Several major investors are betting against BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) new chief executive Allison Kirkby being able to fix the telco’s sliding shares.
Two hedge funds and two large institutions, including BlackRock, have bet against the company, according to a FT report quoting data from Breakout Point.
Public disclosures show a combined short position of 2.79% of the company’s shares, the biggest publicly short position against BT since records began 12 years ago and higher than other disclosed shorts in the European telecoms sector.
Data from S&P Global also shows the proportion of BT’s shares on loan hit a record 14.9%.
One of the hedge funds, Kintbury Capital, said in December that it was short BT as the telecoms group had “no growth” and combined a “high priced product with poor service”.
BT has the 20th largest short position in the London market, according to data on the Shorttracker website, with Petrofac in the unwanted top position, with a 10.1% short position from six disclosed investors.
It is followed by Ocado Group PLC at 7.3% from eight disclosed shorts, Asos PLC at 6.3% from seven disclosed shorts.