Report published September 27, 2026
The UK's 15 Most-Shorted Stocks: Kepler Partners Strategy Update
Kepler Partners LLP · September 27, 2026
Kepler Trust Intelligence reviews the 15 most-shorted stocks in the UK, highlighting that hedge funds are primarily betting against the domestic housing, construction, and building supply sectors. Vistry leads the ranking with 17.30% of its shares shorted, followed closely by Ibstock at 16.20%.
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Finvaulta summarizes Kepler Partners LLP's analysis. Attribute opinions, forecasts, time-sensitive values, and chronology to the issuer and report date; do not treat this page as an independent verification or a current market-data source.
Key Takeaways
- 1.UK housing and construction companies dominate short-selling activity, accounting for nearly half (seven out of 15) of the most-shorted stocks in the UK.
- 2.Vistry and Ibstock head the list as the two most-shorted UK stocks, with short interest of 17.30% and 16.20% respectively, burdened by margin compression, elevated debt, and dropping demand.
- 3.Short sellers are targeting supply chain providers and retailers, but also unexpected sectors like uranium (Yellow Cake) and defence (Chemring) due to operational impairments and volatile commodity pricing.
Table of Contents
- What is short-selling?
- Top 15 most-shorted UK-listed stocks
- The UK's most-shorted stocks
- Housing pains
- Building costs are rising
- Supply chain woes
- Teething problems
- How shorting works
Report data
Top 15 most-shorted UK-listed stocks — as of September 21, 2026.
| Metric | Estimate | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Vistry Short Interest | 17.30% | Vistry entered as the most-shorted UK-listed stock. |
| Ibstock Short Interest | 16.20% | Ibstock ranked second among most-shorted UK-listed stocks, up from 3rd position in March. |
| FTSE 100 Overseas Revenue Share | 70% | Approximate percentage of FTSE 100 revenue generated from overseas. |
| Housebuilding and Construction Profit Warnings | 8 warnings | Number of profit warnings from housebuilding and construction firms in the first half of 2026. |
| FCA Short Position Reporting Threshold | 0.2% | Lowered threshold for aggregated short position reporting by the FCA. |
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Strategy Update is shown in chronological order through this edition, published on September 27, 2026.
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