Image source: Getty Images
In 2025, UK shares achieved their highest gains since the 2008 financial crisis, with indexes such as FTSE100 an boost of over 20%.
However, not all British companies could join in the fun. And in 2026, institutional investors have been busy placing gigantic bets against several FTSE stocks that they believe could fall even further…
3 shares to sell?
Here are the three stocks with the most tiny positions on the market London Stock Exchange sales:
- Wizz Air Holdings (LSE:WIZZ) – 16.2% tiny interest.
- Greggs – 14.6% tiny interest.
- Future – 11.7% tiny interest.
When institutional investors start shorting a stock significantly, it’s usually a warning sign that something is seriously wrong with the underlying business. Indeed, all three companies have been struggling recently.
The future looks bleak in the digital advertising market, with organic growth unable to materialize in any meaningful way.
Meanwhile, Greggs is similarly struggling to deliver organic growth, with profit margins under constant pressure from inflation and rising labor costs. Until recently, it was the UK’s most discounted company. However, earlier this month, Wizz Air took first place.
What happened?
Catastrophic disruption?
Wizz Air shares have been struggling for some time. In fact, the low-cost carrier’s market capitalization has declined by more than 80% over the past five years, largely due to the simultaneous grounding of much of its fleet due to a Pratt & Whitney GTF engine defect.
While its planes are steadily returning to the sky, the war in Iran has simply thrown another huge wrench into the works.
The company’s travel routes to the Middle East have been completely suspended and jet fuel prices are skyrocketing due to disruptions to oil and gas production in the region.
Therefore, on March 4, the management issued a profit warning of EUR 50 million. And because an overly indebted balance sheet already makes the company extremely vulnerable to an earnings shock, the share price continues to fall and institutional investors are betting that the entire company is at risk of implosion.
Is there any hope?
Wizz Air is in quite a hard situation. But the company is not doomed to collapse yet.
The operational suspension in the Middle East is ultimately ephemeral. And once the tragic conflict is over, the company should be able to start rebuilding itself.
As for the ongoing engine crisis, Pratt & Whitney is compensating Wizz Air for the disruption, providing a comfortable cash cushion to cover costs. And as more planes return to the skies in 2026, the company’s operating leverage improves, paving the way for margin recovery.
In fact, CEO Jozsef Varadi clearly stated 2027 “will be a breakthrough year” for the company, suggesting a turnaround may be coming.
The most vital thing
Like Wizz Air, both Greggs and Future have some vivid spots.
The UK’s favorite bakery chain is already seeing success thanks to product innovation, with cost restructuring helping to boost margins for Future’s media empire. However, whether these improvements can happen quickly enough is an issue that shareholders need to carefully consider.
As someone who doesn’t own shares in either of these companies, I’m in no rush to buy today, especially since there are much more exhilarating opportunities to explore elsewhere…
