British Land Co. lost its blue-chip status after more than two decades in the FTSE 100 index as soaring interest rates roil the UK commercial property market.
(Bloomberg) — British Land Co. lost its blue-chip status after more than two decades in the FTSE 100 index as soaring interest rates roil the UK commercial property market.
The firm, whose City of London tenants include UBS Group AG and TP ICAP Group Plc, will be demoted to the FTSE 250 index and replaced by engineering company IMI Plc, according to a statement from London Stock Exchange Group Plc’s FTSE Russell unit.
Shares in British Land have fallen 35% over the past year, reducing the group’s market value to £3.2 billion ($3.9 billion), down from a peak of £9 billion in 2015. The stock first entered the FTSE 100 in 1997 before exiting the following year, only to rejoin the benchmark in 2001, according to FTSE Russell data.
The changes are based on the market capitalization of companies at the close of trading on Tuesday and will be effective as of June 19.
With the real estate industry being debt-laden due to its dependency on mortgages, the highest UK interest rates since 2008 are weighing on the country’s property firms.
For British Land, demotion from the FTSE 100 may lead to so-called tracker funds selling the shares to adjust their holdings in line with the benchmark’s allocations. According to FTSE Russell’s guidelines, any stock that falls to 111th position or below is automatically removed from the index, while any that rank 90th or above are added.
The reshuffle may provide some relief for investors in Ocado Group Plc, which avoided relegation. Indicative results from FTSE Russell last week estimated that Ocado would drop out of the index.
(Updates to add FTSE Russell changes.)
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