Persimmon steps back among the UK elite
YORKSHIRE housebuilding group Persimmon is being promoted to the prestigious FTSE 100 Index – returning it to the ranks of the UK’s leading companies.
The York company, which was hard hit by the recession but which has recovered strongly, will join the index along with builder’s merchant Travis Perkins.
The promotion of the two firms, which will join the index following the close of trading on June 21, comes on the back of increasing optimism over the property market.
Currently listed as FTSE 250 companies, the pair qualify for the FTSE 100 on the back of data which shows they are among the top 90 companies on the London exchange.
Persimmon, which fell out of the FTSE 100 Index in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis, is now qualified to return having seen its value soar to £3.6bn.
Travis Perkins, which owns DIY chain Wickes, is now worth £3.7bn, and will be making its debut on the list of leading stocks.
Their share values have risen amid an improving housing market said to have been boosted by Government initiatives including The Bank of England’s Funding for Lending scheme, launched last year, which makes cheap credit available to banks providing home loans.
Help to Buy, launched by Chancellor George Osborne in his March Budget, is not due to take full effect until 2014, will provide loans for those struggling to find a deposit and from next year will also offer a mortgage guarantee.
Figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors this week show that the number of homes sold over the past three months reached its highest since January 2010 in May.
Survey data last week shows output from the construction industry rose during May for the first time in seven months.
