ANSP explained: the number behind this site

Since 13 July 2026, the FCA publishes one figure per company per working day: the aggregate net short position (ANSP), the sum of every individual net short position amounting to at least 0.2% of the company's issued share capital. This page explains exactly what that number is.

Who has to report

Anyone holding a net short position in a company on the FCA'sReportable Shares List (RSL) must notify the FCA when the position reaches 0.2% of issued share capital, and again at every 0.1% step up or down. Notification is private and due by 15:30 the next working day. The RSL defines scope: roughly 1,400 main share classes admitted to trading on UK venues, refreshed monthly.

What gets published

For each company with at least one notified position, the FCA publishes:

• the issuer's name and the ISIN of its main class of ordinary shares,
• the aggregate of all notified net short positions, as a % of issued share capital,
• the latest position date included in that aggregate.

Publication happens around midday, two working days after the position date (T+2). What you see on a Wednesday is generally Monday's positioning.

What changed from the old regime

Until July 2026, the UK published the names of individual position holders at 0.5% or more. The new regime anonymises and aggregates: a lower threshold (0.2%) counts more positions into the total, but nobody is named. The transition story covers what was gained and lost.

The number's blind spots

• Sub-threshold positions are invisible. A hundred funds each short 0.19% would add nothing to the published figure. The ANSP is a floor, not a census.
• Companies can drop out. If the aggregate falls below the disclosure floor, the company disappears from the publication. That is not the same as short interest reaching zero.
• Positions under verification can be excluded. The FCA may hold a notified position out of the aggregate while checking it, then amend previously published figures. We track these revisions explicitly.
• No holder identities. The aggregate can be one fund at 3% or six funds at 0.5%, which are materially different situations that print the same number.

Reading ANSP levels

Across the market, most reportable companies carry an aggregate in the low single digits. Double-digit percentages are rare and historically corresponded to companies in well-publicised difficulty. Comparing a company against its own history (the chart on each company page) is more informative than comparing raw levels across companies of different sizes and sectors.