UK Short Selling Regulations 2025 published

The Short Selling Regulations 2025 were made and published on legislation.gov.uk, alongside an explanatory memorandum. The regulations replace assimilated law (including the U.K. Short Selling Regulation) and establish a new legislative framework for the regulation of short selling, creating designated activities for short selling, giving the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority rulemaking powers related to those activities, and powers to intervene in exceptional circumstances. The instrument restates core definitions relevant to the short selling regime and grants the FCA broad rulemaking powers, including the ability to set requirements like restrictions on uncovered short selling. It also restates the requirement for firms to notify the FCA of net short positions above 0.2% of issued share capital. HM Treasury retains the power to amend this threshold, but the FCA may require notifications at a different threshold in exceptional circumstances. Regulations 1–6, 8, 9 and 11 came into force on January 14, 2025. The remaining provisions came into force on the same date to the extent required to enable the FCA to give guidance or issue statements of policy. So far as they are not already in force, the remaining regulations will come into force on the day on which the revocation of the U.K. SSR comes into force under FSMA 2023.

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