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EasyJet tipped to fly into FTSE 100 this week
Airline to join index of top performing firms - despite public spat between chairman and founder Sir Stelios
BUDGET CARRIER easyJet is tipped to soar into the FTSE 100 index this week, with investors increasingly enthusiastic about the strategy of the airline's chief executive Carolyn McCall.
Under the lead of the former Guardian Media Group boss the group has successfully targeted business passengers as private companies cut back on their travel budgets, reports City AM. When McCall took over in July 2010, shares in the company were valued at just under 400p but closed up 20p at a record high of £10.17 on Friday evening – with the price almost doubling over the last year alone.
A spokesperson for the budget airline told the Daily Telegraph that promotion to the FTSE 100 was the "outcome of the successful delivery of our strategy, but not a target for easyJet".
Despite the strong performance of the stock, the company's success has been marred by a series of public spats between chairman Sir Mike Rake and the airline's founder and majority shareholder Sir Stelios Haji–Ioannou, with the latter attempting to oust Rake in an extraordinary general meeting last year.
Rake is due to stand down from easyJet this summer to avoid any conflict of interest with his chairmanship of BT. ·
