B&M Joins FTSE 100 with a Market Value of £4.75bn

Discount Retailer B&M is to enter the FTSE 100 for the first time after almost doubling its share price since lockdown. The company now valued at a staggering £4.75bn, is one of the UK’s most valuable public companies.

Based in Liverpool, the company has 650 B&M Bargains and 275 Heron Food stores in the UK and Ireland, as well as 90 Babou discount stores in France.

The first store, Billington & Mayman, opened in Cleveleys in 1978. The chain was acquired by brothers Simon and Bobby Arora in 2004 and the business grew quickly, taking over former Kwik Save and Woolworths sites and benefitting from a boom in the appeal of discount retailers.

The group floated in 2014, with a market value of £2.7bn. Although the market dip in the lead-up to lockdown pulled B&M’s value back down to that level, its shares have since soared to record levels.

Its move into the FTSE, following the usual quarterly review, has seen it replace broadcaster ITV, which has lost 60% of its value this year, accelerating a downward trend that stretches back over five years.

Source: Insight DIY Team

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