(Bloomberg) — LondonMetric Property Plc will join the FTSE 100 Index in a reshuffle that pushes Ocado Group Plc out of Britain’s blue-chip gauge for the first time in six years.
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With a market capitalization of £4.2 billion ($5.4 billion), LondonMetric joins cybersecurity firm Darktrace Plc and homebuilder Vistry Group Plc in being promoted to the benchmark, index compiler FTSE Russell said Wednesday.
Online grocer Ocado is dropping down to the FTSE 250 Index of midcap stocks, along with wealth manager St. James’s Place Plc and electronic-components maker RS Group Plc. The changes are based on market capitalizations of companies at the close of trading Tuesday, and will take effect on June 24.
LondonMetric shares have gained 7.3% this year, while its market capitalization roughly doubled in the wake of March’s £1.9 billion takeover of rival UK landlord LXI REIT Plc, putting it in line for promotion to the FTSE 100. The London-based company this week reported a 20% increase in profit and boosted its dividend.
Vistry Group’s ascent to the blue-chip gauge follows a 40% rise in its shares this year as the homebuilder benefits from signs of recovery in the UK housing market.
Darktrace returns to the FTSE 100 having previously exited the index near the end of 2021, though its stay may be a short one. The company last month agreed to sell itself to Thoma Bravo for an equity value of about $5.32 billion after prior talks with the private equity firm broke down in 2022.
Ocado, meanwhile, is dropping out of the index it joined in 2018. While its grocery sales have recently grown faster than some supermarket peers, investors have been disappointed by a lack of new contract wins for its automated warehouse business. The stock is down 52% year-to-date.
RS Group, formerly known as Electrocomponents, exits the blue-chip index after narrowly averting demotion in the recent past. Worries that the company is facing tough trading conditions following a drop in sales have pushed its shares down 15% this year.
Inclusion in the FTSE 100 may lead to so-called tracker funds buying a stock to adjust their holdings, in line with the benchmark’s allocations.
–With assistance from Michael Msika and Kit Rees.
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