Confirmed - Countrywide dropped from FTSE 250 from De...

Countrywide estate agency group is to drop out of the FTSE 250 from the start of trading on December 19.

The news was announced yesterday by FTSE Russell - the independent company presiding over indices and their component companies; Countrywide’s share price fell slightly yesterday to close at 168.9.

The FTSE 250 consists of the 101st to 350th largest companies - the 100 largest are listed in the FTSE 100.

Unlike the 100, the 250 tends to be concentrated more on UK-focussed companies rather than ones earning their income partly or wholly in foreign trade; the 250’s constituent companies therefore reflect the domestic economy’s performance more closely, as well as those of the individual firms themselves.

Every three months FTSE Russell assesses which firms should be in or out of indices based on company valuations. Tracker funds invest billions of pounds in FTSE indices, so promotion or demotion is important for companies.

A statement to Estate Agent Today from the agency group says: "Countrywide is focused on delivering its strategy and growing the business through this challenging market.'

The estate agency group’s well-document share price collapse starts when it was performing strongly in March 2014 at 686.

By November 2015, by which time there had been new management led by chief executive Alison Platt - promising an ongoing modernisation programme including reducing brands and a hybrid sales option for customers - Countrywide’s share price was 414: it had lost a third of its value in 18 months.

Shortly before this year’s EU referendum the share price was down again, this time to 352; a few weeks ago it fell through the psychologically-important 200 mark and is now substantially further down again.