One of the largest named short positions on the London market in 2018, reconstructed from the FCA's old register, and how it fell away after the 2019 Ocado joint venture.
Figures are the sum of named positions of 0.5% or more, from FCA data, 445 points between 4 Jan 2017 and 11 Nov 2020.
MARKS AND SPENCER GROUP P.L.C. entered this window with 3.25% of its share capital covered by published short positions on 4 Jan 2017. The sum of named positions climbed through 2017 and stayed in double digits for most of 2018, reaching 12.11% on 1 Jun 2018.
At that level it was one of the largest named positions on the London market, though not the largest: the old register regularly showed one or two smaller companies above it. Because only positions of 0.5% or more were published, every figure here is a floor rather than a total.
In May 2018 the company said it would close more than 100 stores by 2022. In February 2019 it announced a joint venture with Ocado's retail business, part-funded by a rights issue, and in September 2019 it left the FTSE 100 index for the first time since that index was created.
The named positions were reduced steadily from 2019 onwards. The last point inside this window, 11 Nov 2020, is also its low at 2.07%: on the days that follow it, nothing was on the register at all.
The reconstruction has a point only on days when at least one holder was disclosed at or above the old 0.5% threshold. Days with no qualifying disclosure produce no point, which is why a long-running position can appear to stop and restart. A rights issue works in the same direction as a covered position: it increases share capital, so a position of unchanged size is published as a smaller percentage.
Full history and today's figure: MARKS AND SPENCER GROUP P.L.C..
Figures are as published by the FCA; this site is not affiliated with it. The narrative describes what the published figures showed and widely reported public events around them; it is not a description of any company's prospects and is not investment advice.