FT 30


The FT 30 is a now rarely used index that is similar to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. As an index of stocks to represent the real trends on the market, the FT 30 has been superseded by the FTSE 100, which was introduced in 1984.

Background

The purpose of the FT 30 was to give a selection of stocks, which capture the range and essence of UK companies. The index was devised in 1935 by Maurice Green and Otto Clarke of the Financial News and was termed the "Financial News 30-share index" until that paper merged with the Financial Times in 1945. The companies listed in the index are made up of those in the industrial and commercial sectors. It excludes government stocks, and used to exclude financial sector.
The FT 30 index was calculated using the geometric mean.
As Rowley states, this had the effect of understating movements in the index compared to using the arithmetic mean; and there are circumstances where this is undesirable.

List of FT 30 companies

NameEntryExitEst.DescriptionWebsite
Associated Portland Cement193520011900Originally an amalgamation of 24 cement companies. Became Blue Circle, and bought by Lafarge in 2001.
Austin Motor193519471905
Bass Brewery193519471777
Bolsover Colliery193519471899
Callenders Cables & Construction193519471850Merged with British Insulated Cables to become British Insulated Callender's Cables in 1945. Parts sold off to Corning, power cables to General Cable Corporation, Pirelli and Balfour Beatty
Coats plc193519591755Thread and consumer textiles and crafts.
Courtaulds193519981794
Distillers Company193519861877Taken over by Guinness plc in 1986, where later revealed was the Guinness share-trading fraud.
Dorman Long193519471875
Dunlop Rubber193519831889
EMI193520071931Founded as Electrical & Musical Industries, merged with Thorn in 1979, and demerged again. Bought by Citigroup in 2012 after financial distress.
Fine Spinners and Doublers193519381897Replaced by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation in 1938.
General Electric Company plc1935200x1886Originally a business started by a German immigrant named Gustav Binswanger, he joined with Hugo Hirst and the company became GEC in 1886, selling consumer electronic goods. Incorporated in 1889, set up Osram. There was a spate of mergers in 1968, and in 1988 GEC-Plessey Telecommunications was created. It merged with Marconi from 1996, its defence wing merged into BAE Systems, the remainder becoming Marconi plc. It failed and was disbanded after the Dot-com bubble.
Guest Keen & Nettlefolds1935*1767
Harrods193519591834
Hawker Siddeley19351934
Imperial Chemical Industries193520081926Bought by Akzo Nobel in 2008.
British American Tobacco19351902Imperial Tobacco and the American Tobacco made a joint venture in 1910. Merged with Rothmans in 1999.
International Tea Co Stores193519471878Bought by BAT Industries in 1972.
London Brick193519841900Bought by Hanson plc in 1984.
Murex193519671909Ironfounder and ferroalloy maker.
Patons & Baldwins193519641770Clothing and yarn. Merged with Coats in 1961.
Pinchin Johnson193519601834Paint manufacturer.
Rolls Royce193519701906Nationalised in 1971 and privatised in 1987.
Tate & Lyle1935*1921
Turner & Newall193519821871Asbestos and chemicals.
United Steel Companies193519511918The business became nationalised and put under control of the British Steel Corporation and the National Coal Board.
Vickers193519861828Founded by Edward Vickers. Acquired by Rolls Royce plc in 1999.
Watney Combe & Reid193519721837Beer company, absorbed in the Grand Metropolitan group.
Woolworths193519711909A victim of the financial crisis on the British High Street, liquidated in 2009.
Lancashire Cotton194719641929Established by the Bank of England to rescue the cotton spinning industry, later under the Cotton Industry Act 1936. It merged 103 companies. It was bought by Courtaulds in 1964.
Leyland Motors194719751896Renamed British Leyland Motors. Nationalised in 1975.
Morris Motors194719521912
P & O194720061837Fully, Peninsular Oriental Steam Navigation.
Spillers194719781927Flour and pet food.
Swan Hunter194719661880Shipbuilding.
William Cory19471959
Alfred Herbert 19711888Machine tools.
Alliance Boots20071847In its current form, created from a merger between Alliance UniChem and the former Boots UK in 2006.
Allied Breweries20051961Merged into Carlsberg-Tetley in 1992, now Carlsberg UK.
Allied Domecq20051994Formed from a merger of Allied Lyons and Pedro Domecq in 1994, it produced liquor. It was taken over by Pernod Ricard in 2006. It sold off parts to Fortune Brands, Diageo, and US private equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners, the Carlyle Group and Bain Capital LLP.
Allied Suppliers19721883
Associated Dairies Group19991949Founded as Associated Dairies & Farm Stores Limited in Leeds, it became the supermarket chain ASDA. In 1999 it was bought out by US firm Wal-Mart.
Blue Circle Industries20011900Bought out by Lafarge in 2001.
Bowater Paper19841923Established by William Vansittart Bowater, ended up as Rexam, supplying paper for the print media in its heyday.
British Motors Corp19691952The company amalgamated Morris Motors Limited and Austin Motor Company Limited. It was part nationalised in 1975, and succeeded by British Leyland.
British Oxygen20061886Taken over by the German Linde Group in 2006.
Cadbury Schweppes20101886Taken over by Kraft Foods in 2010.
Cavenham Foods19771965Started by Sir James Goldsmith, began to decline, and was liquidated and sold mostly to Argyll Foods in 1986.
Grand Metropolitan Hotels19971934Merged with Guinness plc in 1997 to make Diageo.
Guinness19971759
Hanson Trust19971964Building materials
House of Fraser19681849Department store.
John Brown Group19821982Based in Ladbroke Grove originally. Sells magazines and catalogues.
LucasVarity19991860Originally Lucas Industries, it made automotive and aerospace parts. It merged with Varity in 1996. It was then bought by TRW Automotive.
Marconi Company20021897Originally formed as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company, Marconi was bought up by BAE Systems in 1999.
National Westminster Bank20001968Bought by RBS in 2000, founded as the National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank.
Plessey19891917Absorbed into BAE Systems.
Thomson Reuters20091851Paul Julius Reuter began the original service, transmitting stock market questions. Now a primary media service for the media, as well as publishing.
Scottish Power20071990Privatisation of the Scottish electricity industry gave rise to the company.
Trusthouse Forte19961935Was a hotel group, finished in 1999.
Tube Investments19841919
United Drapery Stores19831927Retail stores on the High Street, acquired by the Hanson Group and broken up.
British Gas19971812The first predecessor was the Gas Light and Coke Company. All gas companies were nationalised by the Gas Act 1948. It was privatised again by the Gas Act 1986.
Marks & Spencer*1884Started by a Polish immigrant, Michael Marks, and partnered with Thomas Spencer in 1894. In 1926 it began buying goods directly from manufacturers, and in 1948 started a self-service store model.
BP*1909The Anglo-Persian Oil Co, originally a Burmah Oil Co subsidiary, after William D'Arcy found oil in the Middle East. Saved from bankruptcy in 1914 by getting an exclusive Royal Navy contract. Became BP in 1954.
British Telecom*1846Originally the Electric Telegraph Company, it was nationalised in 1870 as it became a monopoly, under the Post Office. Demerged from the Post Office by the British Telecommunications Act 1981, and privatised under the Telecommunications Act 1984.
Lloyds TSB*1765Lloyds was established in Birmingham originally, and TSB was created in 1810. The two merged in 1995. It was partly nationalised after reckless investments in 2008.
Royal and Sun Alliance*1845Originally Royal Insurance founded in Liverpool, biggest insurance merger in 1919 with the Liverpool and London Globe Co, and then merged with the Sun Alliance Group in 1996.
Vodafone*1980Originally Racal Electronics, a GEC subsidiary, it won a mobile licence in 1982, and demerged in 1991. Acquired Mannesmann for £112bn in 2000.
International Consolidated Airlines Group*1936British Airways was created by a three airline merger in 1936, nationalised to form BOAC, and then privatised in 1987. Merged in 2010 with Iberia Airlines.
Diageo*1997Formed from merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997. Previously owned Burger King, closed Johnnie Walker plant in Kilmarnock, owns Smirnoff, Gordon's and Captain Morgan.
Prudential plc*1848The Prudential Mutual Assurance Investment and Loan Association sold penny industrial insurance policies to workers from 1854, listed in 1924.
Tesco*1929Originally a Middlesex grocer, Jack Cohen, who fused his surname with his tea supplier, T.E.S.
Invensys*1999A merger of engineering companies BTR and Siebe in 1999, produces control and automation equipment.
BAE Systems*1999Took over Marconi from GEC, a defence company with 100,000 employees, primarily supplying the UK Ministry of Defence, the US and Australia.
Compass Group*1941Founded as Factory Canteens, then called Bateman Catering, bought by Grand Metropolitan in 1967, merged with Midland Catering, and relaunched in 1984 as Compass. Management buy-out in 1987, listed in 1988, and on the FTSE 100 in 1998. Merged with Granada in 2000 and demerged again in 2001.
Royal Bank of Scotland*1727Royal Charter from King George I, acquired Dundee Banking Co in 1864, Drummonds Bank and Williams Deacon's Bank, merged with National Commercial Bank of Scotland in 1969. Bought NatWest in 2000, and ABN Amro in 2007. Bankrupted itself through reckless investments, and 83% nationalised in 2008.
Logica*1969Developed national gas grid telemetry system, word processors, and floated in 1983. Develops IT systems. Logica was acquired by the Canada-based CGI Group in August 2012.
GlaxoSmithKline*1843Merger of GlaxoWellcome and SmithKline Beecham in 2000. Manufactures pharmaceuticals.
ITV*1930Under the Television Act 1954, competitors were allowed against the BBC, originally starting under Granada plc, which merged with Carlton in 2004, and rebranded in 2011.
Ladbrokes*1913Horserace gambling, boosted after the Betting and Gaming Act 1961 legalised betting shops. Renamed the Hilton Group in 1999, and reverted again in 2005 after selling the hotels.
Land Securities*1944Began property development by Lord Harold Samuel, buying up land from Kensington to the whole country. Gave a £755.7m rights issue in February 2009.
Wolseley*1887Founded by Frederick Wolseley as the Wolseley Sheep Shearing Machine Co in Sydney, moved to the UK, and then started making cars in 1897, which was sold to Vickers in 1901. Along with agricultural machinery, started central heating in the 1960s.
Man Group*1784James Man started sugar cooperage and broker originally, traded commodities in London coffee houses from 1802. Grew as a commodities broker, moved into alternative investment management in 1983. Reached the FTSE 100 in 2001, sold brokerage business in 2007.
Smiths Group*1851Originally a clock and watchmaker, started making speedometers and car parts, and then to aerospace parts. Parts for devices in security, energy, medical, communication and engineering.
Reckitt Benckiser*1823In 1814 Jeremiah Colman milled flour and mustard in Norwich. Reckitt & Sons was started in 1840 by Isaac Reckitt. Johann Benckiser in Germany started a chemicals company, listed in 1888, merged with J&J Colman in 1938. Makes household cleaning products, owns Durex and Scholl.
WPP plc*1971Originally Wire & Plastic Products, bought into by Martin Sorrell in 1985, made into a marketing and advertising group.
3i*1983Its predecessors were formed in 1945 by the Bank of England as the Industrial and Commercial Financial Corporation, created to fund SMEs, and the Finance Corporation for Industry, for funding larger business. They merged in 1973 to make Finance for Industry. Then in 1983 they were privatised, and floated in 1994.
National Grid plc*Privatisation of the electricity industry in 1990, and listing on the LSE in 1995.