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The latest quarterly reshuffle of the FTSE 100 has seen Computacenter, Investec and Aberdeen promoted to the top-tier index of the City’s most valuable companies, bringing a constituent with some direct exposure to the artificial intelligence boom to the City’s most famous benchmark.
Computacenter’s rise from the FTSE 250 to blue-chip status looks somewhat like a landmark for UK stocks. London-listed firms have struggled to find a role in the drama of the AI revolution, which has starred big-names from the US with blockbuster trillion-dollar valuations.
Based in Hatfield in Hertfordshire, Computacenter specialises in the hardware that runs data centres, from cooling equipment to cabling Its market value prior to promotion was around £4.7bn. Its client list has featured Elon Musk’s xAI, part of the tycoon’s SpaceX, which is preparing for its own, linked with a valuation toward $1 trillion.
In April, the firm said it expected to “deliver a much stronger performance” than originally expected, with pre-tax profit tipped to come well ahead of market expectations of £291m.
The firm pointed to the upgrade coming as customers ordered more IT products further in advance to bulk up on supply as hardware component shortages hit the IT industry.
More finance for the FTSE 100
The other promoted stocks play to the City’s more traditional strengths, in finance. Wealth manager Aberdeen has been boosted by strong inflow into its funds. Investec’s pivot toward being a full-service bank for high-net-worth individuals has powered its rise.
The South African-based lender’s is set to boost its banking presence in London, as it seeks out wealthy clients for what will become a ‘full service primary bank”.
The trio relegated are among those exposed to the UK’s sluggish housing market: Rightmove, the property portal, housebuilder Berkeley and packaging firm Mondi.
Housebuilders have faced a rocky period in the last quarter with analysts branding it “rock bottom” for the sector.
Berkeley said it would halt land buying entirely in April in order to insulate itself from an “unprecedented increase in cost and regulation”. The move prompted its share price to sink near double digits in a single session.
The FTSE 100 is made up of the biggest firms ranked by market capitalisation, or the total value of their shares outstanding on the market.
