Wolseley will drop out of the FTSE 100 index of leading shares on March 23.
Its fall from the corporate elite follows a torrid financial performance in recent months, culminating in a £965m loss for the six months ended January 31 and a decision to raise £1bn through a rights issue.
In addition to the rights issue, and subject to its success, the company has arranged a new €1bn debt facility with five banks to extend its debt maturity profile.
Wolseley’s interim figures showed sales 3.2% ahead of the same period last year at £8.2bn. But after exceptional items, including £262m of restructuring costs to cover site closures and redundancy, the company’s £79m profits turned into a loss of nearly £1bn.
Worldwide since 2007 the company has cut its staff by 17,000 and closed 713 branches.
