William Hill climbs into FTSE 100

British bookmaker William Hill was today celebrating the news that it will join the ranks of the UK’s top 100 companies.

The company will be admitted to the FTSE 100 Index on Thursday in a shake-up sparked by the merger of healthcare group Amersham with US giant General Electric.

William Hill will become the third newcomer to the Footsie in 2004, following the promotion of Chilean mining group Antofagasta and pubs group Enterprise Inns last month.

The bookmaker, which listed on the London market in June 2002, has 1,586 branches in the UK, and telephone gambling and interactive divisions.