SHARE OF THE WEEK: Marks & Spencer rejoining FTSE 100
Marks & Spencer returns to the FTSE 100 next week after a four-year absence.
It is the latest sign that the High Street favourite has regained its momentum.
Shares in M&S will rejoin the blue chip index on Monday, having gained nearly 80 per cent this year, with a market value of £4.3 billion.
The return to the Footsie, after being removed from it for the first time in September 2019, reflects an eagerly-awaited recovery under the leadership of chairman Archie Norman.
M&S’s revival stands in stark contrast to the challenges faced by John Lewis, which reported half-year losses of £59 million this week and warned that its own turnaround will take two years longer than expected.
John Lewis chairman Dame Sharon White stated that her turnaround plan, launched in 2020, will not be fully completed until 2027-28.
M&S co-chief executives Stuart Machin and Katie Bickerstaffe presented their blueprint for overhauling the company in May of last year, building on the progress made by former CEO Steve Rowe.
Their plans received a major boost last month when the company released an unscheduled trading update, revealing an 11 per cent increase in food sales and over 6 per cent growth in its clothing and home division.
These positive results led M&S to raise its profit forecasts, resulting in numerous upgrades from analysts in the City.
M&S was one of the original members of the FTSE 100 when it was established in 1984, a century after the company was founded by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in Leeds.
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