Martin Sorrell's MediaMonks launches London office opposite WPP's AKQA

Sir Martin Sorrell’s MediaMonks has opened its new London office directly opposite AKQA, the digital agency owned by WPP, the company Sorrell was in charge of less than a year ago.

MediaMonks, bought by Sorrell’s S4 Capital last year after a competitive bid against WPP, is now directly facing AKQA from across the road in St John Street in Clerkenwell.

Twenty-five staff began working from the 5,000-sq-ft building since the move was decided at the end of last year. The building's exterior is currently boarded up but contains a small MediaMonks sign visible from across the road, where AKQA inhabits on St John's Lane. 

The former WPP chief executive launched S4 Capital a month after resigning from WPP in April 2018 amid an internal investigation into his conduct. Sorrell has always denied wrongdoing.

MediaMonks is planning to grow the London team by "around a third" this year. The agency’s previous London office was on Heddon Street, Mayfair, and the business has its headquarters in the Netherlands.

Martin Verdult, MediaMonks’s London managing director, would not be drawn on why the agency had moved its UK operation to opposite AKQA of all places in the capital. 

He told Campaign: "We decided to move to an old Victorian warehouse in Clerkenwell as it’s centrally located in London, well-connected via Farringdon station and has the right London vibe. The office is equipped with an edit suite, brainstorm areas, social spaces and even our own G&T closet." 

In December, Sorrell also swooped to buy MightyHive, a US programmatic marketing services agency, for $150m (£117m). MightyHive’s London office is in Bloomsbury Way, Holborn.