MARKET REPORT: Warhammer leads Games Workshop on FTSE 100

Games Workshop looks set to have gained promotion to the FTSE 100 as it cashes in on the success of its Warhammer fantasy miniatures brand.

The company was valued at £4.7bn at the close of trading last night, having seen its shares soar 43 per cent this year and 2,500 per cent over the last decade.

That put it on track to rise to the UK blue-chip share index for the first time since it was created in 1975 by friends John Peake, Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson.

After starting out making wooden board games, he began importing Dungeons and Dragons from the US before developing his own miniature war games, such as Warhammer.

Shares lit up the City last month with a bumper run of numbers that have now propelled them towards the giants of British FTSE 100 business, from AstraZeneca (up 2.2 per cent, or 236p, to 10,790p) and Shell ( up 1.7 per cent, or 42 pence, to 2,556 pence) to Barclays (up 0.7 per cent, or 1.75 pence, to 264.6p) and Marks & Spencer (up 3.5 per cent, or 13.7p, to 400.2p).

The promotion came despite the shares falling 0.5 per cent, or 70p, to 14,150p yesterday.

Also gaining rise after a strong run were investment fund Alliance Witan (steady at 1,286 pence yesterday) and money manager St James’s Place (up 0.7 per cent, or 6.5 pence, to 897 pence). .

They are set to replace troubled housebuilder Vistry Group (up 0.4 per cent, or 2.5p, at 628p), Mike Ashley’s retail empire Frasers Group (up 1.4 per cent, or 10 pence, to 751 pence) and B&M European Value Retail (up 2 per cent). cent, or 6.9p, to 344.7p) which look set for a drop to the FTSE 250.

The latest quarterly reshuffle will be based on last night’s closing prices, but it was only confirmed today and the changes will take place later in the month.

In the broader market, the FTSE 100 rose for a fifth consecutive session, up 0.6 per cent, or 46.52 points, to 8,359.41, its longest winning streak since August. The FTSE 250 rose 0.6 per cent, or 123.69 points, to 20,892.74.

Rising oil prices helped energy stocks: Centrica rose 3 percent, or 3.8 pence, to 130 pence, BP advanced 1.8 percent, or 7 pence, to 387.6 pence and Shell also gained (see above), while miners were boosted by a recovery. in copper prices: Antofagasta gained 2.2 percent, or 37 pence, to 1,752 pence, Glencore added 1.3 percent, or 4.95 pence, to 382 pence, Rio Tinto rose 1 percent cent, or 50 pence, to 5,020 pence and Anglo American inched up 0.3 per cent, or 8.5p, to 2,571p.

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 nearly 70 percent this year to sit at its highest level since March 2020, when it was in free fall as Covid-19 grounded planes around the world.

Another notable player so far this year is Rolls-Royce, and its shares rose 3.2 per cent, or 18.4 pence, to an all-time high of 591.4 pence, giving it a value of 50.1 billion of pounds sterling.

Shares have nearly doubled this year and have risen more than six-fold since ‘Turbo’ Tufan Erginbilgic took over in early 2023.