Publicis Groupe rise is defying the downturn

Publicis Groupe, the world's third-biggest advertising company that owns top agencies Saatchi & Saatchi and Starcom MediaVest, today defied the doomsters as global revenues surged but the UK is lagging.

Worldwide revenues shot up 7.6% on a like-for-like basis in the second quarter, faster than the 6.5% first-quarter rise. Across the half year, Europe was the best performer, up 9.1%, but Britain increased only 3%.

France, Germany and Russia enjoyed double-digit increases despite eurozone turmoil. Group profits rose 3.2% to €321 million (£282 million) for the half year.

Chairman Maurice Levy warned there are "some signs of fragility". He has made UK growth a priority.

Bigger US rival Omnicom, owner of Abbott Mead Vickers and DDB, reported a 7.2% increase in second-quarter revenues earlier this week.