High street retailers and restaurants are being targeted by short sellers, with almost a third of the total positions on the stock market in the consumer sector, research has found.
The businesses have also been on the end of a 66% rise in the number of short positions over the past three years, while 38% of the top 50 shorted companies last year were consumer companies.
The findings from Linklaters, the law firm, underline the pressure on chains as costs rise and customers spend less, and were based on regulatory filings made by companies to the Financial Conduct Authority.
