Short-selling returns to UK market 'with a vengeance', data shows

By Sophie Kiderlin

LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - The UK market is experiencing a significant return of short-selling, according to an analysis of Financial Conduct Authority data by global legal firm White & Case LLP showed on Thursday.

Short-selling, which White & Case said had returned "with a vengeance" this year, is a strategy used by investors to try to profit from falling share prices. They borrow the shaers and sell them, betting that they can buy them back later at a lower price and profit from the decline.

• Three UK-listed companies, namely Wizz Air Holdings WIZZ.L, Greggs GRG.L and Ibstock IBST.L, had net short positions above 10% at the time of analysis, compared with zero during all of 2025.

• A total of 20 UK-listed companies disclosed net-short positions larger than 5%, with the consumer sector being shorted the most.

• This reflects a sharp increase from 2025, when only two UK-listed companies showed net-short positions above 5% at any given time.

• "Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's not wearing shorts - and indeed who is being
  shorted," Patrick Sarch, head of UK public M&A at White & Case, said.