Short-sellers bet £220m on an Abrdn decline

Hedge funds have built up a bet of almost £220million against fund manager Abrdn after it fell to a £320million loss. 

More than 6.8 per cent of the FTSE250 firm’s shares are on loan to short-sellers who will make money if its share price falls. 

Citadel, GLG Partners and Millennium International Management are among the groups targeting Abrdn, which has already seen its share price tumble by more than a third this year. 

In August, it reported a loss of £320million in the first half of the year – down from a £113million profit a year before – and the investment performance of its fund managers has fallen. 

Earlier this month, its woes increased when chief executive Stephen Bird was accused of intimidating behaviour. Abrdn – created through the £11billion merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management in 2017 – is valued at £3.2 billion. 

It bought online platform Interactive Investor for £1.5billion last year. Abrdn declined to comment.