Hedge fund becomes first to bet against Sir Martin Sorrell comeback

Hedge fund GLG Partners has become the first to reveal a bet against Sir Martin Sorrell’s S4 Capital, underscoring the challenges faced by the advertising mogul and his comeback venture. At the time, Sir Martin insisted that the reduction in forecasts was “prudent” and based on a judgment that the content division’s predictions were overly optimistic, adding: “How many companies do you know that are growing by 25pc year-on-year?” Shares in S4 have more than halved in the last year, valuing the company at just under £1bn. Last week, Google’s parent company revealed the first ever decline in advertising revenues at its YouTube video streaming service in the latest sign of a slowdown in the global economy. GLG’s bet that S4’s shares will slump goes against the market consensus, with the majority of equity analysts that cover the company giving it a “buy” rating, meaning they expect the share price will recover.