Babcock rises to FTSE 100 as Man demoted
HEDGE fund manager Man Group discovered last night that it will lose its coveted spot in the FTSE 100, following the index’s quarterly review.
It will be replaced by services firm Babcock, which owns a variety of defence interests, including Plymouth’s Devonport Shipyard and a contract from the Ministry of Defence to support the development of the next generation of Trident nuclear submarine.
Man Group shares have nearly halved in value since the last review in March after clients withdrew money from the group’s funds as markets were hit hard by the Eurozone crisis.
The index is based on company size by market capitalisation and at the end of last week Man Group was in 156th place, while Babcock was placed at 83rd.
Neither Man Group nor Babcock would comment on the news.
Man Group will be demoted to the FTSE Midcap 250 index, along with a number of other companies that have been promoted from below.
New arrivals include Bank of Georgia Holdings. Irakli Gilauri, the bank’s chief executive, told City A.M. that he was delighted by the decision: “Our inclusion means that we are unique among FTSE banks, not only because of our emerging markets focus but also because of the strength of our balance sheet. This is a major step forward for Bank of Georgia, further increasing the liquidity of our shares and raising our profile.”
Dechra Pharmaceuticals, Anite, John Menzies, NMC Health, Raven Russia, Ted Baker, and Utilico Emerging Markets are also joining the FTSE 250.
Firms demoted to the third level FTSE Small Caps index include Anglo Pacific Group, Exillon Energy, Lamprell, Northgate and Supergroup.
The changes will be come into effect on 18 June.