Persimmon and Travis Perkins celebrate promotion to FTSE 100

Housebuilder Persimmon and builders' merchant Travis Perkins will celebrate promotion to London's top 100 share index today amid increasing optimism over the property market.

Currently listed as FTSE 250 companies, the pair qualify for the top flight by virtue of data last night showing they were among the top 90 companies on the exchange.

Persimmon, which slipped out of the FTSE 100 Index in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis, is now eligible to return having seen its value soar to £3.6 billion.

Travis Perkins, which owns DIY chain Wickes, is now worth £3.7 billion, and will be making its debut on the list of leading stocks.

Their share values have risen amid an improving housing market said to have been boosted by Government initiatives.

The Bank of England's Funding for Lending scheme, launched last year, is credited with sparking the mortgage market back to life by making cheap credit available to banks providing home loans.

Help to Buy, launched this year but not due to take full effect until 2014, has also been seen as helping the market. It provides loans for those struggling to find a deposit and from next year will also offer a mortgage guarantee.

Figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors this week show that the number of homes sold over the past three months reached its highest since January 2010 in May.

Survey data last week shows output from the construction industry rose during May for the first time in seven months.

Meanwhile, miners Evraz and Polymetal International look set to drop out of the FTSE 100 having fallen out of the list of the 110 biggest companies, amid uncertainty about demand and wider market movements that have made the sector less attractive to investors.

A final decision on the changes will be announced after the close of the market today and will take effect following the end of trading next week, on June 21.

PA