No hugs for Ted Baker as the hedge funds go short

TED Baker boss Ray Kelvin hit the headlines when the retailer appointed a law firm to investigate its ‘hugging culture’, but hedge funds aren’t showing his company’s shares much love.

They were already betting against the fashion brand, but raised their short positions in the FTSE 250 firm on Monday after the hugging scandal.

Data from analyst IHS Markit shows a notable increase in short interest positions from 6.6 per cent on Friday last week to 7.4 per cent on Monday in a wager worth about £50 million. Short-sellers, who in this case include New York-headquartered BlackRock and London-based Marshall Wace, borrow shares, sell them and then buy them back at what they hope is a lower price, pocketing the difference in the process.

Just minutes before the markets closed on Friday, the company revealed that Kelvin was to take a ‘leave of absence’ while the allegations are investigated.

The share price took a sharp dive, but could have further to go when markets reopen tomorrow morning, meaning that the short-sellers could cash in again.

IT wasn’t exactly the summer for ten-pin bowli ng. The weather was scorching, lasting well into September, and England’s football team did better in the World Cup than anyone predicted.

But Hollywood Bowl shrugged off those concerns in October with a trading statement that appeared to reassure investors. Tomorrow, its annual results will paint a clearer picture of trading.

JP Morgan Cazenove number crunchers expect underlying pre-tax profits to have risen 11 per cent to £23.5 million in the year ended September, with revenues up around 8 per cent at £123 million.

Better still, they predict shareholders could be in for a special dividend worth around £5.6 million.

IF Purplebricks, the so-called hybrid estate agent, was one of the shares to own last year after a stunning stock market performance, then it was one to sell in 2018.

The shares tanked by about 60 per cent amid a slowdown in the UK market, even though it expanded abroad.

Rival Emoov, which earlier this year merged with Sarah Beeny’s Tepilo and online lettings agency Urban, went into administration last week, underlining the scale of the challenge for online agents.

Purplebricks reveals first-half results on Thursday. Could it perhaps decide to snap up Emoov’s property listings which are up for grabs?