.
4. An Honorable Proposal: Return the Company to us
We are not blind to global macroeconomic trends. We read the news and see your recent global financial struggles—the multi-million-pound net losses, the structural deficits under your Elevate28 restructuring, and the market downgrades. We genuinely feel sorry for your global financial problems, and as fellow market participants, we wish you well in resolving them.
However, your domestic problems in London should not be solved by destroying the value of Kenyan retirement funds and retail portfolios.
Since it is clear from the KSh 1.2 billion cash transfer that WPP plc is no longer interested in building a future in Kenya, we ask you to do the honorable thing: Pack your bags, leave honorably, and return the company to its founder, Bharat Thakrar. Bharat has shown us how to fight for this company, and he has the local trust, the legacy, and the vision to salvage what is left. Under his stewardship, the independent shareholders felt protected; under your majority block, we feel plundered.
If the promise of the public market to ordinary investors is to mean anything, accountability must be enforced. We stand firmly behind Bharat Thakrar, and we demand that you return the steering wheel to someone who actually wants to drive the vehicle, rather than stripping it for parts.
Yours Sincerely,
The Independent & Retail Shareholders of WPP Scangroup PLC (Representing the 99% Voice for Change)
