Grey in pursuit of pounds 50m Alfa Romeo.(Grey Worldwide seeks ad account)(Brief Article)

WPP's Red Cell network is on alert following news that one of its key international clients, Alfa Romeo, has opened talks with Grey Worldwide over its estimated pounds 50 million pan-European creative account.

Alfa, a division of Fiat Auto, is said to be considering moving the account into Grey after problems with its Red Cell relationship. Alfa is one of Red Cell's two key clients along with Singapore Airlines. It spends pounds 10 million in the UK.

Talks in Italy between Alfa and Grey are said to be well underway. Grey is thought to appeal to Alfa because of its strong network credentials.

Grey is Skoda's agency in European markets outside the UK but its hold on the account was weakened last year when it lost a pitch for a new pan-European car launch.

The loss of Alfa would be a serious blow to Red Cell, which was launched by Sir Martin Sorrell, the WPP group chief executive, as Conquest specifically to handle the Alfa account in 1988. J. Walter Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather, WPP's two networks at the time, had conflict with its Ford business.

However, the relationship over the past few months is said to have deteriorated with Red Cell struggling to create a strong network. It is ...