M&C Saatchi looks sharp after pound's plunge and Hillary Clinton campaigns

A boost from the post-Brexit weaker pound and work with Hillary Clinton helped to soften the blow of losing a lucrative contract with Transport for London, M&C Saatchi has said.

Chief executive David Kershaw revealed that UK revenue dropped 1% in six months to June 30 after the advertising agency lost work with Direct Line Insurance and TfL.

It had worked with the latter for more than a decade, including creating campaigns to raise awareness of sexual harassment on the Tube.

Despite the “two quite big hits”, he was upbeat and said total sales surged 15% to £100.2 million. Pre-tax profit increased 19% to £11.4 million.

The firm was helped by a strong performance in the US where it is creating ads for one of presidential candidate Clinton’s political action committees.