AIMA has partnered with Simmons & Simmons to provide practical guidance for AIMA members on the UK’s new short selling regime, which will take effect on 13 July 2026.

The changes, set out in the FCA’s Policy Statement 26/5 (published in April 2026), represent a significant update to the UK’s rules. They replace the previous EU-based Short Selling Regulation with a UK-specific regime and introduce a number of targeted reforms aimed at making reporting simpler and reducing the operational and compliance burden for firms.

The new rules are brought together in a single Short Selling Sourcebook. Key changes include:

• Simpler reporting of short positions
  Firms now only need to report when their net short position reaches 0.2% of a company’s shares (previously 0.1%). They will also have more time to submit reports and clearer guidance on how to calculate the number of shares a company has issued.

• New approach to public disclosure
  Instead of publishing individual firms’ positions, the FCA will publish combined (aggregated) short positions for each company once they reach 0.2%.

• Updated list of shares in scope of the rules
  The current system (which lists shares exempt from the requirements) is replaced with a clearer list of shares that are in scope. The criteria for deciding which shares are in scope have also been updated.

• Removal of UK sovereign debt and credit default swaps from the regime
  Short selling covering and reporting rules will no longer apply to UK government debt or related credit default swaps.

We have produced this Guidance Note to help firms interpret the changes, assess operational impact and prepare ahead of go-live.

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  Aniqah Rao

  Associate Director, Markets, Governance and Innovation