Key Takeaways
- Vistry, WH Smith and Wizz Air are currently the UK’s most-shorted stocks.
- Housebuilders continue to be targeted amid interest rate and inflation uncertainty.
- Stocks under significant short interest including Tate & Lyle and easyJet have been subject to takeover interest in recent weeks.
Short sellers have stepped up their bets against UK housebuilder Vistry VTY after a dismal start to the year for the sector.
The FTSE 250 housebuilder is the most-shorted stock in the past 30 days, with 12.07% of its shares shorted, according to Financial Conduct Authority data. Bets against Vistry have increased since our last shorting monitor at the end of April, when 8.93% of shares were held short.
The housebuilder is also the worst-performing stock on the list in share price terms, with shares down 60% since the start of 2026. In May, Vistry warned profits will be “significantly” lower amid uncertainty arising from the Iran war and its impact on the global economy.
As war and associated supply disruptions cloud the outlook for interest rates, housebuilders have sold off on fears of the impact on UK inflation, mortgage rates, affordability, and consumer confidence.
Schonfeld Strategic Advisors (UK) LLP holds the largest net short position against Vistry at 2.81%.
Fellow housebuilders Crest Nicholson CRST, and Morningstar-rated stocks Taylor Wimpey TW., Persimmon PSN, Barratt Redrow BTRW also have short interest of at least 3%. Crest Nicholson shares lost nearly 40% on one day as the housebuilder cut its earnings guidance as it blame uncertainty stemming from the Middle East war.
Short-sellers have also circled travel retailer WH Smith SMWH. In its latest results, announced April 23, the firm suspended its dividend in April as pre-tax profit tumbled 85%. The retailer sold its high street business in June 2025 to Modella Capital, focusing on its stores in railway stations and airports.
Short positions against WH Smith currently total 11.64% of its issued shares.
Short Interest Returns to Domino’s Pizza
Bets against Domino’s Pizza Group DOM have risen over the last month despite a steady start to the year in share price terms. Short interest has risen to 7.4%, up from 3.88% in April. The stock frequently appeared among the most-shorted UK stocks in 2025 as shares plummeted 41.4% over the year. Since the start of 2026, however, Domino’s is up 9.7%.
Another stock with increased short interest is medical technology firm Smith & Nephew SN. Bets against the FTSE 100 company have risen to 5.29% over the last month, up from 3.21% in April.
Shares are down 5.6% so far this year, leaving them trading in undervalued 4-star territory. Following its first-quarter results on May 6, Morningstar analyst Debbie Wang said the share price may reflect concerns over cuts to Medicare reimbursement for healthcare providers in the US alongside ongoing weakness in Smith & Nephew’s knees division.
The 25 Most-Shorted UK Stocks
- Vistry
- WH Smith
- Wizz Air
- Ibstock
- Kingfisher
- Greggs
- Domino’s Pizza
- Crest Nicholson
- B&M Stores
- On the Beach
- J Sainsbury
- Taylor Wimpey
- easyJet
- Capita
- Smith & Nephew
- Future
- WPP
- Whitbread
- Persimmon
- Breedon
- Travis Perkins
- Chemring
- Pinewood Technologies
- Barratt Redrow
- Tate & Lyle
M&A Targets Attract Short Interest
M&A activity has surged in UK markets in recent years as cheap valuations attract interest from overseas buyers. 2026 has seen bids for several London-listed companies, and a few appear on our short screen. Tate & Lyle TATE, which could bring to an end its near-century on the London Stock exchange after agreeing a £2.7 billion takeover from US Ingredion on June 8, has 3.96% of its shares currently held short. Shares are up 50% this year on the back of the deal announcement.
Airliner EasyJet EZJ has also received significant short interest, with 5.42% held short. Shares rose 30% in May amid interest from US private equity firm Castlelake, though EasyJet’s board said a potential takeover bid would be “highly opportunistic”.
Other Morningstar-rated stocks on the list include grocers J Sainsbury SBRY and Ocado OCDO, as well as Kingfisher KGF and WPP WPP.
How Does Short-Selling Work?
While reasons for shorting a stock can vary, short interest can be an indicator of sentiment towards a stock or sector.
Short-selling can be highly profitable for professional investors. An investor borrows shares from brokers to sell them at the current market price, in the hope of buying the same shares back at a cheaper price later on.
The strategy can flag to investors an early warning sign of problems ahead for certain companies, such as in the Wirecard scandal in Germany.
However, shorting can be a highly risky strategy if a stock price surges. A “short squeeze,” such as the GameStop saga, can lead to significant losses for short sellers. This is where the share price of a heavily-shorted stock rises sharply due to positive news or increased buying.
Short-sellers are then forced to sell their borrowed shares in order to cover their positions. In turn, this drives the share price even higher.
Short-Selling: The Daily List
The Financial Conduct Authority reports the amount of short positions in publicly traded stocks every day as well as the names of the institutions holding those positions.
The data for this article is compiled by totaling short positions taken over the past 30 days to provide a picture of net short positions in a company.
Data is included for all stocks where at least 3% of shares are shorted.
