Balfour Beatty set to move into FTSE 100

Balfour Beatty is set to replace HBOS in the FTSE 100 index, making it the first contractor to break into the list for more than 15 years.

Balfour will appear in the elite index from the start of trading on 19 Jan, following HBOS' takeover by Lloyds TSB.

The news comes just days after the contractor announced that its forward order book now stands at more than £12bn.

The last contractor to occupy the FTSE 100 was Tarmac, which dropped out of the index in 1992, during the last recession.