FTSE Group, the global index provider, has today confirmed that Whitbread will enter the FTSE 100, after being deleted from the blue chip index a year ago. Making way for the hospitality company is British Energy Group, which will fall out of the FTSE 100 into the FTSE 250.
In the mid cap FTSE 250 index, there will be five new entrants – newly listed companies Ashmore Group, Hochschild Mining and UK Commercial Property Trust; while UK Coal is being promoted from the FTSE Small Cap and Daejan Holdings becomes eligible for the mid cap index.
These new entries mean that Wolfson Microelectronics, Whatman, Photo-Me International, Computacenter and Kensington Group will all leave the FTSE 250 and fall into the FTSE Small Cap index.
Each December the market cap threshold for the bottom of the FTSE All-Share is reviewed. The minimum size for constituents of the FTSE All-Share will be set at £84.5m, with a band of 15 per cent either side for companies being promoted or demoted from the index.
All UK index changes are approved by the independent FTSE Europe, Middle East and Africa Regional Committee, who also assess companies for index eligibility on factors other than market cap such as liquidity, free float and nationality. The purpose of the index review is to ensure the FTSE indices remain an accurate representation of the UK’s investable market capitalisation. The FTSE All-Share Index is used as the basis of many customised benchmarks and pension funds.
