Hedge fund Citadel has increased its short position in GVC Holdings (GVC), meaning that – according to short tracker.co.uk – there are disclosed short positions against 3.34 per cent of the group's issued share capital. The news prompted a drop in the gambling group’s share price.
Citadel is shorting 1.83 per cent of the group's issued share capital. GVC said is short position was “unremarkable” in comparison to some of its industry peers, adding “it’s not for us to comment on the possible motivations of short sellers”. Data from Shorttracker.co.uk, which uses FCA disclosures, shows short positions against 11.8 per cent of Flutter Entertainment’s (FLTR) issued capital, far higher than those against GVC. However, the data shows rivals Gamesys (GYS), 888 (888), Playtech (PTEC) and William Hill (WMH) all have smaller, if any, short positions against them.
GVC also said it welcomed the Germany's recent compromise on future online gambling regulation, and that it was having “regular constructive dialogue” with regulators in the UK and Germany. Short positions against the group spiked as high as 15 per cent in March 2018, but fell soon after and have only gone above 3 per cent twice since.
Citadel said it does not comment on individual positions. FCA data indicates the hedge fund does not hold a significant short position against any of the other UK-listed gamblers, although it is shorting a number of other UK-listed groups such as WM Morrisons (MRW) and Dunelm (DNLM).
