Morrisons facing fall from FTSE 100

STRUGGLING Morrisons is facing relegation from the FTSE 100 as the blue-chip index prepares for the latest ‘out with the old and in with the new’ reshuffle.

The Bradford-based grocer is expected to leave the Footsie to make way for the likes of payment processor Worldpay.

Morrisons has been suffering in a price war and because of a change in shopping habits, and its share price has fallen by nearly 20pc since the start of the year. Its former boss Dalton Philips was forced out earlier this year amid flagging sales and fledgling chief executive David Potts ( pictured) is trying to improve its fortunes.

However, the supermarket (down 1.2p to 151.3p) is currently in 111th place by market capitalisation and is expected to be demoted to the FTSE 250 index today.

If the value of a company falls below that of the 110th largest company in the rankings it can be demoted.

A company in the FTSE 250 climbing into the top 90 companies can enter the FTSE 100 during the next reshuffle, which happens every quarter.

Security firm G4S (up 5.1p to 232p) and engineer Meggitt (down 0.7p to 387p) are also expected to be booted out of the Footise. The new guard set for a spot in the blue-chip index includes Worldpay (up 2.75p to 301.75p), which floated in October at 240p a share, lender Provident Financial (up 28p to 3600p) and Irish support services and distribution business DCC (down 15p to 5955p). The final decision will be announced after the market closes today and made effective from the start of trading on Monday, December 21.