// Hammerson now trading at 158p per share compared to 240p a month ago – a 34% drop
// The number of its shares being acquired by short-sellers has risen to a record high
Hammerson has seen its shares drop by 34 per cent in the past month, along with the general stock market in recent weeks.
The shopping centre owner is now trading at just over 158p a share, compared to 308p at the start of the year and 240p a month ago.
Hammerson’s market value is now down to £1.21 billion.
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However, the number of its shares being acquired by short-sellers has risen to a record high.
Short-sellers use an investment strategy that could see them making a large amount of money from a falling share price.
Hammerson saw the number of its shares out on loan rising to more than 17 per cent from 12 per cent in early January, according to data from IHS Market.
The news comes just as rival shopping centre owner Intu warned on Thursday that it could go bust if it does not secure further funds.
The FTSE 100 also experienced the worst day since 1987.
The index closed yesterday down by more than one tenth as fears over the coronavirus prompted investors to run scared from London’s shares.
The FTSE 100 closed Thursday down by 639.04 points to 5237.48, wiping more than £160 billion off the value of the index’s 100 companies, the worst value loss in history in nominal terms.
The 10.87 per cent fall is also worse than any day during the 2008 financial crisis and investors wanting to find a bigger drop need to look back to October 20 1987, the day after Black Monday, when the FTSE 100 fell 12.2 per cent.
It was also the second worst day in the FTSE’s history, ahead of the 10.84% fall on Black Monday itself.
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