Ocado enters FTSE 100, M&S narrowly avoids relegation

Ascendant online supermarket delivery service, Ocado, has secured a position in the FTSE 100, while Marks and Spencer narrowly avoided being dropped.

Ocado’s share price has roughly trebled over the last 12 months, in a strong performance which boosted the group onto the list of the UK’s top 100 companies by market value.

M&S narrowly avoided relegation to the FTSE 250 having held its spot on the more prestigious FTSE 100 since its inception in 1984. Shares in the high street stalwart decreased by 5.5% this year. The group also recently reported a 62.1% drop in pre-tax profit for the year ending March 2018, amid an ongoing store closure programme.

Russ Mould, investment director at investment service company AJ Bell, told the Financial Times: “Ocado has benefited from the shift away from the high street towards online shopping. The company has been positioning itself as more of a technology company than just a grocery delivery service.”