‘Sad day for Sir Ken’: Morrisons now a takeover target as it’s booted out of FTSE 100

Keith Loudon, the senior partner at Leeds-based Redmayne-Bentley, said Morrisons’ demotion to the FTSE 250 was a very sad day for Sir Ken Morrison, who is no longer involved in the business on a day to day-basis.

Mr Loudon, who is one of Britain’s longest-serving stockbrokers, said: “Things started to go wrong with the takeover of Safeway, with the takeover badly managed.

“It has then drifted from pillar to post. The company has changed, going from bad to worse. It finds itself in a mature market, with well-managed competitors fighting for the available business.

“The optimists say Morrisons is a ‘takeover target’ or a recovering stock. The market will now see it as highly speculative.”

However, credit provider Provident Financial, which is also based in Bradford, has moved into the FTSE 100 after becoming a player in global markets.

Mr Loudon said: “Provident has not stood still, it has innovated and changed. It is well ahead of the field, with the move into credit cards through its creation of Vanquis Ban and more investors will now be considering Provident.”