Games Workshop looks set to have won promotion to the FTSE 100 as it cashes in on the success of its fantasy miniatures brand Warhammer.
The company was valued at £4.7billion at the close of trading last night, having seen its shares soar 43 per cent this year and 2500 per cent over the past decade.
That put it on course for promotion to the UK’s blue-chip share index for the first time since it was set up in 1975 by friends John Peake, Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson.
Having started out making wooden boardgames, it began importing Dungeons and Dragons from the US before developing its own miniature wargames such as Warhammer.
The stock lit up the City last month with a bumper set of figures that have now propelled it into the FTSE 100 giants of British business from AstraZeneca (up 2.2 per cent, or 236p, to 10790p) and Shell (up 1.7 per cent, or 42p, to 2556p) to Barclays (up 0.7 per cent, or 1.75p, to 264.6p) and Marks & Spencer (up 3.5 per cent, or 13.7p, to 400.2p).
The promotion came despite shares slipping 0.5 per cent, or 70p, to 14150p yesterday.
On the charge: Games Workshop began importing Dungeons and Dragons from the US before developing its own miniature wargames such as Warhammer (pictured)
Also winning promotion after a strong run look to be investment trust Alliance Witan (flat at 1286p yesterday) and money manager St James’s Place (off 0.7 per cent, or 6.5p, to 897p).
They are set to replace troubled housebuilder Vistry Group (off 0.4 per cent, or 2.5p, to 628p), Mike Ashley’s retail empire Frasers Group (up 1.4 per cent, or 10p, to 751p) and B&M European Value Retail (up 2 per cent, or 6.9p, to 344.7p) which appear destined for relegation into the FTSE 250.
The latest quarterly reshuffle will be based on last night’s closing prices but only confirmed today with the changes taking place later in the month.
On the wider market, the FTSE 100 rose for a fifth session in a row, up 0.6 per cent, or 46.52 points, to 8359.41, in its longest winning streak since August. The FTSE 250 advanced 0.6 per cent, or 123.69 points, to 20892.74.
A rising oil price helped energy stocks, with Centrica up 3 per cent, or 3.8p, to 130p, BP ahead by 1.8 per cent, or 7p, to 387.6p and Shell also gaining – see before – while miners were boosted by a recovery in copper prices: Antofagasta gaining 2.2 per cent, or 37p, to 1752p, Glencore adding 1.3 per cent, or 4.95p, to 382p, Rio Tinto rising 1 per cent, or 50p, to 5020p and Anglo American inching up 0.3 per cent, or 8.5p, to 2571p.
EasyJet rose 3.3 per cent, or 18p, to an eight-month high of 564.8p after upgrades from UBS, Peel Hunt, Morgan Stanley and Barclays.
British Airways owner IAG was also flying high, up 1 per cent, or 2.6p, to 264.4p. The stock has gained almost 70 per cent this year to stand at its highest level since March 2020 when it was in free-fall as Covid-19 grounded planes all over the world.
Another stand-out performer so far this year is Rolls-Royce, and its shares rose 3.2 per cent, or 18.4p, to a record high of 591.4p, giving it a value of £50.1billion.
The shares have almost doubled this year and are up more than sixfold since ‘Turbo’ Tufan Erginbilgic took over at the start of 2023.
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