New UK Short Selling Rules 2026: What Investors Need to Know

On 13 July 2026, the FCA introduced major updates to the UK Short Selling Regime. Public reporting of individual position holders has ended, meaning investors will now only see aggregated short data. However, the reporting threshold is also lowered, meaning a larger portion of overall short positions will be published, but anonymously.

In this article, we explain what these changes mean for you as an investor and how ShortRegister.com will continue to keep you informed.

The new Short Selling Regulations 2025 (SSR 2025) officially took effect on 13 July 2026. Here is a quick summary of the core changes:

• Aggregated reporting: The FCA will only publish the aggregated short position per stock, removing individual holder names.
• Lower disclosure threshold: The threshold for reporting positions drops from 0.5% to 0.2%.
• Extended reporting deadline: Position updates are now due by 23:59 the following working day (previously 15:30 same day).
• Publication delay: Aggregated data is published 2 working days later.

No More Public Holder Names

For investors and users of ShortRegister.com, the most significant shift is the removal of individual position holder names. Under previous regulations, any position exceeding 0.5% was published alongside the fund name, while positions under 0.5% remained hidden. Under the new regime, the FCA combines all qualifying positions into a single aggregated percentage, concealing who holds each position.

Lower Threshold (0.2%) and Updated Reporting Deadlines

While individual names disappear, the reporting threshold has been lowered from 0.5% to 0.2%. This means smaller short positions now count toward the total aggregated figure.

Fund managers must notify the FCA whenever a position crosses the initial 0.2% mark and for every subsequent 0.1% change (e.g., 0.3%, 0.4%). The deadline to report has moved from 15:30 on the same day to 23:59 on the following business day, with the FCA publishing the anonymized data two business days later.

Transparency vs. Anonymity: The FCA’s Rationale

This update creates an interesting trade-off: while hiding position holders reduces visibility into who is shorting, the lower threshold increases visibility into how much total stock is shorted.

The FCA argues that an aggregated figure provides better overall market transparency. Furthermore, regulators noted that publicly naming individual funds could discourage legitimate short-selling activity—a key reason for moving to anonymous reporting.

How ShortRegister.com Is Adapting

Due to these regulatory updates, ShortRegister.com can no longer track individual UK short positions or link specific funds across international markets for UK equities.

However, we have fully updated our platform to process and display the new aggregated UK data. You will continue to get clear, accurate, and up-to-date visibility into total short volume across UK listed companies.

Practical Example: Old vs. New Regime