Hedge funds with short positions in Kingfisher, including AKO Capital, are facing significant paper losses after the UK home improvement group, which owns B&Q, raised profit guidance for the first half of the year, according to a report by the Financial Times.
Short sellers including AKO Capital, Marshall Wace, GLG Partners, Kintbury Capital, and Citadel were collectively down £30.6m, with AKO Capital taking the largest hit at £8.8m, according to Ortex data.
The share price rally was driven by resilient UK & Ireland sales, strong demand for big-ticket items, and an upbeat profit outlook, which saw Kingfisher’s shares jump 14.6% to 289.10p.
