Whitbread to move up to the FTSE 100 index
PROPERTY firm Segro, pest-controller Rentokil and leisure group Whitbread are all set to move up to the FTSE 100 following the index’s quarterly reshuffle.
Based on last night’s closing prices the mid-cap players will be promoted to replace F&C Investment Trust, water and sewerage group Pennon and engineer Balfour Beatty, which will all be demoted to the FTSE 250.
Coffee chain and hotel group Whitbread was only a late contender for the journey up to the benchmark index, but its market value was given a boost after it issued an encouraging trading statement to the market on Monday. Its shares rose 18 per cent on the day.
The quarterly rejig of the FTSE indexes ensures that they are representative of market movements. Companies outside the FTSE 100 that grow to rank among the 90 largest by market capitalisation are promoted, while the FTSE 100 firms with the lowest value, or that fall to 111th spot or below, drop into the FTSE 250.
Index compiler FTSE will announce the changes to the FTSE UK index series after the market closes today and they will be implemented on 21 September.