Sir Martin Sorrell, the chief executive of WPP, is expected to predict today that 2010 will be a strong year for the group after a more difficult 2009 and announce the acquisition of Team Group in the Middle East.

Sir Martin is expected to say that the World Cup in South Africa, the mid-term congressional elections and the Winter Olympics in Vancouver should make 2010 a better year economically and a good year for advertising.

The group, set to announce strong full-year figures today, is understood to have seen organic growth of about 5 per cent in 2007. Sir Martin is also likely to say that the group is in a better position than it was this time last year.

WPP saw a number of significant new business wins at the tail end of last year which have contributed to growth. The group won accounts from AT&T, worth $2.6 billion, Dell, with billings of $1.5 billion, and GlaxoSmithKline, worth $500 million.

Sir Martin will also announce the acquisition of Team Group, which will give WPP full ownership of an advertising group with about $100 million of revenues.

He is expected to say that 2008 will be a good year for advertising, thanks to events such as the Olympics in Beijing and the US presidential elections, highlighting that WPP businesses have seen little sign of an economic slowdown, despite fears of a global recession.

— Sly Bailey, the chief executive of Trinity Mirror, yesterday said it had seen “signs of a consumer slowdown” in the UK and announced that advertising revenues could fall by about 3 per cent in January and February.

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