MR Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP, the world's largest advertising and marketing group, is on course to receive one of the biggest bonuses ever awarded to a British executive.

Today WPP announces its results for 1996, with pre tax profits racing ahead by 35 per cent to a record £153.3 million sterling on a turnover of, £7.1 billion.

The results mean Mr Sorrell is in course to receive share options forth a total of £28 million, possibly by this time, next year.

In Ireland, WPP owns the Wilcon Hartnell group and has a 25 per cent stake in the DDFH&B advertising agency. Mr Sorrell is due to visit Dublin today.

The WPP profits figure was slightly better than City expectations and should ensure that the chief executive bags the third of four tranches of shares, earmarked for him in 1995, within the next couple of months.

For that to happen, WPP's share price has to stay above 265p for a minimum of 60 consecutive days.

At last night's close, the share price was 267p, valuing the company at £1.979 billion sterling.

When he negotiated the incentive clauses contract in 1995, one small investor in the company dubbed it "greed on a truly heroic, scale".

In 1995, WPP's market value was around £800 million. To qualify for the full amount of shares, Mr Sorrell will have had to raise the group's value to more than £2.2 billion, a task which the City thought almost impossible.