Burberry booted out of FTSE 100 as Hiscox joins blue-chip index

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Iconic luxury fashion brand Burberry (BRBY.L) is getting kicked out of the FTSE 100 (^FTSE), while insurer Hiscox (HSX.L) will be added to the UK's blue-chip index.

Hiscox's promotion has made room for computer maker Raspberry Pi (RPI.L) to join the FTSE 250 (^FTMC) in the reshuffle, which was confirmed on Wednesday and will take effect from the start of trading on Monday 23 September.

The indices are reshuffled by provider FTSE Russell every quarter according to market cap data from the end of the previous month.

Burberry shares have plummeted 55% year-to-date, resulting a market capitalisation of £2.3bn ($3bn). This marks an end to its 15 years on the FTSE 100, after a challenging year for the brand.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "A general slowdown in demand for luxury goods has weighed on the sector, especially from Chinese consumers, who have been conspicuous by their absence."

Burberry reported a 23% fall in sales in the Asia-Pacific region in its first quarter as part of the trading update that was brought forward, with chair Gerry Murphy saying that weakness the company had highlighted coming into its 2025 fiscal year had deepened. He said that Burberry expected to post an operating loss for the first half if this trend persisted.

And the bad news for investors didn't stop there, as Burberry decided to suspended dividend payments for the 2025 fiscal year.

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In addition, it was announced that Joshua Schulman had been appointed as fashion house's CEO and executive director, replacing Jonathan Akeroyd who stepped down and left the company “with immediate effect.”

Airline EasyJet (EZJ.L) was also on the list as another stock expected to exit the FTSE 100 but an uptick in its shares has helped it narrowly avoid being relegated. Shares were up 1.4% over the past five days, giving it a market value of £3.7bn, though year-to-date the stock is down nearly 5%.

EasyJet announced that it is partnering with US start-up JetZero to develop a blended-wing body aircraft for commercial flights that they claim is expected to lower fuel burn by 50%.

Meanwhile, Hiscox shares are up more than 13% year-to-date, taking its market capitalisation to £4.06bn.

The insurer reported an increase of 7.1% in profits before tax to $283.5m for the first half of 2024, in results released in August. The company also said written premiums on insurance contracts, which refers to the total amount customers have to pay for coverage, had grown 3.3% to $2.8bn.