London’s Most Shorted Stocks Reveal Market Anxiety, Vistry Shares Lead

Short sellers are piling into a clutch of high-profile London-listed names, with data from ShortTracker.co.uk showing significant bearish bets across housebuilding, retail, and aviation sectors.

Vistry Group leads the table with a 15.2% of its shares sold short. The housebuilder has been dogged by deep liquidity concerns after subcontractors were ordered to down tools to preserve cash, while several joint-venture developments have faltered. A new CEO took the helm in April, but investors remain unconvinced the balance sheet troubles are behind it.

Brick manufacturer Ibstock PLC is close behind at 13.7%, a reflection of broader anxiety around the UK’s sluggish housebuilding market. With construction demand still suppressed, short sellers see little near-term catalyst for recovery in the company’s core revenues.

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Greggs PLC sits at 10.3%, a remarkable position for what was once a stock market darling. After a torrid 2025, cost pressures from wages and ingredients have bitten hard, and there are growing doubts over whether the bakery chain’s expansion story can withstand a squeeze on consumer spending.

Travel retailer WH Smith is shorted at 10.2%, following a damaging accounting scandal in its North American unit that triggered a CEO resignation, an FCA investigation into potential disclosure breaches, and a profit warning that sent shares tumbling around 42%.

Budget carrier Wizz Air Holdings rounds out the top five at 9.2%. Persistent Pratt & Whitney engine groundings continue to cap capacity, while a revenue forecast cut has unsettled investors already wary of the airline’s exposure to Eastern European geopolitical risk and fierce competition from Ryanair and easyJet.

Short interest data sourced from as of 30 June 2025.