Housebuilder hits a wall: How did Vistry become the UK’s most shorted stock? Property Vistry, the “nation’s favourite housebuilder,” has become the UK’s most shorted stock. From a shift to a bold new model to hopes that it can fuel Burnham’s housing vision, Felix Armstrong unpicks the firm’s recent history Back in 2024, Vistry boss Greg Fitzgerald was brimming with optimism. The housebuilder’s ambitious switch from a private market [...]
Questions raised over FCA’s new short-selling rules News Apparent errors in the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s first batch of new short-selling data have raised questions over the accuracy of information used by traders and regulators to track bets against UK-listed companies. The Financial Times first reported that the regulator’s new disclosures contained a series of apparent errors, including positions that were changed or [...]
Starmer drama: Traders bet against UK as short-selling on pound and banks surges Economics Traders are betting against the UK as the political storm in Westminster continues to send jitters through asset markets. The pound has tumbled to a two-week low against the dollar, clinging onto the $1.35 mark on Thursday morning. Meanwhile, figures from IG revealed that short-positioning on the pound-dollar, a bet that the price will further [...]
Close Brothers shares sink as infamous short-seller warns of motor finance ‘wipeout’ March 16, 2026 Shares in Close Brothers plummeted on Monday after a group notorious for short-selling warned the bank had “systematically misrepresented” its exposure to the motor finance scandal. The FTSE 250 bank nosedived as much as 12 per cent during afternoon trading after Viceroy Research, a group famed for its exposés of Wirecard and Home Reit, warned [...]
Wizz Air pounced on by short sellers as Iran war knocks profits March 11, 2026 Budget airline Wizz Air has been hit by a flurry of short-selling after it issued a profit warning over disruption caused by the Iran war, making it the UK’s most shorted company. The Hungarian airline, which is listed on the FTSE 250, had 9.59 per cent short interest last month but this has soared to [...]
Tech stocks plunge after Big Short investor bets against AI November 4, 2025 American tech stocks fell sharply on Tuesday after a hedge fund manager famed for predicting the Global Financial Crisis revealed he had taken out a billion-dollar bet against some of the world’s largest artificial intelligence companies. Michael Burry, the star stock picker whose decision to short the property market was depicted in the blockbuster ‘Big [...]
Transparency concerns as FCA makes short sellers anonymous October 28, 2025 Firms short-selling UK-quoted companies will no longer have to reveal their identities in the latest deregulation drive by the UK’s financial watchdog. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is consulting on a rule change to suspend disclosures of the companies that hold a short position in listed businesses, instead only publishing the total short positions in [...]
How Abrdn became the most shorted company in the UK December 3, 2024 Abrdn is now the most shorted company in the UK, as the Edinburgh-based asset manager has struggled to convince the market it has staying power in the industry. The FTSE 250 fundhouse has been a perennial member of the most shorted stocks for a while, but has succeeded in taking the top spot thanks to [...]
How this fund beat (and shorted) the S&P 500 October 12, 2024 Finding US companies to short can be hard when it feels like the stock market can only go up, but some stock pickers make a living off of it. “It’s a year where the markets have been on the tear,” Scott Utzinger, partner at Crawford Fund Management and manager of its US long/short fund, told [...]
Short seller makes multimillion pound bet against 3i Group September 29, 2024 Shadowfall Capital and Research has taken out a multimillion-pound short position against 3i, the largest investment trust in the UK, arguing that its largest holding, Action, is overvalued. FTSE 100 private equity group 3i has been invested in Action for over a decade, which operates close to 3,000 stores across 12 European countries like Germany, [...]